C&C please

joylyn · Jan 8, 2013

Besides that I cut off the elbow in the 2nd one ummm smack me please lol Wondering about the post prosessing of these images. Also the composition

........

jowensphoto · Jan 8, 2013

Not bad! The second looks like it has been sharpened a lot.

The second's composition is kind of an awkward in between. I say go tighter or wider, either have her filling the frame or some space all the way around her.

WB seems a bit off, not necessarily unpleasant in either, but if you were to sell these to the client, you'd want consistency.

joylyn · Jan 8, 2013

jowensphoto said:
Not bad! The second looks like it has been sharpened a lot.

The second's composition is kind of an awkward in between. I say go tighter or wider, either have her filling the frame or some space all the way around her.

WB seems a bit off, not necessarily unpleasant in either, but if you were to sell these to the client, you'd want consistency.

I am struggling with white balance thats for sure. The consistency , these pictures were taken 2 different days and 2 different locations so not sure about that

cgipson1 · Jan 8, 2013

Joylynn... compare the skin tones between the two. While her face is in shadow in #2 from the hat... she should still match the non-shaded shot closer. #2 looks a little cyan to me.... and #1 may be a touch yellow. I am on my work monitors, and they have not been calibrated in quite a while, so I could be off. Try the Skin Tone by Numbers that I mentioned... you might find it helpful. As Jess mentioned, these do look oversharpened.

Colors on #2 Edit (difference is subtle, but noticeable)

Also.. always watch expressions on your models. Direct them a little bit if you need to. I feel the expression in #1 is not really flattering. You have your dof and focus down pretty well. #2 is nice, expression wise! Composition and posing needs some work.. as does your post (as we discussed).

Start using that gray card you said you were going to get... try setting a custom white balance for every session until you start to really get the hang of it. Don't forget reflectors or fill flash (just a touch of fill flash would have warmed up #2 a little bit). Watch your framing...#1 would be impossible to print and frame as it.. her knee would be cut off. #2.. yes.. elbow!

Just keep practicing!

joylyn · Jan 9, 2013

Again ty you both very much

But the consistency thing has me abit confused because of the fact that it was 2 different days and weather was not the same so how am I to keep them consistent? Also Charlie I guess its my monitor but your version looks more yellow then mine? I have calibrated my monitor found a link on google that walked me thru .

cgipson1 · Jan 9, 2013

joylyn said:
Again ty you both very much But the consistency thing has me abit confused because of the fact that it was 2 different days and weather was not the same so how am I to keep them consistent? Also Charlie I guess its my monitor but your version looks more yellow then mine? I have calibrated my monitor found a link on google that walked me thru .

To properly calibrate your monitor... you have to have a combination of software and hardware, that actually reads the colors on your display, and sets things correctly based on that.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=monitor+calibration
If you do it any other way, it will be off. It is nearly impossible to do visually, with the built in controls on the monitor (especially a non IPS panel). Some high end monitors have the ability to calibrate themselves pretty accurately, but they are not cheap.

My edit of #2 is more yellow than your original.. as the original was too cool... too cyan. Your other shot #1 was too yellow in comparison to your #2 shot (looked like maybe you shot in golden hour, or tried to warm it up to emulate golden hour?)

My edit was to bring #2 closer to #1 in color...
View attachment 31800

View attachment 31802

your original (#2) on the far left... compare it to the center shot (#1).. then compare my edit of #2 to the center shot (#1). That was the whole point of this exercise... to show you that.

Different days... different light...etc... do matter, but you can always get the skin tones on different shots much closer than you did... that was my point. That is one of your major weak points in your processing... just trying to help!

Mully · Jan 9, 2013

I did not like the lean in the first image and also the boot that shows to the left

This is my very rough and quick to give you an idea.

cgipson1 · Jan 9, 2013

Mully said:
I did not like the lean in the first image and also the boot that shows to the left

View attachment 31804

This is my very rough and quick to give you an idea.

Nice edit, Mully!

DiskoJoe · Jan 9, 2013

The originals are fine. You dont need to edit them at all and I would suggest you dont fix whats not broke. The framing is fine too. You didnt clip her elbow, you cut into it which is different and acceptable since the rest of her is framed adequately. This is a portrait so the face is the important part. I really like #2. #1 is okay too but the look on her face is a bit weird and not exactly flattering. She is much prettier smiling with a bit of teeth showing.

CorrieMichael · Jan 10, 2013

cgipson1 said:
Joylynn... compare the skin tones between the two. While her face is in shadow in #2 from the hat... she should still match the non-shaded shot closer. #2 looks a little cyan to me.... and #1 may be a touch yellow. I am on my work monitors, and they have not been calibrated in quite a while, so I could be off. Try the Skin Tone by Numbers that I mentioned... you might find it helpful. As Jess mentioned, these do look oversharpened.

Colors on #2 Edit (difference is subtle, but noticeable)
View attachment 31686 View attachment 31687

Also.. always watch expressions on your models. Direct them a little bit if you need to. I feel the expression in #1 is not really flattering. You have your dof and focus down pretty well. #2 is nice, expression wise! Composition and posing needs some work.. as does your post (as we discussed).

Start using that gray card you said you were going to get... try setting a custom white balance for every session until you start to really get the hang of it. Don't forget reflectors or fill flash (just a touch of fill flash would have warmed up #2 a little bit). Watch your framing...#1 would be impossible to print and frame as it.. her knee would be cut off. #2.. yes.. elbow!

Just keep practicing!

Charlie where do you mention the skin tone numbers? I would be interested in that information

cgipson1 · Jan 10, 2013

CorrieMichael said:
cgipson1 said:

Joylynn... compare the skin tones between the two. While her face is in shadow in #2 from the hat... she should still match the non-shaded shot closer. #2 looks a little cyan to me.... and #1 may be a touch yellow. I am on my work monitors, and they have not been calibrated in quite a while, so I could be off. Try the Skin Tone by Numbers that I mentioned... you might find it helpful. As Jess mentioned, these do look oversharpened.

Colors on #2 Edit (difference is subtle, but noticeable)

Also.. always watch expressions on your models. Direct them a little bit if you need to. I feel the expression in #1 is not really flattering. You have your dof and focus down pretty well. #2 is nice, expression wise! Composition and posing needs some work.. as does your post (as we discussed).

Start using that gray card you said you were going to get... try setting a custom white balance for every session until you start to really get the hang of it. Don't forget reflectors or fill flash (just a touch of fill flash would have warmed up #2 a little bit). Watch your framing...#1 would be impossible to print and frame as it.. her knee would be cut off. #2.. yes.. elbow!

Just keep practicing!

Click to expand...

Charlie where do you mention the skin tone numbers? I would be interested in that information