Candid Portraits,  People/Portraits

Focused

February 21, 2013
Devin

I noticed my grandson, Devin, watching a video on his laptop last night and knew the light would be good for a black and white image. There are two light sources: the kitchen light just above his head and lighting up his hair and the light from the monitor illuminating his face.

Retired. Having fun with photography. Journal daily. Meditate daily. Learning haiku/poetry. Have a love for fountain pens.

8 Comments

  • Paul

    February 21, 2013 at 5:38 am

    Perfect, Monte. Sometimes we can just “see the light” and know what it will look like, exactly, ahead of time. Did you show the picture to Devin?

    • Monte Stevens

      February 21, 2013 at 8:00 am

      I was sitting across the room and said, “yes.’ I put on my 50mm f1.4 because of the low light then sat on the floor near him. He gave me that glance, smiled then went back tot he video. The kitchen light and the laptop have different color temperature so I pretty much planned on this being a black and white image. I may go back and play with the color version just for a learning experience. Devin liked when I showed him the final image. I even showed him both the color and the black and white. He liked the black and white better.

  • Don Cooper

    February 22, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    I never thought about the light but over the last couple of years, reading blogs, it is a very big topic. Your image shows why this is so crucial in capturing a great image.

    • Monte Stevens

      February 23, 2013 at 7:09 pm

      I think most of us start out with our focus on the subject rather than the light. I know I did. Over time and practicing that has changed. I’m still drawn to those subjects but without the light go accompany the subject we lose out the power of how an image can impact the viewer. Thanks, Don.