A Portrait Of Sorts

Alpha · Nov 8, 2007

Full frame 645 chrome. Provia 100F. This was not a wedding shot. Yes, she actually is that tan.

terri · Nov 8, 2007

You got very nice skin tones with that Provia. Nice!

I'd have been tempted to play with the DOF here - I appreciate this is about that face, but my eye travels naturally down the line and I would have liked seeing more of the gown in focus. But that's personal preference, not exactly a fault with the image.

Alpha · Nov 8, 2007

I know what you mean. This was toward the end of the day when the sun was a little lower. Although we'd swapped her wardrobe a number of times, I'd gotten my fill of shooting that dress. The whole strip looks really nice, and I did bracket the DOF across at least three exposures. Given the angle, I felt that the shorter DOF fit well. This one in particular, where everything from the breast-up was sharp just jumped out at me. Though her expressions were good in the other shots, I also felt like this particular one was the best. So in any event I was/would have been willing to sacrifice a slightly deeper DOF for that particular face. Also, there wasn't much I could do to control the lighting here (though it ended up working out pretty nicely). There was no way to shield the incoming light, and trying to fill from her left hand side would have flattened the image way too much. It is a shame though, because all of the best detail in the dress is in that frilly bit that ended up getting a bit blown out (It's probably extra blown out due to the scan. I'd have to double check the slide to see what detail, if any, is there).

zendianah · Nov 8, 2007

ok here it goes - I like the pose. It looks very natural. Her smile is not forced. She looks comnfortable in front of the camera. I like the softness and the lightning is very nice. The only thing that bothers me is the hotspot thats on her forehead at the hairline.

! I love this picture though.

I am not a professional critiquer..(if thats a word) I know what I like and thats it !

terri · Nov 8, 2007

Regarding those hot spots: I am willing to bet the slide itself has much better information than this scan is giving up. I've yet to scan any transparency that doesn't burn a delicate highlight - my fault, because I'm a terrible scanner.

jols · Nov 8, 2007

i love this shot. the dress is a tad blown but its expression thats great. i would also like a really tight crop on just her face that smile is wonderful.

nice to see you post a pic max. :wink:

skieur · Nov 8, 2007

The major problem I have with the pose is that it seems to emphasize a rather prominent chin and a long neck. The eyes are also not sufficiently bright and sharp to take the viewer's attention away from the chin and neck either.

skieur

Alpha · Nov 8, 2007

skieur said:
The major problem I have with the pose is that it seems to emphasize a rather prominent chin and a long neck. The eyes are also not sufficiently bright and sharp to take the viewer's attention away from the chin and neck either.

skieur

Perhaps there could have been a bit more light on the left side of her face, but I'm failing to see such an egregious posture problem. I think the pose is rather lovely.

jols · Nov 8, 2007

so do i max. has she seen the pic yet

JerryPH · Nov 8, 2007

Since in the near future I plan to take a little constructive criticism, I may as well learn to share my thoughts, if I may.

First off, honestly, anything anyone could say would be truly nit-picking, the pic is awesome, period.

Having said that:

- I would have liked to see less of a shine on the top of her face, and a little more highlighted detail on the shaded side.

- The eyes don't really pop out at me, the whites are not clearly visible.

- An increase in aperture to decrease bokeh a little further down, perhaps starting at the waist instead of starting at around mid-breast would be more pleasant. Hands and fingers unblurred are always attractive in the position she has placed them.

- The dress around the breast area seems a touch blownout?

- I love hair... and the colours of her hair is awesome, I find myself wanting to see more of the section thats cropped out on the right side... nothing asthetic, purely personal taste.

Now I am no pro, so please accept my thoughts as those of a beginner.

Alpha · Nov 8, 2007

jols said:
so do i max. has she seen the pic yet

She has. If you'd like to see any of the rest of them, I've made a new thread here:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1021778#post1021778

craig · Nov 8, 2007

Fun shot!!! Excellent camera work. Not sure how she can be comfortable laying on a brick wall, but she is or at least looks like it. Although I do not like seeing teeth I have to say she has a killer smile.

Love & Bass

heip · Nov 8, 2007

I like this shot. I disagree though with the DOF comment. The lines lead the eye down the shot but it comes back to the face because the gown is not in focus.
I like the pose as well, I don't see a neck or chin problem at all.

Alpha · Nov 8, 2007

craig said:
Fun shot!!! Excellent camera work. Not sure how she can be comfortable laying on a brick wall, but she is or at least looks like it. Although I do not like seeing teeth I have to say she has a killer smile.

Love & Bass

The scary thing is that there's a good 50-60 ft drop to her right. We were on the third floor of the building, which is an abandoned tobacco warehouse along the river. She's literally inches away from a certainly fatal fall. At first I had suggested we do a shot in the window, but when I realized how big a drop there was, I said it would probably be a bad idea. She insisted though. She's a good friend of mine now, and really a trooper. She said anything for the shot...thank god she liked it. The shots in the other thread where she appears to be walking on the water, she's actually standing on two boards that I positioned just below the surface. It was really gross water.