Flash+and+Night+Time

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=Flash and Night Time=

// Back Porch //
__Tags__: porch, table, night, evening, chair, plant, girl, boy, hat, hug, siblings

__Critique Comments__: Compositionally, I like the framing of this shot. However, I would prefer that there not be a tree in the upper right-hand corner. Perhaps bare screen-porch wall would have been better (less distracting, more stark). There are lots of details in the foreground: the kids’ faces, the details on the chair arm, and the hat are the primary attractions of this shot. .

I used the Night Portrait setting for this shot. The light on the back porch was very dim, but looking at this shot, it would appear that the light was much brighter. The recommendation on my camera is that I am no closer than 6 feet from the subject. Getting closer gives the subject too much flash. I think I was about 6 feet away.

The children’s faces look bright and somewhat pearly (compared to their true complexions), and this has less to do with the camera settings and more to the manipulations I was trying in Gimp. I applied a number of filters and techniques (undoing many along the way), and I am not sure what exactly we’re looking at at this point. I will say that given more time I would play with this more and try to create a more yellowy glow on their faces. As it is, it doesn’t match the warmth of the porch lighting. I think the focus is appropriate to the shot. The kids, who are the subject, are in excellent focus. I was able to zoom in and clone-stamp out the “Polo” icon on the boy’s shirt, which I felt was a distraction. The depth of field is appropriate. The chair and the children are in focus and the background is more blurred. I think this adds depth to the shot.

Because I was shooting in Night Portrait mode, the aperture and shutter were out of my control, but I think that they were appropriate to this shot, based on the outcome. The camera photosites were able to perceive enough detail based on the light from the overhead string of lights and the flash (aperture), and the shutter speed worked out as evidenced by lack of blur. I will say that many of the shots in this series did indeed have blur due to the wiggly nature of my subjects. My camera book advised that I tell my subjects to be very still, even after the shot was taken. In this shot, they were sufficiently still.

The tags are appropriate to the shot.