Can somebody please tell me what's wrong with these? I can't quite place it...

[jwbryson1]

I shot these with the wrong WB because I was not paying attention (dummy!) and I'm having a hard time fixing it now in LR.

The first needed some adjusting to blow out the background a bit, and the second looks better I think, but I'm still bothered by something...

Maybe my DOF is too shallow? Background not blown enough? I can't quite place it...

Please help me fix these. Thanks for looking!! :mrgreen:

1.

[/URL] EMM1 by jwbryson1, on Flickr[/IMG]


2.

[/URL] EMM2 by jwbryson1, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[hirejn]

The WB is not even close and the skin tones are too red. The lighting is bad. Shoulders are square. Looks like a mug shot.

 

[amolitor]

He's too pink!

Getting the color balance right is going to be tricky, since the light on the (camera) left side of his face is quite yellow.

Taking out quite a bit of red, de-saturating overall a little bit, and then tweaking what's left very very slightly seems to bring the colors under control. Then a very slight S curve applied for a hair more contrast, produced this:

 

[jwbryson1]

The WB is not even close and the skin tones are too red. The lighting is bad. Shoulders are square. Looks like a mug shot.

:er:


Anybody else? To be clear, this was a quick and dirty shot of a coworker under bad lighting conditions without my lighting equipment just to see what I could do without dragging my backdrops, etc. to my workplace. Shot using a D90 and SB-700 bounced off the wall. This was not intended to be a professional portrait, but just something he needed to identify himself at an upcoming professional conference.

Clearly, the WB is off--I already pointed that out, and I reduced the red in the skin tones. But for the intended purpose, will this work or does anybody think I should change his orientation -- have him turn his shoulders, etc. for this type of shot?

Thanks.

 

[runnah]

Yes, turn shoulders.

 

[jwbryson1]

He's too pink!

Getting the color balance right is going to be tricky, since the light on the (camera) left side of his face is quite yellow.

Taking out quite a bit of red, de-saturating overall a little bit, and then tweaking what's left very very slightly seems to bring the colors under control. Then a very slight S curve applied for a hair more contrast, produced this:

View attachment 39592

Thanks! I like this much better. I really do not have an eye yet for red tones but it seems that my D90 really tends to oversaturate the red a bit. Thanks for the edit.

What do you think about the pose?

 

[leeroix]

Was this RAW?

 

[jwbryson1]

Yes, turn shoulders.

Got it, thanks!! :mrgreen:

 

[jwbryson1]

Was this RAW?

I shot in RAW and exported in JPEG format.

 

[amolitor]

Looks like a corporate mug shot to me! I'm not really a portrait person (Derrel? Ooooo Derrelllllllll! Helloooooo?) but the shoulder's turned idea seems like it would make a more dynamic portrait.

If the goal is to make a picture to go on the 'About Us -> Management Team' page of a web site, though, this is The Pose.

 

[leeroix]

Do you use Photoshop? or Lightroom? The adjustments are fairly straightforward in CS6 for me.

 

[jwbryson1]

Revised. Does this look better?

[/URL] EMM4 by jwbryson1, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[jwbryson1]

Do you use Photoshop? or Lightroom? The adjustments are fairly straightforward in CS6 for me.

Leeroix, this is adjusted in LR4. I have PS CS6, but at home, not at work. I've been using LR4 for a couple of years, but I clearly don't have a good eye yet for skin tones.

Maybe I will have him repose and turn his shoulders a bit. What do you think about No 4 above?

 

[leeroix]

Waaayy better.

 

[jwbryson1]

Waaayy better.

He just said he hates the white background. Is there a simple tool in CS6 or LR4 to change the background to look like a marble slab (the "Sears" look)?