first time people images

[Michaelaw]

Well, I took the plunge and took some shots of people at a parade. Usually I shoot objects and nature so it was fun for me. These are some of the pics I liked.

[tegan]

As I am sure you have noticed, this type of journalistic style photography is quite a challenge. Position and angle are extremely important, particularly in order to mimize the distraction of stuff in the background. Fill flash and/or postprocessing are also most often necessary to selectively improve lighting and exposure around eyes and under hats. Some cropping and minor photoshopping is also helpful to visually separate the subject a little from the background to give the photo more impact. I would for example clone out the blurred print on the ballon of the little girl which does not contribute to the photo and distracts because it is in the foreground. When shooting people the eyes are most important and need to be well-exposed and sharp.
The eyes are handled best in the first shot which gives it more impact than some of the others.

As Marko pointed out, as a beginner in candids, these are quite good. You have a natural talent. Just a little work on the details.

Tegan

[Michaelaw]

Thanks Tegan...All good points for a beginner such as myself. I hadn't thought of cloning out the text on the balloon but I will be at it in a moment.

[Marko]

I agree with what tegan said but I also wanted to say that these candids are still quite good so keep on shooting!

Thanks!

Marko