Clarke- Studio Portrait

[DanOstergren]

I'm starting to explore studio a little bit and so far I'm liking it. This is from a shoot for a look book a couple months ago, but since this shot wasn't picked for the book I never retouched it until just now.
As far as retouching, I took it a little bit further than I normally do. Any feedback is welcome.

EOS 5D MKII
50mm
1/125th sec
f/13
ISO 250

 

[DanOstergren]

Before/after:

 

[BrickHouse]

Looks amazing Dan. The skin is rendered beautifully.

 

[hombredelmar]

Amazin job, as usual!

 

[DanOstergren]

Thank you.

 

[Geaux]

I'm speechless, the before to after is fantastic. I love it.

Only thing I'd be concerned with is the distinct difference in her skin coloring, some subjects are touchy about being too dark or too light.

Perfect fashion processing, pose, lighting, etc though...bravo.

 

[JacaRanda]

Love it!

I'm with Brick, the skin rendering is beautiful and not too dark.

The things with the arms...if I allow myself to stare at them away from that beautiful face, they look almost like an optical illusion.

 

[tirediron]

I agree that the change in skin tone might be a little extreme, and I'm also seeing a slight blue cast in her white shirt in the finished version.

 

[runnah]

Did you use *gasp* studio lights?!

The world doesn't make sense anymore.

 

[DanOstergren]

Did you use *gasp* studio lights?!

The world doesn't make sense anymore.

Haha, yeah. Natural light isn't really challenging me any more, so I'm gonna start mixing it up.

 

[sscarmack]

I agree, you made her a little too dark, and especially her right eye, you lost some detail there.

Nonetheless, its a great portrait and I'm sure she'll love it.

 

[tirediron]

I really, really, REALLY want to like this Dan, and I've come back to it at least a half-dozen times since you posted it, but there's just something about the positioning of her arms which seems unnatural and forced to me.

 

[DanOstergren]

I really, really, REALLY want to like this Dan, and I've come back to it at least a half-dozen times since you posted it, but there's just something about the positioning of her arms which seems unnatural and forced to me.

There was a tiny bit of manipulation done to the size of the shoulders. You may notice the small alteration in the before/after shot. Could this be what is catching your eye?
That being said, I'm personally not bothered by the pose, even if it does look a little forced.

 

[tirediron]

I really, really, REALLY want to like this Dan, and I've come back to it at least a half-dozen times since you posted it, but there's just something about the positioning of her arms which seems unnatural and forced to me.

There was a tiny bit of manipulation done to the size of the shoulders. You may notice the small alteration in the before/after shot. Could this be what is catching your eye?
That being said, I'm personally not bothered by the pose, even if it does look a little forced.

I don't think so; when I look at it casually, what strikes me is that because of the dark skin and white t-shirt, and with the way her arms are positioned, it looks to me like she's bisected.

 

[DanOstergren]

Love it!

I'm with Brick, the skin rendering is beautiful and not too dark.

The things with the arms...if I allow myself to stare at them away from that beautiful face, they look almost like an optical illusion.

Thank you. Yeah, the skin in the after image is much more accurate to her skin color than what the RAW image rendered. Hence the correction.