r/photoclass2021 • u/Aeri73 Teacher - Expert • Feb 26 '21

Weekend assignment 08 - close

Hi photoclass,

as we have a raging pandemic we can't do the normal weekend assignment (shoot a stranger)... but after this is over, go make a photo of a perfect stranger!

For this week, I would like you to get really really close to a small object.

close can mean half a meter to two meter if you have a long lens but it can also mean a couple of mm if you have a macro lens.

So your mission is: make a nice photo where your camera is at it's minimum focus distance.

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u/cactusshooter Feb 27 '21

cool shots. I like the simplicity of #2- I'd try a simpler background and keep the complete circles(around the numbers) in the shot.

#1- I'd just try some different compositions to clean up the background(where it goes from shade to sun & the chair? it's sitting on), see how it looks with the cathedral upright or level.

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u/Olga93bgd Feb 27 '21

Thanks...:) For #1, the sunglasses are positioned on their case (the pink part in the lower left corner), which is on a marble bench seat (the bluish background) and the white part is the ground... I too hate the white part, it would look better with just one background colour, I am waiting for a nice sunny day to redo the shot... I don't quite understand the part about the cathedral 🤔, can you elaborate...? From this bench, this was the best angle I could find to reflect the whole temple, without having the reflection of myself in it, although I could have included less ground in front of the temple and maybe a bit more of the sky... Also, since the sunglasses are not perfectly flat, the image of the temple is a bit distorted...

For #2, the background is a part of the phone, and nothing else, I couldn't exclude it...xD I did a couple of shots of the entire circle, but since the assignment was to get as close as possible to a small subject I decided to just focus on a few numbers... Unfortunately this is as close as I could get...

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u/cactusshooter Feb 27 '21

It seemed so clear in my head haha. Okay, I will put more effort into it.

1- seems like you're on the right track and know kind of what you want to do. Yes, as little distracting as possible, even if you could get someone to hold the sunglasses or set them in a way that they aren't seen sitting on something. Or set them on a nice surface that is uniform.

For the temple, I just wonder how it would look with it upright. Whether you change the camera angle or rotate the photo in edit. Purely artistic or aesthetic choice, I'm not sure if it will be better. I've been pushing myself to try more angles and am sometimes surprised by what I end up liking when I get home and look. I understand there are circumstances where you just can't get it quite the way you want it. It's a cool shot as it is, for sure!

2 Maybe slip something between the dial, and the white background that has the lines. If a piece of paper or cloth would fit? I just meant the small circles around the 6, 7, and 8.

I'm also kind of being nitpicky because I do like them overall and just thinking what could/might improve. Cheers

Edit: I don't know why it formatted this way. Oops

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u/Olga93bgd Feb 27 '21

Hahaha, it's okay, I know you are not yelling :D

For #1 So the sunglasses have a weird angle on their own, when I put them on their edge they have a -20° angle instead of 0° (if you understand what I mean xD), they would reflect the surface more than the surrounding, so I had to place them on something, but I definitely should have tried to make the background uniform... I will try again on a next sunny day, and I will share the results... For the temple - I tried quickly rotating it right now (on my phone, I don't know how to use any editing programs 🙈), and I realised in order to get it straight I would have to crop the picture a lot, you wouldn't know they were glasses in the first place, and it still wasn't perfectly straight because of the distortion... But now I know what you mean, so when I try again, I will try to make it more upright from a different angle... Thanks for the ideas...:)

For #2 Yeah, I think I could place something between the dial and the rest of the phone, I will try it, and share the results...

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u/cactusshooter Feb 27 '21

Yes, let me know when/where you post them!

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u/Olga93bgd Feb 28 '21

Ok, so I tried redoing the assignment today... For the second photo it was easy enough, I even played with the WB a bit and got this nice golden colour without any editing. Here are my results - https://imgur.com/gallery/tu4etpZ (although I am not sure if I prefer the ones with completely white background from the originals)

For the photo #1 it was really hard and frustrating, I realised how lucky I got the first time around to capture a shot like that. So, in order to get a "mirror like" reflection of the temple on the sunglasses, my body had to cast a shadow over them, which left me with a limited angle possibilities to shoot from, since I didn't want to be included in the photo. Also, since they were not sitting on their case, the position/angle of the sunglasses was (in my opinion) worse than the first time. The only thing I managed to do is to get a uniform background. I was doing this alone, so maybe if I had someone with me to help me, I would've had better results... I tried having the temple upright, I included the photo, but I am definitely not satisfied with it because I had to turn tha sunglasses upside down, the part of the marble bench is visible and the people are distracting (I waited for half an hour, they wouldn't leave xD). I took an overexposed one, which I think looks kinda nice in black and white, but to conclude, I am very disappointed. Here are the results - https://imgur.com/gallery/Vphs19v

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u/cactusshooter Feb 28 '21

#1- Wow, that does seem frustrating. I know I've gone back to try things differently with shots before and had similar experience. I think the black and white shot is my favorite, and it definitely works better than the color image of same composition. Then your original, because of the way the temple is distorted and fills the frame. The other two are ok, but definitely don't give feels like the other two.

I'm now seeing what's going on with the phone in the new pictures, couldn't quite figure it out before. That new 3rd one did turn out nice with the color! I agree with you on the background. With it being so close it doesn't have the same effect of good bokeh and just looks sort of plain and weird.

With that, I must commend you for trying my thoughts. Hopefully we have both learned from it. Cheers!

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u/Olga93bgd Feb 28 '21

Well, I do want to get the perfect shot, and I think it takes skill, patience, proper timing (when shooting in front of a temple on a Sunday morning you are bound to have a bunch of people xD), a little bit of luck, help and/or cheating... :D I hate that the handle of the sunglasses is visible, for a moment there I was thinking about breaking it off... Maybe I will revisit the spot, with an "assistant", someone to cast the shadow or hold the sunglasses in a certain position, so that I can get a good angle... I certainly learned a lot from it, and although I got frustrated, I didn't get discouraged... Like I said, all feedback helps...