C&C My first portrait shots, using my Girlfriend

[stepollard1]

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[tirediron]

C&C per req:

1. Interesting pose; I'm undecided on the guitar as a prop. I do think the image needs more light on the hair/hat as there's very little visible detail in either. As far as composition goes, I think not cropping the the side of the guitar image left would have made it better. For shoots like this, try and get more separation between subject and background and use a kicker to blow out the detail, and don't forget to clone out the strobe visible in her glasses. It looks like you may have overdone the skin-smoothing as well.

2. Holy tungsten WB Batman! Just a little tooo blue for my taste. If this was an intended effect, fine, if not, back to the pixel room for a WB adjustment. It's nice that you can see her eyes behind the glasses ('though I would prefer them to be gone altogether) but remember to clean them and again, clone out the strobe flash. As with #1, there's very little detail in her hair. She obviously has very black hair and this is difficult to work with from an exposure point of view, but additional, careful lighting will help. I think also more care in the positioning of her hair would have helped. Once she's laying down, use a course comb to fan it out evenly perhaps.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[kundalini]

Red X for the first image.


Holy Static Electricity Batman!

If you want the wind blown look, try using your wind source to one side,

Obvious on-board flash used noticeable in the reflection. Try using a white business card to bounce the light upwards. This will also soften the light and likely give a more pleasing result.

The strap is annoying. Just lower it off the shoulder. Give enough time so that the imprint is gone.

Up the nose shots seldom are attractive.

Nice looking GF. Good first attempt. Keep at it.

 

[stepollard1]

Thanks, always appriciated.

What is a kicker?

I do not have any lighting at all just my pp up flash. Is there a way I can alter the lighting on hat and hair in photoshop?

2- She is stood up with a fan blowing her hair to gain that uneven effect.

 

[o hey tyler]

There's a lot of Batman in this thread, but no Robin.

As Kundalini said, business card in front of the flash will yield much better results.

 

[tirediron]

Thanks, always appriciated.

What is a kicker?

I do not have any lighting at all just my pp up flash. Is there a way I can alter the lighting on hat and hair in photoshop?

2- She is stood up with a fan blowing her hair to gain that uneven effect.

-A kicker is a small light/strobe used to provide illumination in one area or to boost illumination in another.

-You could use the Dodge tool in PS, or select the areas and create an adjustment layer, but they'll likely look noisy.

-Okay got it. For some reason, I thought she was laying down.

 

[stepollard1]

Thats ace Thankyou.