Grad photo op
Monday, September 5, 2011
I had at first set up the camera even lower than this, but I can't remember why it didn't work out in the end. The afternoon sun was shining in our faces, and I had to quickly compose the shot while the rest waited in the air conditioned comfort of the living room. The sky is especially darker at the top due to my use of the graduated filter.
Having felt that since everyone was dressed up nicely for the occasion, my parents felt we should try for more backdrop variations to take advantage of the moment. However, the sun was still casting harsh shadows, so there wasn't a lot to play around with. The first shot's a better backdrop imho, but this one works too.
This one was quite a funny set-up, with me squatting like a chinaman in my shirt and long pants to take the shot. My family had a few laughs, but I guess it was worth the effort pulling off a bottom-up format, which I read helps to boost the perceived importance of the people in the photo. At first I didn't give them clear instructions on where to look, and while waiting for me to compose the shot, there were quite a few funny moments courtesy of my brother. In retrospect, I realised the whole lightheartedness was great, because the smiles on their faces were genuine and came off really nicely. The flag in the background makes for quite a nice complement, too.
For some time now, I've been dying to go off to some other country so I can play around with my DSLR once more. Pretty much any country would do, heh.
posted by joseph at 9:53 AM
Monday, September 5, 2011
My brother asked to take some graduation photos with the family the other day, taking the opportunity to do so when the family was around to celebrate my dad's birthday. We got all dressed up for the occasion, so here are the photos we took. There was 1gb worth of photos in all, and I was debating with myself whether or not to keep all of them. In the end, I decided all the candid shots, especially those ones where all sorts of screwed up faces were made, would be more memorable than just the final shots. It's like how now and then, when I browse through old photos of us in Lagoon View, there's that nostalgic, happy feeling floating around.
I had at first set up the camera even lower than this, but I can't remember why it didn't work out in the end. The afternoon sun was shining in our faces, and I had to quickly compose the shot while the rest waited in the air conditioned comfort of the living room. The sky is especially darker at the top due to my use of the graduated filter.
Having felt that since everyone was dressed up nicely for the occasion, my parents felt we should try for more backdrop variations to take advantage of the moment. However, the sun was still casting harsh shadows, so there wasn't a lot to play around with. The first shot's a better backdrop imho, but this one works too.
This one was quite a funny set-up, with me squatting like a chinaman in my shirt and long pants to take the shot. My family had a few laughs, but I guess it was worth the effort pulling off a bottom-up format, which I read helps to boost the perceived importance of the people in the photo. At first I didn't give them clear instructions on where to look, and while waiting for me to compose the shot, there were quite a few funny moments courtesy of my brother. In retrospect, I realised the whole lightheartedness was great, because the smiles on their faces were genuine and came off really nicely. The flag in the background makes for quite a nice complement, too.
For some time now, I've been dying to go off to some other country so I can play around with my DSLR once more. Pretty much any country would do, heh.
Labels: family, photography, thoughts
posted by joseph at 9:53 AM