Saturday, March 10, 2012

What Makes a Great Yearbook Photo?

I'm sure there are many great answers to that question, but as a former yearbook advisor, I know that you can never seem to get enough pictures for the yearbook that are "full" of a variety of kids. Students may be out of focus and in the background, but they are recognizable to their friends and others, so it's important to look for "candids" that include crowds or at the least groups of students in them. Focus on a few and look for emotions of all kinds, that's what brings life into your school annual and represents the student body in a positive way.

 OK, so these were taken in the gym under a tough lighting situation, with the speed set at 1600, the shutter at 1/100, and the f-stop was set at f4.5. The top one was obviously "tweaked", and it never hurts to add a little "sharpness" to a yearbook photo as they are done for the yearbook in offset.

Do these qualify as yearbook photos? What (if anything - maybe I blew it with my adjustments) is different about the two pics? What else might you have done? What do you like best about these photos? What would you change or "fix" if you could?

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5 comments:

  1. One difference between the two photos is the lighting. In the one that was edited, Malia and Zoe's faces are highlighted better and are more defined. It is a softer light as well. The colors are clearer and the people in the background are easier to identify. The unedited picture has a harsher light that isn't very complimentary to their skin tones or the natural light of the prople in the room. The colors are duller and washed out as well. One way that you could go about fixing that would, of course, be to edit it like you did the first one. I would say that yes, these would qualify because they are students in school, there are other students in the background, and it was taken in an identifiable school area. I like the fact that the camera is focused on Zoe and Malia, but the people in the background draw attention as well. If I could fix one thing, it would be the exposure level on the second picture because it washes out the colors and makes the photograph less visibly appealing.

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  2. I like the first photo best because the light it better and the faces are not washed out. I think that both these photos would be good for the yearbook because they are both photos from a school event. I like how the first picture has been fixed and I think it would be good to do it to the second one as well.

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  3. I really like the focus on these pictures. While the background could be distracting to the image, it isn't because the focus is primarily on the two people and not the background. This makes it a really cool picture because the people pop out a little more.

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  4. In the first one Malia's hand is blocking out the people behind her, whereas in the second one her arm is lowered and you can see more people in the background. I would definitely make similar adjustments to the second photo, however, because it makes it much more attractive and visually pleasing. It's a great photo for the yearbook- fun, casual, and as Kate said, part of a school event. (again we have inception-style here- a photo in the midst of photos).

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  5. I like the first one, because it's more defined and I like the lighting better than the second one. I also like how the focus is, because the background has so much going on but doesn't seem to be distracting.

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