Endeavouring into Portraiture and Editing of Portraits--Comments and Critiques Please

D-B-J · Mar 30, 2011

For my photo class we currently were assigned to take a buncha portraits. The first is indoors with my two sb600's, and the second is outdoors in sunlight on a windy day. Both were taken using my 80-200 AF-D 2.8 lens.

Any comments and critiques are welcome! I edited using LR3, PS, and Portrait Professional.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Regards,
Jake

bazooka · Mar 30, 2011

IMHO, I feel like you went quite a bit too far with the skin softening and removing of so-called blemishes.

#1 - I like the original except that it's slightly hot on the left side of the face. I would have left the freckles and the moles (except for the distracting one on the lip, and only if this is intended for commercial use). I don't know why you morphed her face, I think it looks fine the way it is, unless that's a part of the assignment. I like that you dampened the vein on the forehead... the light looks like it amplified this and made it worse than it really is. Maybe a slight angle adjustment would have helped.

#2 - I like the exposure adjustment on the face and the softer feel of it and how you used the sun to your advantage, but again, a bit too far on the artificial makeup. And it doesn't look like you applied the same adjustment to the neck/chest. While I do think some softening is warranted on this one, I think you went a bit too far. It does look more natural than #1 edited though.

andynrach · Mar 30, 2011

I agree with bazooka, but I'm just a newb myself! The studio light is a little hot on the left, but I really love the natural light photo!! The eyes on the edited natural light photo are a bit large for her face structure. It looks a lot like an edit by the portrait professional program to me. Sometimes there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. You're on the right track, though! I really really love the lighting on your natural light photo.

adarlingshot · Mar 30, 2011

take it easy on the pp

) fill flash would have been good for the outdoor shot...crazy eyes..I would go back and tone down whatever you did to her eyes in the second one in particular!

D-B-J · Mar 30, 2011

adarlingshot said:
take it easy on the pp ) fill flash would have been good for the outdoor shot...crazy eyes..I would go back and tone down whatever you did to her eyes in the second one in particular!

Sadly it was WAY too windy for any fill flash, cause it would have just blown over and i didnt have someone to hold the stand.

D-B-J · Mar 30, 2011

Thanks all for your comments. I just wanted to see exactly HOW far i could go with the smoothing, and for going overboard (which i know i did) im pretty happy with the results.

bazooka · Mar 30, 2011

No need to put the fill flash on a stand if it's going to blow over... just put it on the camera. Fill should generally originate from near the lens anyway.

D-B-J · Mar 30, 2011

bazooka said:
No need to put the fill flash on a stand if it's going to blow over... just put it on the camera. Fill should generally originate from near the lens anyway.

I didn't think of this. I will definitely keep that in mind next time though. Thanks!

Regards,
Jake

kundalini · Mar 30, 2011

bazooka said:
Fill should generally originate from near the lens anyway.

Much like was done on the first shot. I would clone out the second catchlight however. I'd also clone out her right earring that is creeping in.

I would avoid shoulders square to the camera. I'm sure you've heard the term "footbal shoulders", but having them pointed at the lens is not a good idea either. Try having her at a 30-45° turn with her weight on the back heel. This creates a more dynamic pose, even for head and shoulders. The foundation for good posing starts with the feet.

Shooting in a studio scenario, you can easily shoot between f/8 & f/11. This would create a larger DoF, giving more life to the hair on her right shoulder. This would also help tone down the hotspots.

Generally, it is better to have a female point her chest away from the key light. As you have it, it is lit up like a Christmas tree.

These are good shots you have, just a few things to consider next time. Thanks for sharing.

D-B-J · Mar 30, 2011

kundalini said:
bazooka said:

Fill should generally originate from near the lens anyway.

Click to expand...

Much like was done on the first shot. I would clone out the second catchlight however. I'd also clone out her right earring that is creeping in.

I would avoid shoulders square to the camera. I'm sure you've heard the term "footbal shoulders", but having them pointed at the lens is not a good idea either. Try having her at a 30-45° turn with her weight on the back heel. This creates a more dynamic pose, even for head and shoulders. The foundation for good posing starts with the feet.

Shooting in a studio scenario, you can easily shoot between f/8 & f/11. This would create a larger DoF, giving more life to the hair on her right shoulder. This would also help tone down the hotspots.

Generally, it is better to have a female point her chest away from the key light. As you have it, it is lit up like a Christmas tree.

These are good shots you have, just a few things to consider next time. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for your honest critique. I am trying to build a portfolio and a base of knowledge, and as you can probably tell, these are my first real portraits. Thanks again!

Regards,
Jake