Close-ups

Thayli · May 27, 2013

Exactly what it says on the tin.

sarah_19_nz · May 28, 2013

I personally really like these photos. My fav is the middle one. The last one is a little underexposed? and the first image is beautiful but I wish the outline of her face on the right hand side was more visable (still I like it despite this!)

billyboybad · May 28, 2013

First one is superb !!!!!!

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tirediron · May 28, 2013

I very much like all three of these, but I would like to see a little less dynamic range in #s 1 & 3, along with just a little more light on the eyes.

amolitor · May 28, 2013

Good model, dramatic light. Nicely done!

The last one, as has been noted (more or less) suffers from raccoon eyes.

The FIRST one has a problem which maybe bothers nobody on earth but me: her pupils are not separated from her irises, at least not clearly. There's some catchlight going on there confusing the issue. Anyways, the upshot is that I think this makes eyes look weird and dead. Your mileage may vary!

Tiller · May 28, 2013

The catchlights are a bit strange in both 1 and 3. Once amolitor pointed it out, I couldn't not see it.

Derrel · May 28, 2013

amolitor said:
Good model, dramatic light. Nicely done!

The last one, as has been noted (more or less) suffers from raccoon eyes.

The FIRST one has a problem which maybe bothers nobody on earth but me: her pupils are not separated from her irises, at least not clearly. There's some catchlight going on there confusing the issue. Anyways, the upshot is that I think this makes eyes look weird and dead. Your mileage may vary!

Yes, the dark eyes hurt both 1 and 3. #3 is impacted quite a bit by the eye tonal placement. Losing her far shoulder also ruins #1 for me...her left shoulder is just...gone, eliminated in the faked white background you painted in in post. I "want to like" all these, and all of them, each and every one, has some things go for it. #2 I guess comes closest to being a complete, planned-looking effort, although it's a bit low-contrast and could use a bit more punch! I think. She's very photogenic.

Thayli · May 28, 2013

Hi guys, thanks for the replies as always.

Good notes on the catchlights, cant understand how I can stare at a picture for 10mins during editing and still manage to miss these things. All three of these were taken from either full body or 3/4 body pics that were then blown up using Blowup3, which I just got yesterday morning. Must admit I'm quite impressed with it, and i was looking forward to going through some dusty RAWs of unusable pics due to cut limbs, posing, dog running in out of nowhere etc, and just making face shots with them, which is what you have here.

My slapstick painting on #1 is obviously very noticable though lol, however it wasnt her shoulder i was painting out, it was her hand that was held just slightly away from her chest. The shoulders are at a very square angle and I dont think her other shoulder was visible at all behind her neck, and if anything was seen, it was almost certainly blown out in the highlights. The right-angled shoulders were why I never used that pic before in the first place, and I didnt have the means to crop to her face without being left a pixelly mess.

(Lol Derrel, you brought out the paranoia in me there, I really really really hope that my days of painting fake backgrounds are truly behind me now).

So #1 and #2 might be salvagable if I take a bit more care in the editing. #3 is actually part of a fairly decent half-body portrait which I just liked the look of blown-up, so that ones done anyway. But #1 and #2 I never expected to be able to use for anything, so Alien skin have definitly made me happy.

Thanks a lot everyone!

EDIT: Plus really stupid question time, is 'punch' controlled exclusively by contrast, or is there other ways to increase impact? I'm thinking vivid colouring, which isnt going to help me with B&W, but is there other methods?

amolitor · May 28, 2013

"Punch" can be supported by color, for sure.

Tonally, though, it's not strictly about contrast. It's about having dark areas and light areas. You can certainly have some spots of white, and some spots of black, without a "high contrast" look, per se. You can have a model rendered with beautiful silky tones for skin, anything BUT high contrast, but then put her in a violent zebra-striped dress and a matching hat and POW you got punch. You can do with with deep shadows as well. Or, you can do it with a steep tone curve. They'll all have PUNCH but they'll all look different.

TimothyJinx · May 28, 2013

I haven't seen you post anything for a while. As always, your subject matter is gorgeous. I can't add much to what has been said other than I like what you were going for in #1. I like the very bright background as though she is actually stepping out of the light. #2 is the best - a little curves adjustment and it's a real winner. #3 I am a little distracted by the hair right across the eye.