Backyard portraits

[CherylL]

My niece was in town back in June and wanted photos. We planned on going to a flower farm, but she had a tight schedule. These were done late afternoon and not ideal. Very limited on shade and background that time of day. And the stripes in the dress was not ideal. Some photos had a purple cast reflection going on and I had to adjust in PS best I could. C&C welcome

1. I shot thru a tree for the effect. Wasn't the sharpest due to the foreground tree limb, but I liked this one.

2.

3. I saw this triangle pose online and we gave it a try. Very awkward to get in this position. Would have been easier if taller fence or a tall stone feature.

4.

5.

 

[cgw]

3-5 are worth some post effort IMHO. Some separation issues in 4-5. Liking them. Jennifer Connelly ringer?!

 

[CherylL]

3-5 are worth some post effort IMHO. Some separation issues in 4-5. Liking them. Jennifer Connelly ringer?!

Thanks for the feedback. What post work do you have in mind? I looked up Jennifer Connelly and there is a resemblance.

 

[gk fotografie]

My niece was in town back in June and wanted photos. We planned on going to a flower farm, but she had a tight schedule. These were done late afternoon and not ideal. Very limited on shade and background that time of day. And the stripes in the dress was not ideal. Some photos had a purple cast reflection going on and I had to adjust in PS best I could. C&C welcome

1. I shot thru a tree for the effect. Wasn't the sharpest due to the foreground tree limb, but I liked this one.
View attachment 278308

2.
View attachment 278309

3. I saw this triangle pose online and we gave it a try. Very awkward to get in this position. Would have been easier if taller fence or a tall stone feature.
View attachment 278310

4.
View attachment 278311

5.
View attachment 278313

For me, the choice would be photo 3 and photo 4, although I'm not really into portraits in horizontal format.
In photo 3, but of course this is entirely personal, I would choose to rotate the image slightly so that the person portrayed seems to be leaning forward a little less. Then I would make a crop with a little more space above the head of the person in question and clone a piece of the background in the extra section at the top right.

I'd also retouch the 'creases' in the clothing (upper left arm) a little, as well as the point on top of the shoulder - probably caused by hanging the garment on a clothes hanger that is slightly too small.

I myself would have taken this photo a little more from the front, the advantage of this is that the arm that leans on the railing becomes optically a little shorter, because in the current photo 3 this right arm now seems a bit too long because the person portrayed comes forward too much with the right side of the body, at least that is how it appears to me.

 

[cgw]

Thanks for the feedback. What post work do you have in mind? I looked up Jennifer Connelly and there is a resemblance.

I do like 4-5 but think a couple areas would be worth some time. Separation from the dark background by lightening it to boost contrast with her dark hair. Her face and neck seem overexposed in both shots.

 

[CherylL]

For me, the choice would be photo 3 and photo 4, although I'm not really into portraits in horizontal format.
In photo 3, but of course this is entirely personal, I would choose to rotate the image slightly so that the person portrayed seems to be leaning forward a little less. Then I would make a crop with a little more space above the head of the person in question and clone a piece of the background in the extra section at the top right.

I'd also retouch the 'creases' in the clothing (upper left arm) a little, as well as the point on top of the shoulder - probably caused by hanging the garment on a clothes hanger that is slightly too small.

I myself would have taken this photo a little more from the front, the advantage of this is that the arm that leans on the railing becomes optically a little shorter, because in the current photo 3 this right arm now seems a bit too long because the person portrayed comes forward too much with the right side of the body, at least that is how it appears to me. Attached is a visualization of the edit, of course this is entirely my own opinion.

View attachment 278354

thanks GK for your visual! Very helpful. I like your crop. It doesn't seem as intense. And thanks for the other feedback too

 

[CherylL]

I do like 4-5 but think a couple areas would be worth some time. Separation from the dark background by lightening it to boost contrast with her dark hair. Her face and neck seem overexposed in both shots.

thanks CGw for your precise feedback. Much appreciated!

 

[smoke665]

This is just a personal preference for what it's worth, going a little biblical from Matthew 6:22 because it aptly applies to portrait photograph "The eye is the lamp of the body, you draw light in through the eye, and it shines out to the world through your eye". I've never quite understood why, but if you look at a mirror, your your iris will radiate color, it's really difficult to record that radiance in camera, but it's none the less very important. Get the eyes right....sharp, and radiant, then every thing else falls in place. How sharp is sharp....you can count every lash and see the crypts and furrows in the iris, how radiant is radiant.....not milky but clear, and of good color.

I'm not big fan of wide aperture portraits, to me the effort required to get the face/eyes sharp and clear just isn't worth the effort. I can always blur the background by changing my position or work with skin post, but bringing back real detail is mostly impossible. Then there's the issue with softness on all lenses at their extreme apertures. I generally shoot in the f/5.6-8.0 range which gives me good DOF from the tip of the nose to the ear, but that's just me...I'm lazy. LOL

Of the set #3 is IMO the best, though as GK pointed out, cropping and rotating would be helpful, only I'd leave it the same aspect ratio.

 

[CherylL]

This is just a personal preference for what it's worth, going a little biblical from Matthew 6:22 because it aptly applies to portrait photograph "The eye is the lamp of the body, you draw light in through the eye, and it shines out to the world through your eye". I've never quite understood why, but if you look at a mirror, your your iris will radiate color, it's really difficult to record that radiance in camera, but it's none the less very important. Get the eyes right....sharp, and radiant, then every thing else falls in place. How sharp is sharp....you can count every lash and see the crypts and furrows in the iris, how radiant is radiant.....not milky but clear, and of good color.

I'm not big fan of wide aperture portraits, to me the effort required to get the face/eyes sharp and clear just isn't worth the effort. I can always blur the background by changing my position or work with skin post, but bringing back real detail is mostly impossible. Then there's the issue with softness on all lenses at their extreme apertures. I generally shoot in the f/5.6-8.0 range which gives me good DOF from the tip of the nose to the ear, but that's just me...I'm lazy. LOL

Of the set #3 is IMO the best, though as GK pointed out, cropping and rotating would be helpful, only I'd leave it the same aspect ratio.

Thanks Bill for the feedback. I understand what you are saying about sharpness. Usually I use a detail brush to bring out the eyes. I didn't with this series. My general shooting is wide open or maybe a stop down. More with two or more people the aperture is usually at 4.5

 

[smoke665]

Thanks Bill for the feedback. I understand what you are saying about sharpness. Usually I use a detail brush to bring out the eyes. I didn't with this series. My general shooting is wide open or maybe a stop down. More with two or more people the aperture is usually at 4.5

Everyone has certain preferences, and that's not to say you can't have the eyes sharp at wider apertures, it just requires more effort on focus. I'm finding as I age that my eyes aren't as good as they once where.

For eyes I use D&B curves layers to define the eye, Iashes and lids, a HSB layer and Levels layer with masks to refine the color, and a stamped copy layer with mask set to screen to illuminate the iris (limited opacity).

 

[smoke665]

Thanks Bill for the feedback. I understand what you are saying about sharpness. Usually I use a detail brush to bring out the eyes. I didn't with this series. My general shooting is wide open or maybe a stop down. More with two or more people the aperture is usually at 4.5

Everyone has certain preferences, and that's not to say you can't have the eyes sharp at wider apertures, it just requires more effort on focus. I'm finding as I age that my eyes aren't as good as they once where.

For eyes I use D&B curves layers to define the eye, Iashes and lids, a HSB layer and Levels layer with masks to refine the color, and a stamped copy layer with mask set to screen to illuminate the iris (limited opacity).

 

[jeffashman]

It's a nice series of images! I'm not a people photographer so I'm not much help on critique here.

 

[ACS64]

No. 3 is my favorite but I can't say way.

 

[CherylL]

Everyone has certain preferences, and that's not to say you can't have the eyes sharp at wider apertures, it just requires more effort on focus. I'm finding as I age that my eyes aren't as good as they once where.

For eyes I use D&B curves layers to define the eye, Iashes and lids, a HSB layer and Levels layer with masks to refine the color, and a stamped copy layer with mask set to screen to illuminate the iris (limited opacity).

I use curves for darken/lighten areas and parts of the eyes. And sometimes make a merged copy and use the dodge/burn tools. That way not very often.

 

[CherylL]

It's a nice series of images! I'm not a people photographer so I'm not much help on critique here.

Thanks Jeff! I wish I had more people to photograph. My 3 local grand girls are into sports which takes up most of their time.

No. 3 is my favorite but I can't say way.

Thanks AC! Sometimes I see a photo and can't quite decide why I like it.