Reading mode: Light Dark

News Reviews Articles Buying Guide Sample Images Videos Cameras Lenses Phones Printers Forums Galleries Challenges

Rick Sammon's One Light Portrait

Challenge #8 in the Mentors series. Hosted by Martin Ocando, Carlos U, Aleo Veuliah, Rick Sammon.

Challenge has finished

Hosted by Rick Sammon

Canon Explorer of Light, Rick Sammon loves simple lighting. In his workshops and seminars, he stressed that you can get beautiful portraits using just one light.

In this challenge, Rick would like to see your version of his image, "A Photograph of a Girl with a Pearl Earring," which was inspired by the Vermeer painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring." You can do it. You just need some props, a speedlight or strobe in a softbox, a black background and a model.

Read about how Rick got the shot Here

Show full rules

Announced:

Tuesday, 11th September, 2012 (GMT)

Submissions:

Tuesday, 18th September, 2012 – Monday, 24th September, 2012 (GMT)

Voting:

Tuesday, 25th September, 2012 – Monday, 1st October, 2012 (GMT)

Processing rules:

Basic post processing
Color images only
Minimum size 1024px on the long side

Capture date rules:

No restrictions.

Additional rules:

Only one human model, resembling the original painting by Vermeer
Only one light source of whichever nature, either natural, strobe, softbox or speedlight
No nudity, keep it tasteful following DPreview challenge rules
Rules will be strictly enforced during submission and voting phases

Maximum number of entries per user:

Maximum number of entries in challenge:

submission
phase has

ended

24 entries

voting
phase has

ended

442 votes

Slideshow 1 / 27 Full size Next Challenge Previous

My Girl with the Pearl

by TJIChick

1^st place

3.104

low

high

I've been re-creating famous images as a fun project with my kids and extended family for about six months. (www.thisjustinphotography.com). My daughter sat in our front hallway in front of an open door while my son held a black sheet behind her. Afterwards, I did a basic post-processing tweak and added a texture overlay. And yes, that IS a dishtowel and a scarf that we combined to create her head wrap.

Camera:	Nikon D7000
Lens:	Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
Submitted:	Tuesday, 18th September, 2012 17:47 (GMT)
Taken:	Wednesday, 21st December, 2011
Focal length:	62 mm
Shutter speed:	1/50 sec
Aperture:	F5.6
ISO:	800
Notes:
Views:	5095
Galleries:	View this photo in TJIChick's gallery

Provide complaint details

Your complaint (along with the complaints of others regarding this entry) will be reviewed by the challenge owner. Depending upon the nature and applicability of the complaint, the entry may be disqualified. In extreme circumstances the user who submitted the entry may receive a ban from the challenge or series in question.

Reason:

	Violates rules of the challenge
	Spam / Commercial
	Trolling / Abusive
	Sexual content / Not family friendly
	Other

Comments:

Saving ...

Complain

Keyboard shortcuts:

p previous n next c challenge f full size r retract vote # vote

Entry comments

All (26)

Most popular (0)

Editors' picks (0)

DPR staff (0)

Oldest first

Michael_13

What a great idea! I can only imagine how much fun this must have been.
It is probably also a good way of getting your kids interested in photography!

Oct 17, 2012permalink

Charlene_S

Looked at your recreations on your website. All I have to say is awesome!!!!!

Oct 6, 2012permalink

B1ackhat

Creepy.

Oct 4, 2012permalink

tinpusher

Brilliant

Oct 4, 2012permalink

fan700

Awesome pic!

Oct 4, 2012permalink

makofoto

VERY VERY Nice ... but a bit too high key compared to the original. I would love to see this a bit darker and more dramatic ... but again ... quite wonderful

Oct 4, 2012permalink

M Lammerse

I like yours, it's a good combination of photography and pain style
I've done myself one a couple of years ago needed for a large art exhibition here in The Netherlands.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foto-propaganda/6174789871/

Oct 3, 2012*permalink

Peiasdf

Cute picture and I love the dishtowel as head wrap part.

Oct 3, 2012permalink

WilliamJ

Good work !

Oct 3, 2012permalink

BuDWiZe

really nie think its great. the texture works well with it to

Oct 3, 2012permalink

BobYIL

Congratulations Ma'am.. even Johannes Vermeer would be proud of your work.

Oct 2, 2012permalink

Byron Walter

That photo is really an eye-catcher. It would be great if you could explain your 'basic post-processing tweak'. If you said it was taken in Turkey, I woulda probably believed you:)

Oct 2, 2012permalink

mrsfixit

I love it!
What a wonderful shot, so creative.
I just love the idea of doing a series re-creating famous images. How nice that you have a family willing to share in the project.
Your daughter is lovely, and a perfect model for this subject.
A well deserved win. :-)

Oct 2, 2012*permalink

thanasaki

A really fine photo in every aspect. Congratulations!

Oct 2, 2012permalink

Walter

Nice effort would be improved so much if the lighting was not flat and direct...look at the original.

Oct 2, 2012permalink

jerrith

A well-deserved win, simply because it's the only picture that correctly portrays the artwork by Vermeer. Especially good, since you got everything right: pose, lighting, texture, ...

Oct 2, 2012permalink

(unknown member)

Super photo. Just love it.

But how does this entry attract 3 votes of .5? Anybody explain this to me as an outsider? Maybe a comment from those 3 voters?

Oct 2, 2012permalink

Maay

my, my, this is just awesome, awe inspiring. I`m really impressed. Congratulations ! Must be a lot of fun for you and your family, and these are portraits that'll never be outdated. Really, truly, terrific !

Oct 2, 2012permalink

maboule123

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i971HidY1HQ

Oct 2, 2012permalink

TJIChick

I'm absolutely thrilled. Thank you all for your very kind comments. This is such a fun project and one that has taken on a life of its own. Thank you, Mick, for the feedback on the catchlight - that was an excellent point and will be something I'll definitely pay attention to. Thank you again!

Oct 2, 2012permalink

The Mick

Let me jump on the bandwagon here and congratulate you on a wonderful entry! But more than that, I'd like to say thanks for the inspiration. I think your idea of re-creating famous images with your family and friends is a great idea! You've inspired me to do the same with my family and I'm sure it'll be time well spent! ;o) About your image. The model, wardrobe, photoshop texturing, etc. are all excellent! Great job! The only real difference I see in comparing your rendition to the original, is the angle of the light (the catch light in the eys). It doesn't detract from the awesome photo in the least... just an observation. 5 stars without hesitation!

Sep 29, 2012permalink

Rick Sammon

Very well done! You got the idea... right on!

Sep 26, 2012permalink

Joel dc

love this one. great work. great contest.
this is really lovely. i'll vote for this, and i wont join the contest because of this
:))

Sep 23, 2012permalink

zbahu

Excellent work

Sep 22, 2012permalink

Jan2009

I think your are much closer to the painting with this texture, very impressive. I love the idea of re-creating paintings in photographs, Maybe that is a good project. Again so far this image stands out.

Sep 22, 2012permalink

summicron

nice! like the texture overlay also!

Sep 20, 2012*permalink

88	PART 2 This Week Through your m4/3 2017.06.24
68	Should companies be allowed to make money?
64	6D mark II more specs coming out
63	Would you buy small but slow FF zooms?
61	How sharp is your Olympus 45mm f/1.8?
46	Leica look?
44	Australia
39	Mac vs Windows for Photo Editing?
35	New Metabones V57 has improved green AF accross the PDAF area!
33	Olympus 75mm and Panasonic 35-100mm
31	Long Zoom, which to buy
30	Which lenses look the nicest to you?
30	D750 question about ISO 12800 night time street scenes handheld
28	4 years of DSLR ownership: Lessons learned from DPReview (part 1)
26	Thinking of selling Oly 40-150 Pro. Help!
25	How to set "BEEP" to sound to confirm focus
25	The Weekly OMD & 4/3 DSLR Images 17 06 26 #262
24	Help! 17" or 24" Printer?
24	Loawa 7.5mm - walk by the river
24	How do you store your kit?


Life after Earth 2017 DP by MarioSS from Life after...	Blue mood by darub from Fixed lens shootout.