This shot is almost straight out of the camera. It was shot RAW and cropped slightly for a dark spot on the side. It was then converted to black and white via Channel Mixer. Slight USM was applied. It was resized for posting here and a border was added.
Shot Details:
Canon 10D
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8
ISO 200
f/1.8
1/640th sec
Lighting Details:
2 500 watt halogen work lights situated diagonally
1 Canon 550EX at +2/3
1 Canon 420EX
Statistics
Place: 55 out of 134 Avg (all users): 5.3925 Avg (commenters): 6.0000 Avg (participants): 5.2024 Avg (non-participants): 5.5490 Views since voting: 1755 Views during voting: 310 Votes: 186 Comments: 11 Favorites: 0
Seeing as you contribute tons to this community through your comments I felt that maybe I could return the favor.
First of all .. I really liked this image and thought it should have placed better. As people have said the b&w is great here .. it really sets the mood.
Now before I continue .. I'm not an great photographer ... but I think (or hope) that there is a difference between being able to see/recognize great art/photos and being able to do it. Some are lucky enough to be able to do both. So while I may not be able to take great photos yet (its a skill which I'm trying to develop) I think I know a great photo when I see one. This is one of those photos.
So let me continue analyzing. The first thing I see when I look at the photo is the shoes. I like that they are out of focus and their position and layout. Now this might not make sense .. but I wish they were more in focus but not completely. Right now while its obvious they are shoes they are very blurred and have a black halo around them.
The next thing my eyes are drawn to are the feet. First I see the one that is sideways. The lighting and position on this are perfect. Then there is the other one. I'm not super fond of the position .. my first instinct is to say that I wish it was more like the other one .. sideways so that the arch is visible.
Finally there are the knees .. now you cannot re-crop this to get the knees. The reason I say that is because the shadow caused by them is distracting (IMO). And finally at the edge there is the stocking finish (I think) .. which is a nice touch.
As for the pantyhose I think you chose well they add an interesting texture and color to the shot .. without them this would not have been as good.
Lighting wise what people have said is great.
In conclusion this is a great photo ... the idea is awesome. If you ever decide to reshoot this let me know.
I think this was a cool idea for this challenge. I like the concept and about 1/2 of the execution but I can see how more people like the shoes to be behind the feet. I also see how the lighting would have benefitted from a barndoor to direct the light off the upper legs and let them blend into darker obscurity.
My original intent was to place emphasis on the feet by having them silhouetted. I wanted to add "texture" to the photo by bringing out the "weave" in the pantyhose.
Regardless, I think I can see what others seemed to like and what they didn't and I don't think I would be giving up any of what I like in the shot to adjust the composition and lighting just a little and try to make this more appealing. I'm enjoying working with lighting. This shoot was fun.
I like the idea and the lighting, but somehow the composition/focus seems backwards - like the shoes should be in focus and the feet/legs out. I'd be curious to see it that way to compare anyway.
The shoes seem to be a little too much out of focus, I would like focus on the shoes to be a little more. But I like the idea of her resting here feet behind the shoes.
Composition is very good and I like the b&w, as well as, the grainy appearance. Gives the impression of a hard days work and on her feet for a long time I think that the lighting should be more on her feet and shoes, and less on her thighs. DOF is good and I like the way the shoes are blurred, but think it would have been better with more light on the feet and shoes. Also, would have preferred had the woman not been wearing stockings.
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