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My 1st paid photo shot

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Barbara B

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I am still working in PS on many of these. Any suggestions to improve this image are WELCOMED. I posted this in photoSIG. Some felt it looked flat.
This was posted with the permission of the subject.



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Barbara (pbase supporter)
C2100uzi
Canon D60
You can rate & critique some of my photos at:
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=19278

 
There is tremendous power in this photo...the power comes from the girls face, but the two distractions are below and above... take a step back and look at the photo as if you were standing there in person and could adjust the "window" that you have to look through...where would you put the window? To me I would move the window up...include all of her head and less of her chest.

This is a very very poweful photo...it just needs a bit more focus on the power.
Barbara B. said:
I am still working in PS on many of these. Any suggestions to
improve this image are WELCOMED. I posted this in photoSIG. Some
felt it looked flat.
This was posted with the permission of the subject.

http://www.pbase.com/image/4302142/original.jpg
--
Barbara (pbase supporter)
C2100uzi
Canon D60
You can rate & critique some of my photos at:
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=19278

Click to expand...
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RichO :)
San Antonio, TX
http://www.pbase.com/richo/
http://www.richo.org/LearningCenter/faq_olympus.htm
'Life is a dance, Love is the music.'
 
Well, I'll try to be honest here about my opinion. Technically the photo looks ok to me, but it doesn't seem to be the most flattering angle for the model. Because of the nose perhaps? I'm not really sure. The girl in your photo is very attractive, there just seems to be something wrong to me about the angle. I saw a web page once that explained how to shoot people who have specific facial or body features which might not be their most appealing feature (trying to say it nicely). By no means am I saying we should strive to make everyone look perfect. You do want the photo to actually look like the person. But most people who are being photographed want to look their best. Many people feel they have a "best side", etc. Wish I could recall that page for you, it was interesting and could be helpful if someone is going to start shooting portraits professionally.
Congrats on your 1st paid shot. I actually think that would be a lot of fun.
 
Barbara, I think the image looks fine. It does look a bit flat, but not by much. If you bump up the contrast to give it more shadow to hilight depth, then you lose some of the subtle details that make this photo appealing. I personally like it as is.

Robert Mossack
 
Hi barbara. It's a nice shot, but it is kinda flat. I've bumped up the levels, and have done some curves as well. It's also not as sharp as it could be, so I've tweaked that a bit too.



The problem (not really a problem. an issue) with your shot was that there was a load of detail in the mid tones range, and not enough contrast to bring out the shadows and highlights. This is what really gives shape, dimension, and that kind of thing.

I'd also say that the angle of your beautiful model isn't the best one for her features. You might want to play around a bit or read up on that kind of thing. Hope this helps.

B a H
Barbara B. said:
I am still working in PS on many of these. Any suggestions to
improve this image are WELCOMED. I posted this in photoSIG. Some
felt it looked flat.
This was posted with the permission of the subject.



--
Barbara (pbase supporter)
C2100uzi
Canon D60
You can rate & critique some of my photos at:
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=19278

Click to expand...
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If you have time to post on this site every day, you HAVE time to click a banner to feed the starving. http://www.thehungersite.com
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http://www.pbase.com/gdguide
 
...I like Barbara's original better. You did a good job enhancing the image, but it's the wrong look for a portrait, especially one that is supposed to make the subject look beautiful. The contrast is fine. But it's too sharp now, and shows too many skin perfections. It might work for a male, that you want to emphasize their rugged appearance, For such a beautiful lady, you want a smooth appearance.

Again, just my opinion..

Robert Mossack
 
Some very good advice has been given, especially as to the 'pose'. I like what BaH did with the photo...cropping the bottom, and sharpening it ...you could always smooth her complexion. But most of all, I'd like to see a new pose.......imho
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Lucy
Olympus C3020Z
pbase supporter http://www.pbase.com/lucy
 
Here's the page I was referring to. It's somewhat short but might be helpful. There is a lot of information on that web site in different categories, subjects, posing, lighting, equipment, landscapes, all sorts of things. Navigation links are usually on the lower left side of the page. You usually have to scroll down lower to see them.
http://www.photographytips.com/page.cfm/393
 
Robert Mossack said:
...I like Barbara's original better. You did a good job enhancing
the image, but it's the wrong look for a portrait, especially one
that is supposed to make the subject look beautiful. The contrast
is fine. But it's too sharp now, and shows too many skin
perfections. It might work for a male, that you want to emphasize
their rugged appearance, For such a beautiful lady, you want a
smooth appearance.
Click to expand...
Harsh contrast is avoided like the plague in portraits. It will always bring out unwanted blemishs, wrinkles, etc. That is not to say that shadows, high to low is not wanted; it is, as that is what makes a photo "jump" at the viewer. Congrats Barb. The eyes hold the key. I like your orginal a lot.

--
Ken
C-3030Z, C-2100UZ
. )
 
I agree, beuatiful portrait but with a little judicious cropping, could be a killer. I find especially the dress to be distracting.
RichO said:
This is a very very poweful photo...it just needs a bit more focus
on the power.
Click to expand...
 
Robert Hoffman said:
Your loss.
Click to expand...
... not my loss. My preference.

I understand the artistic merit of B&Ws, and I know that it can be a technical challenge to create an appealing and emotional photograph using only grayscale. I've done B&Ws in my old 35mm days. I have experienced the use of colored filters for altering shades of gray. Although, I think anyone learning about photography really should gain experience with shooting in B&W, at this point and time, I really have no interest in B&W phtography. My focus is elswhere.

So you see, it's no loss for me :-)
--
Rooski
C2100, A200, & an itchy trigger finger
http://www.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=29203
 
Juli Valley said:
She's attractive, but not knock down dead beautiful. Do you
suppose that's what they wanted? She looks a bit pouty. I think
it's a nice portrait.
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=19579
C-2100UZ, C-3040Z, A-28, B-3oo
3o4o
Juli



Barbara,
Click to expand...
I reckon that is a jolly good effort, though the crop that someone (the name escapes me) is good.

Two questions. 1) Was the orignal in clour, and if so would you please post it? 2) Did the subject like it? After all that is what really matter.

Oh, thought of another question. 3) Which camera did you use?

--
Ray Medford



Just the one camera, but what a one - it's my UZI
 
RichO said:
There is tremendous power in this photo...the power comes from the
girls face, but the two distractions are below and above... take a
step back and look at the photo as if you were standing there in
person and could adjust the "window" that you have to look
through...where would you put the window? To me I would move the
window up...include all of her head and less of her chest.
Click to expand...
In partIcular in moving the frame up, include the top part of the girl's head. I tend to find it distracting to have the top of the head cropped out. On other pictures, the same would go if the hair went off-frame, or an elbow. I tend to think it is a matter of scale, having 10% of a body part cropped out is bad, but if you go more to 50% it shows that it was planned and not accidental. However, I don't have a problem with the dress being in the picture. For better or worse, I tend to associate such accidental mis-croppings with the old cheap non-SLR film cameras that suffered from parallex problems in the viewfinder, or the photographer not caring about composing the picture, neither of which is the case here.
 
Barbara:
A technically well taken photo, but too me, her expression is flat.
The eyes have no 'sparkle' and here lips are 'pouting'.
It's like you took the pic an instant after the good pose.
I also feel the head crop does not work here.
Is this a "Senior Picture" for the yearbook?

"People/Portraits" are the toughest photo subject what they do and how you capture it is the key. I do wish this forum did more on people pix, instead of safe shots like barns, sunsets and flowers.
My 2¢
--
? or ! always welcome.
LarryB (C-2100) http://www.fotops.com

 
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