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Year Book Picture

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mikesco

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A friend of mines grandaughter needed a picture for her yearbook last minute. I took this for her as a favor, and would like some comments on how I did, and what improvements I could make in the future. I also have a small window to make some post processing edits if you have suggestions.

Thanks,

Mike Smith

 
It's a good picture. Have you shown it to her yet? The only thing I might do is remove the shine on her nose with the healing tool in photoshop.
 
mikesco said:
A friend of mines grandaughter needed a picture for her yearbook
last minute. I took this for her as a favor, and would like some
comments on how I did, and what improvements I could make in the
future. I also have a small window to make some post processing
edits if you have suggestions.
Click to expand...
It looks good. But like others have suggested, a tighter crop would be better. Try to vignette it a little, it might add some punch.
mikesco said:
Thanks,

Mike Smith

Click to expand...
--
Gonzomatic

P e n t a x - the whole gamut
 
Thanks for the input, I will crop it a bit and take a little shine off of the nose. Yes I showed it to her and she was happy,

Mike Smith
 
Pose is quite nice but note how the nose shadow is falling? It's distracting and unflattering compared to other lighting options.

Facial modeling is much more pleasing with the shadows fall on the side facing the camera with the nose shadow falling right along the base of the nose and down over the top of the nostril.

Also the face changes appearance dramtically as it turns obliquely away from the camera and the side of the head disappears from view. Look at your subject profile-to-profile before shooting to find their most flattering angle. Her's would be with her face turned away from the lens a bit more with the key light on the left instead of the right.

The bright pink sweater is also a distraction. You could tone it down a bit with the desaturation tool...

CG
 
I concur with most of the comments you've gotten here. It's a very nice job and very flattering to her. (although I'm sure that you are helped by how good looking she is!)

To me, the hair hanging over her forehead is a distraction which I would clone out of the photo. Of course, it is always easier to just get it out of her face in the first place, if you are looking for what to remember next time.

I agree with the suggestion that you crop the photo, since the sweater seems to take up more of the photo than her head. Still, as others have suggested, it would make sense to find out what other photos look like and verify that such a crop is consistent with other pictures.

Finally, in the future, I'd do some kind of backlighting of the subject's hair.

These are all quibbles. You've done a fine job!

--
Forrest
http://forrestmilder.com
 
Thank you for the comments.
It was actually her preference to have the hair down on the forehead.

I have a 3 light setup, perhaps eventually I will figure something out for a hairlight. Perhaps if I branch out beyond friends and family I can start recouping a little of what I have paid for all the gear. But oh well I am having fun with it.

Thanks again.

Mike Smith
 
Thanks for the suggestions, lighting is something I am wanting to understand a lot more.
I like the idea of desaturating the sweater a bit and will make an adjustment.

Thanks,
Mike Smith
 
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