Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM

[Eldar]

I came across this article about a Russian woman, who got her first camera in 2012 (!). It is a 5DII and a 135 f2L. Considering her limited experience, I think the images in the article is quite astonishing. And it shows why so many are so fond of this lens.

http://www.boredpanda.com/animal-children-photography-elena-shumilova/

I would not dare to say that this is heavily photoshopped. I have no base for making such a claim. However, the quality of these photos makes me wonder These are some of the best pictures I have seen for a long time. I wish that I will someday be able to do such work.

Thank you for sharing and bringing this to my attention. A great inspiration!

I am sure they have been through their fair share of post processing, but I think it is nicely done and, as you say, I would´t mind being able to produce something similar

 

[Rienzphotoz]

I came across this article about a Russian woman, who got her first camera in 2012 (!). It is a 5DII and a 135 f2L. Considering her limited experience, I think the images in the article is quite astonishing. And it shows why so many are so fond of this lens.

http://www.boredpanda.com/animal-children-photography-elena-shumilova/

I would not dare to say that this is heavily photoshopped. I have no base for making such a claim. However, the quality of these photos makes me wonder These are some of the best pictures I have seen for a long time. I wish that I will someday be able to do such work.

Thank you for sharing and bringing this to my attention. A great inspiration!

I am sure they have been through their fair share of post processing, but I think it is nicely done and, as you say, I would´t mind being able to produce something similar

+1

 

[Eldar]

A follow up to my post from yesterday. According to the info I have, this woman got her first camera in 2012 and she´s shooting with a 135 2L lens. I got my first SLR 39 years ago and I would have been tremendously proud of a portfolio like this. Enjoy!

http://500px.com/ElenaShumilova

 

[Quasimodo]

A follow up to my post from yesterday. According to the info I have, this woman got her first camera in 2012 and she´s shooting with a 135 2L lens. I got my first SLR 39 years ago and I would have been tremendously proud of a portfolio like this. Enjoy!

http://500px.com/ElenaShumilova

We all have to aspire to something

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I've been following her work on 500px for some time. She has an incredible gift!

 

[leftnose]

A follow up to my post from yesterday. According to the info I have, this woman got her first camera in 2012 and she´s shooting with a 135 2L lens. I got my first SLR 39 years ago and I would have been tremendously proud of a portfolio like this. Enjoy!

http://500px.com/ElenaShumilova

No question that those are gorgeous images but there's a lot of post processing involved there.

In this one: http://500px.com/photo/57384990 for example, look at the area that's in focus on the ground between the dog and the child. Then look at the ground near the child's heels. It's on the same plane and should be in focus but is blurred.

Again, there's a lot of skill evident on those photos but it's not all "in-camera" skill.

 

[Zv]

A follow up to my post from yesterday. According to the info I have, this woman got her first camera in 2012 and she´s shooting with a 135 2L lens. I got my first SLR 39 years ago and I would have been tremendously proud of a portfolio like this. Enjoy!

http://500px.com/ElenaShumilova

No question that those are gorgeous images but there's a lot of post processing involved there.

In this one: http://500px.com/photo/57384990 for example, look at the area that's in focus on the ground between the dog and the child. Then look at the ground near the child's heels. It's on the same plane and should be in focus but is blurred.

Again, there's a lot of skill evident on those photos but it's not all "in-camera" skill.

Could be a composite. Two images blended together. I like the moody atmosphere of these shots more than anything. I wish I had mad processing skillz like she does!

 

[Quasimodo]

A follow up to my post from yesterday. According to the info I have, this woman got her first camera in 2012 and she´s shooting with a 135 2L lens. I got my first SLR 39 years ago and I would have been tremendously proud of a portfolio like this. Enjoy!

http://500px.com/ElenaShumilova

No question that those are gorgeous images but there's a lot of post processing involved there.

In this one: http://500px.com/photo/57384990 for example, look at the area that's in focus on the ground between the dog and the child. Then look at the ground near the child's heels. It's on the same plane and should be in focus but is blurred.

Again, there's a lot of skill evident on those photos but it's not all "in-camera" skill.

Could be a composite. Two images blended together. I like the moody atmosphere of these shots more than anything. I wish I had mad processing skillz like she does!

+1 Me too!

I think her pictures are beautiful regardless of what goes into it. I think that photoshop liberated photographers from their documentary shackles, much like photography freed painting when the medium was introduced. Chagall, van Gogh, and Picasso all came after the photography. Before that paintings tended to be quite naturalistic.

What I would really wish, is that she would post a video of how she works, so I at least could try to imitate some of her process.

 

[Eldar]

A follow up to my post from yesterday. According to the info I have, this woman got her first camera in 2012 and she´s shooting with a 135 2L lens. I got my first SLR 39 years ago and I would have been tremendously proud of a portfolio like this. Enjoy!

http://500px.com/ElenaShumilova

No question that those are gorgeous images but there's a lot of post processing involved there.

In this one: http://500px.com/photo/57384990 for example, look at the area that's in focus on the ground between the dog and the child. Then look at the ground near the child's heels. It's on the same plane and should be in focus but is blurred.

Again, there's a lot of skill evident on those photos but it's not all "in-camera" skill.

Could be a composite. Two images blended together. I like the moody atmosphere of these shots more than anything. I wish I had mad processing skillz like she does!

I am brought up being taught that 95% of the image is done when you push the shutter release (that´s why I´m so slow). I have spent manmonths in the darkroom, trying to tweak my black&whites right, with very few successes. When I look at this woman´s images I see beautiful motives, even though it is mostly her kids, excellent compositions, excellent DOF, beautiful colors, one or two processing flaws, but in general stunning images. And taking her short experience into consideration, I´d say she has a talent beyond most of us.

 

[privatebydesign]

A follow up to my post from yesterday. According to the info I have, this woman got her first camera in 2012 and she´s shooting with a 135 2L lens. I got my first SLR 39 years ago and I would have been tremendously proud of a portfolio like this. Enjoy!

http://500px.com/ElenaShumilova

No question that those are gorgeous images but there's a lot of post processing involved there.

In this one: http://500px.com/photo/57384990 for example, look at the area that's in focus on the ground between the dog and the child. Then look at the ground near the child's heels. It's on the same plane and should be in focus but is blurred.

Again, there's a lot of skill evident on those photos but it's not all "in-camera" skill.

Could be a composite. Two images blended together. I like the moody atmosphere of these shots more than anything. I wish I had mad processing skillz like she does!

I think you will find it is a simple Gaussian blur in a U shape to include the foreground and into the background either side of the subjects, probably done as a brush (good), a layer mask (better), or a grad layer mask (best), it's what adds to their isolation and that "unique look" that the 135 is supposed to have. Funny, with decent post skills any lens can have a "unique look".

Absolutely no need for a composite.

 

[distant.star]

.
Yep, I agree. When I first looked at the images I thought, "There isn't that much fog/mist in the whole world!" Then I saw the obvious processing signs -- which is NOT to say it distracts. Lovely images.

I think you will find it is a simple Gaussian blur in a U shape to include the foreground and into the background either side of the subjects, probably done as a brush (good), a layer mask (better), or a grad layer mask (best), it's what adds to their isolation and that "unique look" that the 135 is supposed to have. Funny, with decent post skills any lens can have a "unique look".

 

[CarlTN]

.
Yep, I agree. When I first looked at the images I thought, "There isn't that much fog/mist in the whole world!" Then I saw the obvious processing signs -- which is NOT to say it distracts. Lovely images.

I think you will find it is a simple Gaussian blur in a U shape to include the foreground and into the background either side of the subjects, probably done as a brush (good), a layer mask (better), or a grad layer mask (best), it's what adds to their isolation and that "unique look" that the 135 is supposed to have. Funny, with decent post skills any lens can have a "unique look".

Well, it seems there is an obvious trait of this image that is not being discussed. The vignetting (likely added in post as "post crop" vignetting...yes the 135 f/2 does vignette wide open, but not nearly this much). But the vignetting serves to spotlight (and almost 'bulls-eye') the subjects, making it that much more of a "portrait".

This technique is really not all that unusual, anyone can do it. Not saying it's not a nice image, certainly it is. But it's really more the lighting on the subject(s) (and the darker light surrounding it) relative to that darker background bokeh, that make this image successful. The bokeh alone (whether natural or 'enhanced'), is not what jumps out as a primary feature of this image. The spotlighted subjects are what jump out, from against the dark. That's how I see it anyway.

I have nothing against doing any of these things to an image in post. But it's important to point out that these are not 'native' features of the lens alone. What the photographer has done here, serves to exaggerate the features and even 'artifacts' of fast prime lenses (to a pleasing result)...and in this image it works fine. But anyone who has edited images for a while can easily see the image does not look like this straight out of the camera (especially if you have the camera set to compensate for vignetting in the first place...Which is usually the best way to do it, because that way the photogorapher/editer/artist can choose how much and where, and whether or not to apply any...vignetting in post).

 

[privatebydesign]

I didn't mention the vignetting because it is so obvious I didn't feel it needed mentioning, like, it is in colour, or it is in landscape format.

Of course it has been added, but as we mostly agree, images like this (non-documentary) are artistic in nature and can be manipulated in any way to produce the result the photographer was envisioning. Whether it is to our personal taste is something quite different. I think in this case the lady has a superb eye and is no slouch on a computer, she has a vision and I am sure the final images are pretty much what that vision was, I wish I was that good half the time!

 

[Sporgon]

I had a very quick play with a recent jpeg to see if I could get a similar effect. I'm not sure she hasn't played with the white balance between subject and background in some of them. That's what I have done with this picture, as well as the manipulations mentioned above. I've attached the original from camera for comparison. In this case the lens has already done a pretty thorough job of isolating the subject.

Great pictures with a real 'signature' feel. Those who worked with film know that there was as much post processing done then as there ever is with digital !

Thanks for the link Eldar.

 

[Dylan777]

A follow up to my post from yesterday. According to the info I have, this woman got her first camera in 2012 and she´s shooting with a 135 2L lens. I got my first SLR 39 years ago and I would have been tremendously proud of a portfolio like this. Enjoy!

http://500px.com/ElenaShumilova

Thanks for sharing Eldar

Indeed - AMAZING. I just booked mark her site for future photos.

 

[Quasimodo]

I had a very quick play with a recent jpeg to see if I could get a similar effect. I'm not sure she hasn't played with the white balance between subject and background in some of them. That's what I have done with this picture, as well as the manipulations mentioned above. I've attached the original from camera for comparison. In this case the lens has already done a pretty thorough job of isolating the subject.

Great pictures with a real 'signature' feel. Those who worked with film know that there was as much post processing done then as there ever is with digital !

Thanks for the link Eldar.

Great shot and example Sporgon. Anytime you have time, would you mind sharing how you do this, step by step for those who are not too profficient in PS or Lightroom (like me )?

 

[CarlTN]

I didn't mention the vignetting because it is so obvious I didn't feel it needed mentioning, like, it is in colour, or it is in landscape format.

Of course it has been added, but as we mostly agree, images like this (non-documentary) are artistic in nature and can be manipulated in any way to produce the result the photographer was envisioning. Whether it is to our personal taste is something quite different. I think in this case the lady has a superb eye and is no slouch on a computer, she has a vision and I am sure the final images are pretty much what that vision was, I wish I was that good half the time!

I wasn't criticizing you, and I think you're missing my point a bit, but that's ok.

 

[CarlTN]

I had a very quick play with a recent jpeg to see if I could get a similar effect. I'm not sure she hasn't played with the white balance between subject and background in some of them. That's what I have done with this picture, as well as the manipulations mentioned above. I've attached the original from camera for comparison. In this case the lens has already done a pretty thorough job of isolating the subject.

Great pictures with a real 'signature' feel. Those who worked with film know that there was as much post processing done then as there ever is with digital !

Thanks for the link Eldar.

Nice image but in my opinion it's not all that successful because the girl's face is hidden rather needlessly. I know you probably think that's the point of the image, but it kind of falls flat because of that. No doubt most of you will disagree with me, but there it is.

 

[privatebydesign]

I didn't mention the vignetting because it is so obvious I didn't feel it needed mentioning, like, it is in colour, or it is in landscape format.

Of course it has been added, but as we mostly agree, images like this (non-documentary) are artistic in nature and can be manipulated in any way to produce the result the photographer was envisioning. Whether it is to our personal taste is something quite different. I think in this case the lady has a superb eye and is no slouch on a computer, she has a vision and I am sure the final images are pretty much what that vision was, I wish I was that good half the time!

I wasn't criticizing you, and I think you're missing my point a bit, but that's ok.

All is good with me, I didn't think you were criticising me, but even if you were, it is a forum for discussion and my opinion is worth no more, or less, than anybodies.

 

[CarlTN]

I didn't mention the vignetting because it is so obvious I didn't feel it needed mentioning, like, it is in colour, or it is in landscape format.

Of course it has been added, but as we mostly agree, images like this (non-documentary) are artistic in nature and can be manipulated in any way to produce the result the photographer was envisioning. Whether it is to our personal taste is something quite different. I think in this case the lady has a superb eye and is no slouch on a computer, she has a vision and I am sure the final images are pretty much what that vision was, I wish I was that good half the time!

I wasn't criticizing you, and I think you're missing my point a bit, but that's ok.

All is good with me, I didn't think you were criticising me, but even if you were, it is a forum for discussion and my opinion is worth no more, or less, than anybodies.

True enough, except in my case...sometimes my opinions get deleted ...