First Quickie Portrait - Feedback?

[astrostu]

I've never taken photos of people for portrait purposes other than one for a friend for an ID and another of me for my passport many years ago. I've seen some really cool self-portraits on this site and I thought I'd have a go at 'em. Here's my first attempt - it was just a quickie shot that I had a little fun with in Photoshop. I'm going to try for some better ones tomorrow, but I'd be interested in any feedback you folks may have on this.

I actually can't really decide which one of these two I like more - one is full-color and the other is 80% desaturated except for the eyes.

P.S. I've avoided doing this in the past because I think I'm incredibly un-photogenic. So, don't tell me I look ugly, just lemme know what you think of the actual photo.

 

[Yahoozy]

PP on the eyes?
they dont quite match in coloring and they stand out a bit too much
(if those are your actual eyes my apologies =P)

 

[astrostu]

PP on the eyes?
they dont quite match in coloring and they stand out a bit too much
(if those are your actual eyes my apologies =P)

Yeah, that was some of the "fun in Photoshop." However, when I altered the hue, I did it by the same amount for both eyes. So them not matching is somewhat real, it's just been enhanced a little.

Question about the "stand out a bit too much" - do they stand out too much in both versions, or just the first or second?

 

[Yahoozy]

a bit too much in both
partially its the coloring and it just looks slightly unnatural
adjusting the hue takes away some of the smaller details and thats really important in the eyes
without the smaller details in the eyes they just end up looking odd

 

[astrostu]

a bit too much in both
partially its the coloring and it just looks slightly unnatural
adjusting the hue takes away some of the smaller details and thats really important in the eyes
without the smaller details in the eyes they just end up looking odd

Alrighty, I'll work on that in my next attempt - either tonight or tomorrow. By the way, ever seen the Sci-Fi version of Dune? I was kinda going for that effect with the eyes.

 

[soul.glo]

Alrighty, I'll work on that in my next attempt - either tonight or tomorrow. By the way, ever seen the Sci-Fi version of Dune? I was kinda going for that effect with the eyes.

If you're just starting out with portrait photography you probably don't want to give pictures a sci-fi effect. Keep them simple. Messing with the hue and other aspects can really be a negative when done incorrectly. Keep working on it is all I can say.

 

[LeSueur24]

I think the pose is a little too overdone and cliche. Try to get him in a more natural position.

 

[Parkerman]

i think the image needs to be brightened up a hair... and a little contrast added to it.

 

[Jus7 A Phas3]

With the conversion you look to grey, i dont know that might just be me.

 

[JCleveland]

ohh boy can the enhancement on the eyes. On both photos. I'm also siding with LeSueur on this one, the pose is quite overdone and isn't looking natural at all.