Recents

[elizpage]

#1: A friend of mine here in China

#2: My 65-year old father

Both were taken with a Canon 60D 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. I know more can be done with this lens and body, but I'm just now getting a feel for both of them.

Feedback is appreciated. What's your honest opinion of how I'm doing lately? Thanks guys!

 

[FITBMX]

The face in #1 is off, looks like your WB, or if you were using a flash. But something is fishy in that first one. And speaking of fishy, nice koi!

 

[goooner]

Both of them look a little cold to me, I like #2!

 

[funwitha7d]

#2 is a beautiful photo IMO, fantastic detail/texture

 

[Nettles]

Hello Elizabeth. I was wondering what processing you've been doing on these, or what is causing things to look a little bit blue? Maybe you like it this way.

Your friend would make a good subject to practice on, if possible. Do you think the background is a bit distracting and fights against the main subject? The shot of your father has a lot going for it, maybe just a little bit too much space above his head for me. But a nice soft background.

 

[elizpage]

Hi Nettles,

Yes I process my images this way. It's a signature style, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Yes, she is a good practice subject; these photographs were mainly practice. The background is a bit distracting, come to think of it. Perhaps I could edit to bring more warmth to her face and take a little away from the background? I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks everyone btw for constructive criticism and remarks.

 

[The_Traveler]

Sorry, I think the coloring is unflattering to both.
#1 her skin is so bleached out that all detail is gone. It may be a style for an advertising layout but for a portrait photo, it removes too much reality for me.

#2 - nice and sharp but he is in the lower left of the frame with lots of empty space for no obvious reason. I don't like the color, it may be a 'style' but not flattering to the skin.

Sorry.

 

[Nettles]

Elizabeth, you could go back to the original unedited image and save it as a layered format in your software. Then cut out your friend's face and hair to a separate layer and feather it by 10 pixels or so. Go back to the original, reduce the reds in it and give it your blueish style if you like. Then save to a JPEG file.

Sounds like a rigmarole to go through! But it would take just a few minutes and the software tools should be easy to find if this is work you don't normally do.

Sam

 

[Braineack]

not only is #1 very washed out, it's very OOF.

#2 looks clean and clear, but it needs some shadow recovery and the framing/posing isn't all that great.

both are very blue.

 

[Nettles]

not only is #1 very washed out, it's very OOF.

Looking close it seems to me, on the eye closest to the plane of focus you can see the eyelashes quite clearly. "Very" out of focus?

Maybe the deliberate processing effect causes some of the other issues you raise -- blocked up shadows and very washed out.

 

[Braineack]

just because you can see eyelashes doesn't mean they are in focus. If anythign was in focus it was the strands of hair in front of the face.

considering it was shot at 3200iso I'm going to assuming that NR had a lot fo do with the incredible lack of detail.

 

[Nettles]

Yes, but you CAN see them, so doesn’t that suggest it's a bit of an exaggeration to say they are VERY out of focus? Anyway... moving on...

 

[Vtec44]

It has a very organic feel to it. The WB reminds me of Fujifilm more than Kodak Portra. WB can be a personal preference and you can use it to convey mood. I tend to shoot a bit warmer but other photographer friends prefer it to be on the cooler side.

 

[weepete]

I agree with braineack, the first looks oof.

I really like the second, looks like a very "honest" shot.

I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with everyone about the skin tones which look pretty natural to me. But then again I am Scottish and we are born blue, it takes us 6 months to turn that kinda pasty shade of white.

 

[tecboy]

On the first image, pay attention to the histogram. There is a clipping on the highlight that causes the face to lose details. Use a little flash whenever you need to soften the dark shadows.

The second one looks pretty good. Just a little nit picky, a little flash can help soften the shadow underneath the visor of his hat.