Kayla- Fashion Portrait

[cherylynne1]

Incredible, especially considering that it was shot using available light. I know you mentioned once that you would post a dodging/burning tutorial, did you ever do that? (Sorry, I've been away from the forum for awhile.) I'd be especially interested to see how a shot like this would start out. Natural light seems to follow different laws of physics for you than for me.

To me natural light is very much the same as artificial. It's all about the way it sculpts the person's features, not about the light source itself.

I'm still planning to make some retouching videos and TPF will be the first place I share them for free, hopefully with some actions as well. I work a lot though, both at my day job and photography, so it's a process that's taking more time than I expected.

That would be amazing!

I've been thinking lately that it's possible that it isn't my natural light shooting skills that are lacking as much as my post processing skills. I follow another photographer on Facebook who does amazing natural light portraits. Awhile back he started showing some before and after shots, and I realized that he isn't really finding completely magical light. He's just using shots that I would have thrown out for being too "flat." The natural light is only faintly sculpting the features, so I throw it out and turn on the flash. But maybe I just need to learn how to emphasize the light that's already there.

I have watched some dodging/burning tutorials and tried them out, but I feel like I'm overdoing it or underdoing it or something. It's a tricky thing to balance just right.

Do not subscribe to the belief that editing trumps lighting or comes anywhere near being as important, because that is absolutely wrong. Without light there would be no photograph, so lighting should be the single most important aspect of your photograph. The light should be doing the sculpting for you. Most good retouchers emulate a makeup technique called contouring and highlighting with their dodging and burning, but I don't have much time to spend editing a photo, so I choose to emulate the makeup technique's sculpting pattern with the lighting. This not only saves me time and pain by not having to edit and retouch as much, it sculpts your subject naturally and basically gives you lines to follow in case you do need to enhance the contour with dodging and burning. I have clients who request unedited photos, and following this principle of getting the lighting right at exposure ensures that I can still deliver quality photos that I'm proud of.

Mainly what I use dodging and burning for is to clear the skin, and sometimes to create cleaner lines. Here's a before/ after of the photo from this thread. Editing was minimal. Everything else revolves around the lighting, the camera settings, the model and the styling. Editing is only a small part, and if the client did not pay for retouching I would be perfectly happy delivering the unedited shots to them (after removing dust spots).

Wow, your before/after is nothing like his...and you're right, it could be delivered as is.

Back to practicing for me!! Thank you so much!

No problem. I used to believe that photos needed extensive amounts of editing and retouching, but when I discovered that I should be letting the light do that work it changed everything, both in terms of time saving and being able to create better quality photos.

With flash and controlled conditions, my before and afters are similar, in that there isn't a drastic change and most of the focus is on very subtle adjustments. (Though of course they still aren't as good as yours!!) But I never get that kind of result with natural light. It always requires a ton of editing to get something usable. There are a few times when I recognize good lighting conditions, but seeing as my models aren't particularly cooperative (since they're toddlers) it's hard to get just the right angle. Much easier to move the sun than to get the two-year-old to tilt his head and hold it.

 

[DanOstergren]

Incredible, especially considering that it was shot using available light. I know you mentioned once that you would post a dodging/burning tutorial, did you ever do that? (Sorry, I've been away from the forum for awhile.) I'd be especially interested to see how a shot like this would start out. Natural light seems to follow different laws of physics for you than for me.

To me natural light is very much the same as artificial. It's all about the way it sculpts the person's features, not about the light source itself.

I'm still planning to make some retouching videos and TPF will be the first place I share them for free, hopefully with some actions as well. I work a lot though, both at my day job and photography, so it's a process that's taking more time than I expected.

That would be amazing!

I've been thinking lately that it's possible that it isn't my natural light shooting skills that are lacking as much as my post processing skills. I follow another photographer on Facebook who does amazing natural light portraits. Awhile back he started showing some before and after shots, and I realized that he isn't really finding completely magical light. He's just using shots that I would have thrown out for being too "flat." The natural light is only faintly sculpting the features, so I throw it out and turn on the flash. But maybe I just need to learn how to emphasize the light that's already there.

I have watched some dodging/burning tutorials and tried them out, but I feel like I'm overdoing it or underdoing it or something. It's a tricky thing to balance just right.

Do not subscribe to the belief that editing trumps lighting or comes anywhere near being as important, because that is absolutely wrong. Without light there would be no photograph, so lighting should be the single most important aspect of your photograph. The light should be doing the sculpting for you. Most good retouchers emulate a makeup technique called contouring and highlighting with their dodging and burning, but I don't have much time to spend editing a photo, so I choose to emulate the makeup technique's sculpting pattern with the lighting. This not only saves me time and pain by not having to edit and retouch as much, it sculpts your subject naturally and basically gives you lines to follow in case you do need to enhance the contour with dodging and burning. I have clients who request unedited photos, and following this principle of getting the lighting right at exposure ensures that I can still deliver quality photos that I'm proud of.

Mainly what I use dodging and burning for is to clear the skin, and sometimes to create cleaner lines. Here's a before/ after of the photo from this thread. Editing was minimal. Everything else revolves around the lighting, the camera settings, the model and the styling. Editing is only a small part, and if the client did not pay for retouching I would be perfectly happy delivering the unedited shots to them (after removing dust spots).

Wow, your before/after is nothing like his...and you're right, it could be delivered as is.

Back to practicing for me!! Thank you so much!

No problem. I used to believe that photos needed extensive amounts of editing and retouching, but when I discovered that I should be letting the light do that work it changed everything, both in terms of time saving and being able to create better quality photos.

With flash and controlled conditions, my before and afters are similar, in that there isn't a drastic change and most of the focus is on very subtle adjustments. (Though of course they still aren't as good as yours!!) But I never get that kind of result with natural light. It always requires a ton of editing to get something usable. There are a few times when I recognize good lighting conditions, but seeing as my models aren't particularly cooperative (since they're toddlers) it's hard to get just the right angle. Much easier to move the sun than to get the two-year-old to tilt his head and hold it.

Perhaps you should start model testing with a local agency or two. Agencies are always looking for talented photographers to test with their new faces who need a portfolio.

 

[cherylynne1]

To me natural light is very much the same as artificial. It's all about the way it sculpts the person's features, not about the light source itself.

I'm still planning to make some retouching videos and TPF will be the first place I share them for free, hopefully with some actions as well. I work a lot though, both at my day job and photography, so it's a process that's taking more time than I expected.

That would be amazing!

I've been thinking lately that it's possible that it isn't my natural light shooting skills that are lacking as much as my post processing skills. I follow another photographer on Facebook who does amazing natural light portraits. Awhile back he started showing some before and after shots, and I realized that he isn't really finding completely magical light. He's just using shots that I would have thrown out for being too "flat." The natural light is only faintly sculpting the features, so I throw it out and turn on the flash. But maybe I just need to learn how to emphasize the light that's already there.

I have watched some dodging/burning tutorials and tried them out, but I feel like I'm overdoing it or underdoing it or something. It's a tricky thing to balance just right.

Do not subscribe to the belief that editing trumps lighting or comes anywhere near being as important, because that is absolutely wrong. Without light there would be no photograph, so lighting should be the single most important aspect of your photograph. The light should be doing the sculpting for you. Most good retouchers emulate a makeup technique called contouring and highlighting with their dodging and burning, but I don't have much time to spend editing a photo, so I choose to emulate the makeup technique's sculpting pattern with the lighting. This not only saves me time and pain by not having to edit and retouch as much, it sculpts your subject naturally and basically gives you lines to follow in case you do need to enhance the contour with dodging and burning. I have clients who request unedited photos, and following this principle of getting the lighting right at exposure ensures that I can still deliver quality photos that I'm proud of.

Mainly what I use dodging and burning for is to clear the skin, and sometimes to create cleaner lines. Here's a before/ after of the photo from this thread. Editing was minimal. Everything else revolves around the lighting, the camera settings, the model and the styling. Editing is only a small part, and if the client did not pay for retouching I would be perfectly happy delivering the unedited shots to them (after removing dust spots).

Wow, your before/after is nothing like his...and you're right, it could be delivered as is.

Back to practicing for me!! Thank you so much!

No problem. I used to believe that photos needed extensive amounts of editing and retouching, but when I discovered that I should be letting the light do that work it changed everything, both in terms of time saving and being able to create better quality photos.

With flash and controlled conditions, my before and afters are similar, in that there isn't a drastic change and most of the focus is on very subtle adjustments. (Though of course they still aren't as good as yours!!) But I never get that kind of result with natural light. It always requires a ton of editing to get something usable. There are a few times when I recognize good lighting conditions, but seeing as my models aren't particularly cooperative (since they're toddlers) it's hard to get just the right angle. Much easier to move the sun than to get the two-year-old to tilt his head and hold it.

Perhaps you should start model testing with a local agency or two. Agencies are always looking for talented photographers to test with their new faces who need a portfolio.

Haha, "talented" being the key word here. I guess it couldn't hurt to call and ask, though. Thank you for the suggestion (and the vote of confidence that I might even remotely be ready for something like that!)

 

[DanOstergren]

That would be amazing!

I've been thinking lately that it's possible that it isn't my natural light shooting skills that are lacking as much as my post processing skills. I follow another photographer on Facebook who does amazing natural light portraits. Awhile back he started showing some before and after shots, and I realized that he isn't really finding completely magical light. He's just using shots that I would have thrown out for being too "flat." The natural light is only faintly sculpting the features, so I throw it out and turn on the flash. But maybe I just need to learn how to emphasize the light that's already there.

I have watched some dodging/burning tutorials and tried them out, but I feel like I'm overdoing it or underdoing it or something. It's a tricky thing to balance just right.

Do not subscribe to the belief that editing trumps lighting or comes anywhere near being as important, because that is absolutely wrong. Without light there would be no photograph, so lighting should be the single most important aspect of your photograph. The light should be doing the sculpting for you. Most good retouchers emulate a makeup technique called contouring and highlighting with their dodging and burning, but I don't have much time to spend editing a photo, so I choose to emulate the makeup technique's sculpting pattern with the lighting. This not only saves me time and pain by not having to edit and retouch as much, it sculpts your subject naturally and basically gives you lines to follow in case you do need to enhance the contour with dodging and burning. I have clients who request unedited photos, and following this principle of getting the lighting right at exposure ensures that I can still deliver quality photos that I'm proud of.

Mainly what I use dodging and burning for is to clear the skin, and sometimes to create cleaner lines. Here's a before/ after of the photo from this thread. Editing was minimal. Everything else revolves around the lighting, the camera settings, the model and the styling. Editing is only a small part, and if the client did not pay for retouching I would be perfectly happy delivering the unedited shots to them (after removing dust spots).

Wow, your before/after is nothing like his...and you're right, it could be delivered as is.

Back to practicing for me!! Thank you so much!

No problem. I used to believe that photos needed extensive amounts of editing and retouching, but when I discovered that I should be letting the light do that work it changed everything, both in terms of time saving and being able to create better quality photos.

With flash and controlled conditions, my before and afters are similar, in that there isn't a drastic change and most of the focus is on very subtle adjustments. (Though of course they still aren't as good as yours!!) But I never get that kind of result with natural light. It always requires a ton of editing to get something usable. There are a few times when I recognize good lighting conditions, but seeing as my models aren't particularly cooperative (since they're toddlers) it's hard to get just the right angle. Much easier to move the sun than to get the two-year-old to tilt his head and hold it.

Perhaps you should start model testing with a local agency or two. Agencies are always looking for talented photographers to test with their new faces who need a portfolio.

Haha, "talented" being the key word here. I guess it couldn't hurt to call and ask, though. Thank you for the suggestion (and the vote of confidence that I might even remotely be ready for something like that!)

Humbleness may be a virtue but don't allow it to get in the way of your progression.

 

[DanOstergren]

That is simply stunning!

Thank you!

 

[DanOstergren]

Excellent as always Dan!

Thanks Brent!

 

[weepete]

Outdone yourself on this one Dan. Nominated for POTM

Photo of the Month - August 2017 Nominations

 

[Destin]

Dan, this is another amazing shot. Really looking forward to your tutorials coming out.

The only small critique I'd add is that the top of the model's hair being clipped bothers my eye, though I have a feeling you did it intentionally.

 

[Frank F.]

Very good professional lighting setup. Do you want to share your recipee?

I guess a huge Softbox near your left shoulder CA 1.5 meter above your shoulder and a white reflector panel on your right, tilted to gain the right amount of light on her rear

 

[Frank F.]

Every couple of months I get hired by a salon that my friend Russell works in to photograph some models. They basically put on a hair and fashion show/ party. A clothing designer owns a boutique underneath the salon and she dresses the models in her handmade clothing. There are more photos from this set that I'll share, but this is the only one I think I'll be able to finish editing for now.

I used natural light through a window in the hallway staircase that leads up to the salon, after the sun went behind a building across the street. No modifiers, unless you want to get technical, in which case the divider for the staircase acted as a rectangular white reflector. Canon 5D MKI (Classic), Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 set to f/3.5, 1/200th sec, ISO 640.

I should have read the text not only see the picture. Fascinating!

 

[DanOstergren]

Very good professional lighting setup. Do you want to share your recipee?

I guess a huge Softbox near your left shoulder CA 1.5 meter above your shoulder and a white reflector panel on your right, tilted to gain the right amount of light on her rear

Nope, just a window and a small patch of white wall that was acting as a reflector.

 

[DanOstergren]

Outdone yourself on this one Dan. Nominated for POTM

Photo of the Month - August 2017 Nominations

Thank you!

 

[DanOstergren]

Dan, this is another amazing shot. Really looking forward to your tutorials coming out.

The only small critique I'd add is that the top of the model's hair being clipped bothers my eye, though I have a feeling you did it intentionally.

Thank you! I appreciate the critique. There was no intention behind it, and the only reason I didn't fix it is because I was being lazy. It's one of those things that I know bugs photographers but I just shrug at it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[vintagesnaps]

Your portraits are exquisite. And your explanation and description shows you seem in tune with the light and how to use it.

I see photos a lot where it seems like there wasn't a proper exposure to begin with, so then the photographer has to work to correct that, instead of just being able to edit to enhance. Cherylynne I'd suggest that you try photographing and practicing with other subjects (not necessarily people) besides your fun (and active!) toddlers - start noticing how and where the light's hitting a subject or scene, how does a subject look if you move around, from a different direction, vary your vantage point, etc.

Dan this is a wonderful example of an excellent original photograph, and minimal editing accentuated the beauty of it. You do stunning work.

 

[DanOstergren]

Your portraits are exquisite. And your explanation and description shows you seem in tune with the light and how to use it.

I see photos a lot where it seems like there wasn't a proper exposure to begin with, so then the photographer has to work to correct that, instead of just being able to edit to enhance. Cherylynne I'd suggest that you try photographing and practicing with other subjects (not necessarily people) besides your fun (and active!) toddlers - start noticing how and where the light's hitting a subject or scene, how does a subject look if you move around, from a different direction, vary your vantage point, etc.

Dan this is a wonderful example of an excellent original photograph, and minimal editing accentuated the beauty of it. You do stunning work.

Thank you!