PhotoShop is my graphics preference over other programs, but I still think a "click" is worth a thousand words if it is reality at its best. Though touch-ups are a skill, it becomes a "plastic" approach to Ansel Adams' catch the moment. Real, with technology makes the serious photographer the Master!
You are soooo right, Nighthawk that the gamut of the lens is often not what you would prefer after the moment of the click. The professional is keen on lighting and does not rely on after effects of the frame. Nature offers its moments with natural light. New high end equipment afforded by their bank account seem to think the camera makes them an instant professional. It's only where the camera is pointed, is set correctly and is considered with alternate direction, natural light, bounce reflection on subject timing and multiple frames with people (who talk and change expressions of their faces) to grab the perfect expression, framing and environment.
I know many local and nationally recognized photographers that use their "skills" and deliver stunning portraits and landscapes from their long-term experience. They are a "professional group" who deliver the frame for its admiration of the viewer. The ART of the professional is taking a hit on newly affordable super cameras that the buyer feels makes him/her a professional. Let natural and professional studio light speak for for the masters, but also let those who grab light in a casual sense, relish in the moment of their unprofessional glee.
Long live the professionals in a new market of technology!
Now that I've ranted, please do not take offense!
Great soluntion on growing the field! I think the grown field needs (PhotoShop) a slight blueing and blur tool to create a depth of field because of the long distance from the foreground. Also, the white between the pikked fence would need to be included. Just a thought.
The group photo is not reliant on the background, but needs a non-abruptive and obtrusive environment to make the subjects comfortable. I assume they are giddy and need to keep their excitement. If you have ambiant light, hold back on flash and keep them out of overhead spot lights that causes shadows on the facial experessions. Keep them also away from the brick wall so with depth of field their gestures are not competing with the contrasting backgrounds. Let them be themselves and of course...don't count down from "3" that they don't stiffin up with the click. I believe in taking several shots of a group when they are least expecting it. The are more themselves when they don't pose. Take three shots after 10 seconds when they let their guard down. A comfortable group (often with a little bit of alcohol) can be relaxed without looking frigid. Just some thoughts. Hope I didn't offend others about group shots.
P.S., don't let your subjects set up what you wish to grab. Ask them to first take a couple deep breaths and not "hold" thier breaths. And certainly ask them not the speak during the photo!
You can't solve rudeness of a professional, as there are many with "new high-end cameras" that assume it makes them the professional. Keep your sanity and like a wild animal, allow them to pass without exciting them. Oooops, did I call the "rude professional (or self-named semi-professional)" a "wild animal" with a narcissist sense of pride in their equipment?
A real professional knows his/her placement in the environment and takes shots accordingly. Most bystanders see a lens and walk around it so as not to diminish the frame.
Continue your quest of professionalism, even if others have not learned the etiquette!
Action shots are buzzing at a rate that you need a fast speed and repeating shutter. It takes action under conditional overhead light. Your attached flash is limited to distance from your stand. Pick the best of the repeated shutter (Some have three click with on push. Again, you need a high megapixel grab of the action.
"Save As" removes background information that might be interferring with your save.
Rather than "Save" use "Save As" with a slight change in the file name.
Nature is a perfect creation with rules for engagement by its participants. Nature is dynamic but sometimes dangerous....say gravity, for instance. We conquer what we do not understand by gaining knowledge through experience. If leaves were red and flowers were green, what would a rainbow look like?
There is no "if" when the creation is perfect, including the observer.
Since color blindness is a reality in observation, sight is real to the observer. Nature does not have it backwards, but the human mind often appears backward in its expectations!
You must know the server restrictions of the person to whom you are sending the attachment. The recipient may have a "full" mailbox account which restricts further KB's or Meg's into that portal.
The attachment when reduced will not be of the same resolution or clarity as the original jpeg file, and cannot be brought back to the original size by the recipient.
The best way to reduce the file is through a photo edit program such as Adobe PhotoShop which allows size reduction (always name it different when saving with an "sm" for "small" so as not to save over your original higher-resolution file.
If you are sending a "draft" you would most probably send a lower resolution so that any editing of the original file is in your possesion! Since multiple friends have PhotoShop, It might take it out of your control. You can put a "DRAFT" transparency over your photo so the recipient cannot use it as thier free copy!
Bon Crayon Commercial Arts
Photography is art and archive. It's about one person's perspective of his/her surroundings, curiosities and interests.