Got together with my neighbor this past weekend to do some outdoor location shooting. He's the same guy that I posted before of some studio shots. I was attempting to achieve a rather "urban" look with our shoot. I scouted out some locations in advance and we tried each one. It was late afternoon and the sun was mostly behind the clouds so the lighting is very soft. I was so pleased with the results that I decided to make a little thank you gift for him. I took a few of the shots and made a collage, had it printed to 8x10, bought a matte and frame and wrapped it up and gave it to him. He was very pleased with the collage and immediately began searching for a wall to hang it on. Wanted to share the results with you all. Comments and feedback appreciated.
Forgot to mention that these were handheld with Gale's 70-200 VR. Looks like I may be seeing something new in my future.
Kevin, great job! The collage elements work well together. I like the way you added the drop shadows. No wonder your neighbor was pleased with the result. Virginia aka beaucamera
Pretty dang cool; built like a brick @#$&house. As you may have noticed from some of my posts, I too like playing in PS.
Good work Kevin. Your collage images are all very well done. The one thing that does bother me a little is the way the background behind the small images fights for attention with them. I would like to see what it would look like if you cut off the big image just past the right shoulder and left the rest of the frame black. You could then superimpose the smaller images just as you have here, even to cutting into the big image. Just a thought.
Thanks everyone for the kind words! I'm planning on using this in my portfolio and website as an alternative choice of image. In the time I've gotten to work with him I think we've both progressed. This was my first time ever doing location shooting. He's never modeled before but he's gotten very familiar with posing. I tell him what I want, he does it and I only have to fine tune. Thanks for looking!
Hi Gordon and thanks for your feedback. I agree to a large degree with what you're saying. My original plan was to add a white border to the smaller images to create a separation border when placed on the collage. I had already started adding the images when I realized that was my plan. Due to time constraints, I didn't want to go back and redo the image, resave, reimport, etc, etc so I just added the drop shadow. As to adding a black area to the left of the image, I'm don't think I want to do that. IMO I think it would separate the image from the smaller ones and defeat the collage intent. I may try it as a separate project alltogether with a different look but for this particular task I wanted the smaller ones to float. I'd probably like to go back in and shift the background photo to the right and clone in some brick on the left so the smaller images aren't on his body. But for now I think I'll look at alternate ways to add seperation. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Very well done, Kevin. IMHO, the exposure is right on for all the shots. I like the upper right corner's portrait most with the door's sides framing the person. Tough guy's look, heh. :!: . VR expands quite a bit the useability of the lenses in that range of focal lengths.
Thank you Dao! You can probably take some credit for these as comments you made when we met that day have stuck with me and I try to apply them as I shoot. For me, these shots are special as in a way it was seeing a vision come to fruition. Something I don't commonly experience.
Well done, Kevin. I can see why the fellow would be pleased! I concur with Gordon's comment about the backgrounds fighting each other a little bit, but no matter, I would be proud to have dome something like this. Kudos!
Appreciate the kind words, Philippe! Hopefully, if I can time this weekend, I'll rework the smaller photos and add some separation. Thanks for taking the time to look and comment!
Really beautiful work, Kevin. The concept and layout work wonderfully, and of course the exposures themselves are right on. I agree with Gordon and Philippe about the background issue, but it's really a very small point. Will be interested to see what you come up with if you decide to rework it. The collage definitely belongs in your portfolio. Best wishes, David
