Environment
Elizabeth Lampert of Coeur d’Alene, 21, is a waver at Liberty Tax Service at US
Highway 95 and Appleway. She describes herself as high energy and enjoys her
four hour shifts alongside the highway drawing attention to the business and the
services it offers.
Medium
An avid hip hop fan, Elizabeth Lampert, 21, listens to Justin Timberlake
as she dances along US Highway 95 in a Statue of Liberty outfit on Saturday.
She does this three mornings a week, works at Kmart and studies
psychology at North Idaho College.
Detail Option 1
The caption for this photo is still in the works
Detail Option 2
Wavers like Elizabeth Lampert, 21, working for Liberty Tax Service, have worn a
muddy trail along US Highway 95 near Appleway dancing and waving to motorists
as they drive by. Born in Plummer and now living in Coeur d’Alene, Lampert feels
the need to burn off extra energy dancing, working two jobs and going to college.
I need your input:
I think I over estimated the excitement of a roadside waver. There are few options for variety besides varying camera angles of the same activity. I thought I could get some shots of the gal getting into her outfit but that took two seconds in a closet. So as it stands, I did the best I could.
The top environment photos seems just slightly soft so I may have to go back and try that one again.
The medium shot shows a problem I had all morning long: the shadow across her face from the baseball cap. In the end I just went with it and did the best I could.
For the detail shot, I really had not idea what to try. This really leads me to believe I should try something different entirely for my subject. I tried getting pieces of her hat but that just looked strange. So I thought since she dances for 4 hours straight in the mud I would focus on her feet for a bit. I am not really sure if that adds an interesting detail or just looks like dirty shoes. I think the latter. As for the close up of her face, it really just shows her face with the crown. I like the photo but am not sure it fits the bill.
I think my environmental shot is ok and I like my medium shot. But my options for a detail shot are limited and I could use some other opinions to help figure out which to pick.
Thanks for your help!
Overall these shots aren't too shabby. One thing I'd like to see in the pictures though is some sense of movement. It seems like these guys usually jump around and move a lot but these pictures make her look like she just stands still. I have an idea. I don't know if you have a neutral density filter but I have a 77mm and 82mm .9 nd filter if you wanted to borrow one. With the filter you could slow your shutter down quite a bit to blur motion some while still retaining a shallow dof for the tighter shots. I also think the building in the background of the medium shot is somewhat distracting. How about a shot from way down low with only blue sky surrounding her costume? That could look cool. I do like your subject you chose though. It's interesting for sure.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing: I don't know what hours this person is out doing this but if there's any way to get some cool light that could really help the photos. That's what I did for my portrait shoot. I purposely planned the photoshoot for the last hour and a half before dark so that the light would be badass. Maybe if you meet back up to do this again you can plan for morning or late afternoon if she's working at that time. Just a thought. It seems these were all shot under high-contrast sunlight.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I had with capturing motion is that it was really cold and I started to shiver so I had to use a fast enough shutter speed to overcome that which made capturing motion almost impossible. It tried but none of the photos came out.
ReplyDeleteAndreas,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job given how cold it was. Not being a photojournalist with substantial experience as some of our classmates, my feedback comes from the perspective of a news consumer. The overall shot has a nice composition. I like the diagonal you created with your subject, her standing sign and the light post. Being a bit picky, part of me wishes you had gotten a little closer to her.
On the medium shot: I really like it, but I feel the caption is minimizing its impact. Either eliminate the Avid hip hop fan, or retake the picture to show why she is an avid hip hop fan. The moment you froze shows her with her shoulders really raised--maybe a function of her being cold or the sign getting heavy-- and her neck tilted way forward as if she is nervous. Although I sound hyper-critical of this picture , I have to tell you this is my favorite shot of all the pics you posted.
I can see how challenging it is to think of a detail shot and be creative with it. Knowing your photographic ability, I would have preferred you had captured a shot of just her eyes and the pointy hat, or something along those lines.
The one thing I notice here is all three images have the same feel and atmosphere. There's not a lot of variety in the setting. You don't want the medium and overall to have the same scene or setting. When I look at these I see a girl in a costume with a sign in both.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the pitfalls we discussed when you thought about the Subway guy.
It's tough, but if you can't get anything different from your medium and overall, maybe it's time to choose something else.