Two images

On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

On 07/01/2021 18:22, Savageduck wrote:
On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

The first image is by someone who knows what they are doing by taking an
idea and using a half decent camera and light i.e. Helmut Newton.

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/wp...-HR-scaled.jpg

The second picture is by someone with half a lazy clue who was in a
hurry (cropped and levelled shot using a camera swinging at the end of a
tripod) and didn't take much bother at all i.e. me. As not very good as
it is and certainly bad in comparison I found it to be a useful
exercise. If you take something good you may not always learn. By
comparing the good with the bad photo I can better understand the
differences at an emotional level. The lessons just sink in deeper and
motivate to do better next time.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4ee1apg9t...18-25-42-3.jpg

What sort of feed back are you trying to get, or are you just trying to relate what you were thinking with this particular exercise?
You understand that by posting here that you are inviting comment?

You seem to be making excuses for your image with your comparison to the 1983 shot. I guess you already know that your photo is out of focus which technically results in a not particularly pleasing image.

You might like the Helmut Newton style, and wish to emulate his work, but sometimes it is best to develop your personal photographic style, fine tune your technical skills along with seriously considering an equipment upgrade.

Maybe the post is what it is and you're bringing too much baggage into
to the room?

I don’y believe that I am the one bringing too much baggage into this room.

There's also more going on in the Newton picture than the
rule of thirds and simply gear. Can you spot it? When did I say I wanted
feedback? It's a starter for discussion.

You have got that discussion started. Remember that UseGroups are pretty much an open free for all forum, and you have little control over the direction of that discussion. It is tough to stuff any of your images back in the box once they are revealed. Merely by posting your images you are inviting feedback, and/or discussion.


The best response to a work of art is to produce other work of art.

My best response to a work of art is to enjoy it, and appreciate what has gone into producing it.

If
you're so good and your equipment so l33t why don't you produce a
similar picture/. All you need is a pair of shoes, fishnet tights or
stockings, and a floor. That's £10-20 max off Ebay. Newton took other
similar pictures. Again, all you need is a pair of shoes and tights or
stockings, and a doorway or flight of steps. I'd expect any moneybags
bigmouth gearhead to rattle something off if it was so easy.

I do not claim to be “so good�. I do claim to have over 60 years of experience in photography, but I am still learning, and I am prepared to share some of what I have learned.
As far as emulating Newton's, or your image my wardrobe does not include fishnet stockings, and stilettos. Besides my calves are not up for that sort of modeling.


Newton used something like an Olympus OM 10 and Pentax ME super, and a
roll of T-max or Tri-Ex. His favourite lenses were 400mmm or 500mm (his
favourite was 40mm but he mostly used 50mm in practice) and he owned no
more than 3-5 lenses at most. He mostly used midday or nighttime light,
or found light, and rarely anything as high as 500w. Yet, he produced
some very good pictures. which are, to my eyes, more interesting than
pixel peeping crap produced in studios or on location to a bestselling
£19.99 book formula with zillion megapixel 3500 ISO cameras and a wagon
load of junk.

I don’t particularly care what equipment Newton used, but I recognize the limitations you have given yourself with the equipment you have chosen.

--
Regards,
Savageduck

On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

On 07/01/2021 18:41, Savageduck wrote:

Some of us post images regularly, and some post when the whim urges us to post. I for one make a reasonable contribution of images to this, and some other groups, many times I get no response, sometimes I get a comment or two.

Less lecturing and projecting. Where's your shoe picture? It's a simple
challenge and probably one of the easiest challenges I can think of.

OK! That’s fair enough. So since I did not have a pair mens size 13 stilettos available you are getting what I am wearing now.
I reached over and picked up my Fujifilm X-E3 which happened to have the Fuji XF 16mm f/1.4 lens mounted, and shot my fashionably Sketchers shod foot. Just ambient light, no flash or pro lighting.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p8crjwms8fdy2eh/DSCF0945.jpg


There's more going on in the Newton picture than bog standard rule of
thirds and exposure.

Again, I don’t particularly care what he did, or was thinking, or what equipment he was using.

--
Regards,
Savageduck

On Jan 7, 2021, Savageduck wrote
(in iganews.com):


I do not claim to be “so good�. I do claim to have over 60 years of
experience in photography, but I am still learning, and I am prepared to
share some of what I have learned.
As far as emulating Newton's, or your image my wardrobe does not include
fishnet stockings, and stilettos. Besides my calves are not up for that sort
of modeling.

WTF? After 60 years of this, you *still* don’t have fishnet stockings and
stilettos?

On Jan 7, 2021, Incubus wrote
(in article ):

On 2021-01-07, wrote:
On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

The first image is by someone who knows what they are doing by taking an
idea and using a half decent camera and light i.e. Helmut Newton.

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/wp...HN-Walter-Stei
ger-shoe-Monte-Carlo-1983-HR-scaled.jpg

The second picture is by someone with half a lazy clue who was in a
hurry (cropped and levelled shot using a camera swinging at the end of a
tripod) and didn't take much bother at all i.e. me. As not very good as
it is and certainly bad in comparison I found it to be a useful
exercise. If you take something good you may not always learn. By
comparing the good with the bad photo I can better understand the
differences at an emotional level. The lessons just sink in deeper and
motivate to do better next time.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4ee1apg9t...18-25-42-3.jpg

What sort of feed back are you trying to get, or are you just trying to
relate what you were thinking with this particular exercise?
You understand that by posting here that you are inviting comment?

It's a troll.

I’m starting to wonder. Either that, or this is one troubled soul.

On Jan 7, 2021, Bill W wrote
(in ternal-september.org):

On Jan 7, 2021, Incubus wrote
(in article ):

On 2021-01-07, wrote:
On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

The first image is by someone who knows what they are doing by taking an
idea and using a half decent camera and light i.e. Helmut Newton.

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/wp...HN-Walter-Stei
ger-shoe-Monte-Carlo-1983-HR-scaled.jpg

The second picture is by someone with half a lazy clue who was in a
hurry (cropped and levelled shot using a camera swinging at the end of a
tripod) and didn't take much bother at all i.e. me. As not very good as
it is and certainly bad in comparison I found it to be a useful
exercise. If you take something good you may not always learn. By
comparing the good with the bad photo I can better understand the
differences at an emotional level. The lessons just sink in deeper and
motivate to do better next time.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4ee1apg9t...18-25-42-3.jpg

What sort of feed back are you trying to get, or are you just trying to
relate what you were thinking with this particular exercise?
You understand that by posting here that you are inviting comment?

It's a troll.

I’m starting to wonder. Either that, or this is one troubled soul.

There is something not quite right with this thread and the others she started.

--
Regards,
Savageduck

On 07/01/2021 19:45, Savageduck wrote:
On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

On 07/01/2021 18:41, Savageduck wrote:

Some of us post images regularly, and some post when the whim urges us to post. I for one make a reasonable contribution of images to this, and some other groups, many times I get no response, sometimes I get a comment or two.

Less lecturing and projecting. Where's your shoe picture? It's a simple
challenge and probably one of the easiest challenges I can think of.

OK! That’s fair enough. So since I did not have a pair mens size 13 stilettos available you are getting what I am wearing now.
I reached over and picked up my Fujifilm X-E3 which happened to have the Fuji XF 16mm f/1.4 lens mounted, and shot my fashionably Sketchers shod foot. Just ambient light, no flash or pro lighting.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p8crjwms8fdy2eh/DSCF0945.jpg


There's more going on in the Newton picture than bog standard rule of
thirds and exposure.

Again, I don’t particularly care what he did, or was thinking, or what equipment he was using.

Fair comment. I'm more into women's stuff than men's stuff (yuck). You
picture isn't on spec as per challenge but it's an equivalent.
Technically good for sure. I won't quibble that but it's a different
thing. The organising and process of taking the pictures and basic
concepts and including composition methods are different so a bit of a
cheat. I'm not going to nitpick the filter you used or background as it
was stated to be a lazy shot.

On stiletto's I had a brief craving for a pair of Louboutin's which pop
up in some pictures but they're a bit too showy for me plus there are
better shoes around depending on how you measure better. FYI: I usually
wear calf length boots or ballet pumps, or around the house a pair of
beater pumps or slippers when nobody is looking.

I don't care that you don't care about the composition.


--
Melanie van Buren

On Jan 7, 2021, Savageduck wrote
(in iganews.com):

On Jan 7, 2021, Bill W wrote
(in ternal-september.org):

On Jan 7, 2021, Incubus wrote
(in article ):

On 2021-01-07, wrote:
On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

The first image is by someone who knows what they are doing by taking an
idea and using a half decent camera and light i.e. Helmut Newton.

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/wp...5/HN-Walter-St
ei
ger-shoe-Monte-Carlo-1983-HR-scaled.jpg

The second picture is by someone with half a lazy clue who was in a
hurry (cropped and levelled shot using a camera swinging at the end of a
tripod) and didn't take much bother at all i.e. me. As not very good as
it is and certainly bad in comparison I found it to be a useful
exercise. If you take something good you may not always learn. By
comparing the good with the bad photo I can better understand the
differences at an emotional level. The lessons just sink in deeper and
motivate to do better next time.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4ee1apg9t...18-25-42-3.jpg

What sort of feed back are you trying to get, or are you just trying to
relate what you were thinking with this particular exercise?
You understand that by posting here that you are inviting comment?

It's a troll.

I’m starting to wonder. Either that, or this is one troubled soul.

There is something not quite right with this thread and the others she
started.

A lot of anger...

On Jan 7, 2021, Savageduck wrote
(in iganews.com):

On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

On 07/01/2021 18:41, Savageduck wrote:

Some of us post images regularly, and some post when the whim urges us to
post. I for one make a reasonable contribution of images to this, and some
other groups, many times I get no response, sometimes I get a comment or
two.

Less lecturing and projecting. Where's your shoe picture? It's a simple
challenge and probably one of the easiest challenges I can think of.

OK! That’s fair enough. So since I did not have a pair mens size 13
stilettos available you are getting what I am wearing now.
I reached over and picked up my Fujifilm X-E3 which happened to have the Fuji
XF 16mm f/1.4 lens mounted, and shot my fashionably Sketchers shod foot. Just
ambient light, no flash or pro lighting.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p8crjwms8fdy2eh/DSCF0945.jpg

Absolutely breathtaking. But no drone *foot*age?... Heh heh heh...

On 2021-01-07 12:11, Melanie van Buren wrote:
The first image is by someone who knows what they are doing by taking an
idea and using a half decent camera and light i.e. Helmut Newton.

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/wp...-HR-scaled.jpg


The second picture is by someone with half a lazy clue who was in a
hurry (cropped and levelled shot using a camera swinging at the end of a
tripod) and didn't take much bother at all i.e. me. As not very good as
it is and certainly bad in comparison I found it to be a useful
exercise. If you take something good you may not always learn. By
comparing the good with the bad photo I can better understand the
differences at an emotional level. The lessons just sink in deeper and
motivate to do better next time.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s4ee1apg9t...18-25-42-3.jpg



Composition is okay. I find it too soft to be compelling.

Try a curved paper board to eliminate the line (floor/wall).
Something like:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nik4385qut...urvPaperEx.jpg

(In the HM case probably outdoor in raw sunlight with a lot of room to
the front of the model)

You can shoot near a large window to get generous soft light (w/o direct
sunlight) that will still render a nice contrasty shadow.

Shoot a lot. Try things. But do try to make technically good shots as
well as nice compositions. Try for more contrast too.

The emotional thing he the HM shot has a certain defiance to it.

--
"...there are many humorous things in this world; among them the white
man's notion that he is less savage than the other savages."
-Samuel Clemens

On 2021-01-07 14:45, Savageduck wrote:
On Jan 7, 2021, Melanie van Buren wrote
(in article ):

On 07/01/2021 18:41, Savageduck wrote:

Some of us post images regularly, and some post when the whim urges us to post. I for one make a reasonable contribution of images to this, and some other groups, many times I get no response, sometimes I get a comment or two.

Less lecturing and projecting. Where's your shoe picture? It's a simple
challenge and probably one of the easiest challenges I can think of.

OK! That’s fair enough. So since I did not have a pair mens size 13 stilettos available you are getting what I am wearing now.
I reached over and picked up my Fujifilm X-E3 which happened to have the Fuji XF 16mm f/1.4 lens mounted, and shot my fashionably Sketchers shod foot. Just ambient light, no flash or pro lighting.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p8crjwms8fdy2eh/DSCF0945.jpg


There's more going on in the Newton picture than bog standard rule of
thirds and exposure.

Again, I don’t particularly care what he did, or was thinking, or what equipment he was using.


I'd pay to see you in stockings duck!

--
"...there are many humorous things in this world; among them the white
man's notion that he is less savage than the other savages."
-Samuel Clemens