Bridal portrait

look · Jun 30, 2005

I have a portrait I want to use to the fullest. I mean any PS work whatever that may include - high key, etc. to make it even more striking. I would apreciate your feedback/ideas/advices/(harsh but to the point) critique what I could do with it.

The couple was wonderfully nice to work with and we became almost friends so I want to make something extra nice to them and get the skills and portfolio photo for myself when trying to make something extraordinary from the photo.

Thank you all in advance.

I you wish you can cast a vote as a means of feedback - I am starting so I am hungry for feedback

erniehatt · Jun 30, 2005

I think any Bride would be happy to recieve this, my only negative thought is that you should have tried to move the fold of the vail away from the centre of the face. Apart from that I like the softness. Ernie

JohnMF · Jul 1, 2005

i have to agrees with the above comment about the fold over the eye, it was the first thing i noticed. apart from that i think the rest looks real good

im sure she'll be happy with it

I would also be interested to see what the photo looks like after youve applied your PS work to it

look · Jul 1, 2005

JohnMF said:
i have to agrees with the above comment about the fold over the eye, it was the first thing i noticed. apart from that i think the rest looks real good

im sure she'll be happy with it

I would also be interested to see what the photo looks like after youve applied your PS work to it

The fold over her eye - I love candid style and she hates posing - that's where the picture comes from

And in the neighbour picture she had different expression so it's a matter of seconds if not split seconds

Some have commented on the crop on her hands and I am looking for an alternative and some latest versions are at

http://locale.lt/cgp/thumbnails.php?album=2

You are welcome to visit and vote which version you like best

Thank you all

LaFoto · Jul 1, 2005

Sorry, here's another one going on about that fold in the veil, but that really is very distracting and ever so immediately obvious... you are explaining that this was a very quick candid photo, but the explanation does not take away the fold.

Hence just an 8 because everything else in this photo is utterly appealing:

background
light
her expression
and also the fact that she is pulling that sweater around her shoulders which soooo obviously does not belong to her bridal outfit, I personally really like this aspect of the photo very much because it adds to the very natural look of it.

As the bride, I'd love this photo (and would always think, ah, if only that fold were not in the veil).

JonMikal · Jul 1, 2005

i agree with LaFoto, however, the fold is more than a minor distraction to me.

look · Jul 1, 2005

Thanks LaFoto for a detailed comment

It seems crop of the hands is not a distraction to anyone - maybe I should not care too much about it

Christie Photo · Jul 1, 2005

LaFoto said:
...the fact that she is pulling that sweater around her shoulders...

OK... this helps me... a LOT. The most troubling element in this portrait is the awkward position of her wrist. It wasn't clear to me why her hand would be where it is and find it hard to take my eyes off of it. The back of her hand along with the shoulder is the brightest large area in the image, and draws so much attention. Having it explained to me is a big relief. I can rate this photo higher now.

The fold of the veil doesn't bother me at all.

I absoutely LOVE the textures and colors.

-Pete Christie

doli · Jul 2, 2005

I am not so distracted by the fold... but I like more candid and less commercial looking pictures. It's a beautiful moment in time...
I like the composition and use of color levels...
If you were to recrop closer... and cut out the second arm at the bottom, all good (I love extreme close-ups) but it's not needed.

Love the work.
Doli

look · Jul 2, 2005

Thank you Doli

I have tried several crops http://locale.lt/cgp/thumbnails.php?album=2 and - I you wish - you could comment there which one you prefer.

doli · Jul 2, 2005

look said:
Thank you Doli

I have tried several crops http://locale.lt/cgp/thumbnails.php?album=2 and - I you wish - you could comment there which one you prefer.

I love crop 4 and 2... It's crop 2 that is more to the right side. I tend to like that one a little more, but thats my taste. It frames the shot... and since she is looking right, it gives a little more to the story as to what might be just off the frame.

Oh, and the balc and white... it's a romactic look, so I like that you didn't crush the blacks... BUT if her face was more serious (if that was me, it would be more of a look a fear, I'm warped) then a stronger contract would be nice. But happy... I like the softer tones! the green makes me say, keep the color one as the covented picture, and the BLK and WHT as the runner up.

Doli :heart:

Tally Ho · Jul 2, 2005

The word 'photograph' comes to us from two Greek words, 'photo' meaning 'light' and 'graph' meaning 'drawn.' So, a photograph is light drawn, or drawn with light. The light in this image is coming from overhead and illuminating her right shoulder, the tip of her nose and her left hand. Unfortunately it is not illuminating her face, which is the most important part of a portrait. Her shoulders are square to the camera making her look 25 pounds heavier, her right hand is amputated at the wrist and her left hand is nearly the same size as her entire face. The back of a woman's hand should never be photographed. Only the sides of the hand should show in a portrait. The veil needed to be moved as others have already pointed out.

This is my first posting here. Hopefully I will be able to make more positive comments on future images. I most likely will not be a real popular person here because of my critiques, but guess what? No one learns how to take better images with critiques like 'good shot', 'nice lighting', or 'couldn't be better' when in reality the image is poorly exposed, the lighting isn't good and the pose is awkward, myself included.

Tally Ho

doli · Jul 2, 2005

why shouldn't a womans hand be photographed from the back?
I've been told I have lovely hands and I am usually flicking someone off...

I like the critique, though it was a little too high and mighty with the breakdown of the word.

oh, and have you concidered that maybe she IS 25 pounds heavier? just wondering.

doli · Jul 2, 2005

Oh, laugh..

Tally Ho · Jul 3, 2005

doli said:
why shouldn't a womans hand be photographed from the back?
I've been told I have lovely hands and I am usually flicking someone off...

I like the critique, though it was a little too high and mighty with the breakdown of the word.

oh, and have you concidered that maybe she IS 25 pounds heavier? just wondering.

Hello doli!

How can a woman's hand be graceful and flowing when it looks like the above hand? It can't, it looks heavy, flat and unflattering. Mind you this is a bridal portrait, and brides are the most beautiful and important women in the world, and IMHO a portrait of one should show them as beautiful and graceful. Now if this were a portrait of a boxer, we would pose and light his hands to look big and menacing.

Before you read my above posting did you know what the word 'photograph' meant? I would guess 75% of the people who regularly use a camera don't know what it means.

Ok lets assume she is 25 pounds overweight. By posing her in the above way, she appears to be 25 pounds heavier. Virtually all of the professional photographers I know recognizes that most women want to appear thinner and more beautiful in their portrait than what they really are. That is why before the portrait they have an appointment with a make-up artist, the nail salon and their hair stylist.

I suppose in my career as a professional photographer I have photographed perhaps 10,000 women. I can't remember even one who wanted to look even one pound heavier. Would you like to be posed and lit to appear 25 pounds heavier in your portrait?

Tally Ho