Another walk in the park!

[thebasedsloth]

TMAR6792.jpg by TheBasedSloth, on Flickr TMAR6776.jpg by TheBasedSloth, on Flickr
Is it just me or does the white balance/skin tone on the second look a little off? I just couldnt get it to a point where it looked perfect.. All thoughts appreciated!

 

[pthrift]

The first one I don't like because her shirt blends too much into the background, making a sort of floating torso....

The 2nd one looks fine on my cell, save the part in her hair looks washed out

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4. probably at work.

 

[thebasedsloth]

i didnt even notice either of those things until you said something, now it seems so obvious! thanks for the input, i appreciate your critique!

 

[mmaria]

don't like #1

I like her in #2 but the bg is killing me

 

[thebasedsloth]

what about the background do you not like? the green?

 

[mmaria]

not just the green

if it was just green it would be better and then I would say that you should tone it down... your bg isn't simple as it should be and it's brighter, more saturated and more contrasty than your subject is so it gets more attention... do you know what vignetting is? you should think in similar direction...

anyway, there's a lot more to be said but maybe someone else will say more

 

[thebasedsloth]

Ahh, gotcha! thanks for the clarification. Backgrounds has been my biggest downfall with portraiture as of lately!

 

[The_Traveler]

May I post an edit of the first one?

OOPS I meant the second one.
I could describe what I think is wrong - and you could argue - but if I show you how she looks with the changes I think you would understand.

 

[thebasedsloth]

okay but only because you're from md also

 

[The_Traveler]

She is very photogenic but way over-exposed and way too blue.
Her skin is too pale to handle lots of light, you need a much gentler light for her I think.
Watch the blotchy backgrounds and take pictures when she is wearing a darker top so that her skin contrasts with it.
I made these really warm and saturated
Left one is first pass and the right one is with more touching-up.
Her eyes are terrific.

Note that there is a meetup in DC on Sept 20

 

[kundalini]

I kinda like the blue on blue of the first, but not so much the blue on blue on blue. WFT is that blue thing in the lower left corner? An oversight?

Unfortunately, there is a larger issue with #1 and the context of #2 provides the clue. She obviously doesn't have a stump on her right shoulder, but that is exactly what you have captured. Another oversight? Be cognizant of these matters. A good rule of thumb to follow with portraits is...... if it bends, have them bend it. Much better with #2.

 

[thebasedsloth]

Thanks for the color correction, Lew! Thats the look I wanted but couldn't manage get for some reason!
Thanks for that tip also kundalini! Working on posing is on the top of my to-do list, right next to finding better/simplifying backgrounds.