Emotion!

Armstror · Jun 23, 2005

This is my second try at doing portraits. I was trying to get her to cry so we could do some emotional shots and she looked up at me with this face. It was so sad! *Sniff* Please tell me what you think of it. Be brutal.

What i used: (Forgive me if it's off...I'm not good with name thingies...:blushing:
Canon EOS 10D
Outdoor lighting
28-105mm lens??

JohnMF · Jun 23, 2005

I think it would have looked more moody/emotional if it was shot in black and white maybe with a green filter to really capture those freckles.

elsaspet · Jun 23, 2005

I agree about the black and white. That would look really good. One niggle for me though is that wisp of hair across her cheek and going into her eye. I think it would be better if you cleaned up some of the stray hairs. Not so neatly that she looks model like, but just enough so that it isn't a distraction to her eyes or mouth which to me, is really what makes this photo.

terri · Jun 23, 2005

I really like your tight crop here, and she does look like she is full of emotion. Very nice expression.

I rather like the shot as is, her skin tones are nice. I don't guess a B&W would be bad, but it's a compelling shot on its own.

thebeginning · Jun 23, 2005

for the emotion that [i think] you are going for, you are going to want to use less coloring, or at least a moodier scene. in this shot, the skin tones are nice, the detail is great, and the close crop really was a good idea. But i think what you were trying to capture with this shot was truncated by the surroundings color, such as the green in the foliage behind her and the lightly colored blue shirt she is wearing. those arent necessarily sad colors. I am most definitely not an expert, and i must admit that it is much easier to critique an image than to make a worthy one, so you may want take my advice with a tiny grain of salt or two. I would suggest using a different pose. Leaning over is good, but it would be better if she was posed so it looked as if you had found her crying, not as if she came up to you and her emotions just spontaneously combusted. If she was leaning over and looking back at you as if she just realized you were there, (which i think this image hints at, but doesnt quite show enough for the viewer to realize) it would make it much more emotional. A darker scene would also benefit this i think (the black and white conversion idea might do it well), maybe if you took it on a rainy day with her surrounded by puddles or something on a sidewalk (just spitting out ideas), or a number of things. This image is very nice, but im not sure if it is as emotional as you had hoped it to be. i think if she had a more neutral, content expression, this image would be great (not what you were going for though). nice job with the technical side of things!

westman · Jun 23, 2005

add little bit of flash or use reflect board to get more light
and use a warm up filter to warm it up

elsapo · Jun 24, 2005

It's got this flat-bland light that doesn't do it for me. Needs some direction.

I actually don't see the emotion here - this is more of a blank stare, in my opinion. But that's not something you can fix.

I do like the angle you've chosen here. And yeah, some more contrast and dodging-burning in B&W might help this picture a lot. Play around with it...

elsapo · Jun 24, 2005

On a second note -- use a longer focal length to decrease emphasis on her nose and shorten up the DOF. I think you'll find it brings focus to the picture and gets rid of distraction.

Christie Photo · Jun 24, 2005

elsapo said:
It's got this flat-bland light that doesn't do it for me. Needs some direction.

YUP. With an image thats soooo very "scarey-sharp," and the flat lighting, I think there's more to be done here. A directional light source coming from the left (our left) and spilling a bit onto her left cheek (her left) would put the broad side of her face (and nose) in shadow. This will create some shape and mood.

I would try softening the image a bit.

Color is a valid choice.

I hope this helps.

-Pete

mentos_007 · Jun 24, 2005

I think that colour here works nice. A bit of red and beautiful green in the background

gypsyIX · Jun 24, 2005

i could almost fall in love with this photo... i love the angle, the tight crop, the expression, the hint of glitter on her lower lip. but, and perhaps this is just my monitor but i don't think so, her skin is *green*. i'm sure it's just reflecting the green in the background, but that doesn't change the fact that it's green. and trying to adjust it would surely make her look red.

i would like to see how this looks in bw. please oh please?