First Portait - Need serious critique...

Peniole · May 28, 2007

...but be nice about the model, dear friend. EDIT: er forgot to say, please feel free to edit this one

Overcast midday.
EXIF: 1/400sec, ISO 100, f/4.5
No exposure bias.
@ 51mm from a 40-150mm lens.

hamburger · May 28, 2007

Sorry for being blunt but I wouldn't exactly call that a portrait - too much "clutter" surrounding your friend, I feel you would have done well repositioning her so you'd just have the stone and maybe water in the background. Those glass doors are totally out of place - and so is the handbag! That would have had to go or be cropped out as, I think would the shrubbery... Also, a close-up would have been better.

Peniole · May 28, 2007

Nope, don't be sorry for beng blunt. That's why I'm here. To learn. Thanks for the critique. I have other closer cropped ones, still need processing. I liked this one and wanted feedback.

mysteryscribe · May 28, 2007

If you didnt have the do not edit I could show you the biggest problem you have. It is the crop.
It also doesn't look very sharp on my monitor.
The background blurred out would do wonders. Also things that could be demonstrated with an edit.

Peniole · May 28, 2007

mysteryscribe said:
If you didnt have the do not edit I could show you the biggest problem you have. It is the crop.
It also doesn't look very sharp on my monitor.
The background blurred out would do wonders. Also things that could be demonstrated with an edit.

My bad, I should have written please feel free to edit this one in the original post. I forget to do that in the critique forum :er: Please go ahead

How's this crop...

mysteryscribe · May 28, 2007

First cropped to make the shot about her not the waterfalls.
second sharpened the image
third bumped up the contrast
forth ran a blur brush over the background.

In my opinion you had a nice portrait hiding in there. About a thirty second fix. Because I got to demonstrate it rather than try to explain you can pick out the individual elements.

Peniole · May 28, 2007

Thank you for taking the time to show me

mysteryscribe · May 28, 2007

Don't know if it helps or not but you are most welcome.

Peniole · May 28, 2007

Took my time following what you did, just changed one thing, decided not to blur the step she was sitting on, otherwise I did a 4.7pixel gaussian blur on the background (painstakingly lasso'd, and still with areas on her arm and jeans that I coudn't get right). Any easier way to do that? Magic wand kept mistaking parts of her hair.

mysteryscribe · May 28, 2007

I dont use photoshop.. My blur is like a brush you move it about like a paintbrush and it blurs. its pretty easy to control.

skieur · Jun 1, 2007

I take the more standard approach to portraiture which I am sure that a few who don't do portraiture at all will object to.

skieur

mysteryscribe · Jun 1, 2007

Well since I have done them over thirty years, I'm not going to object to it. Other than not bluring the background what did you do differently. The blurred out background is a matter of taste really, not any special technique for beginners or experienced pros.

rp1600 · Jun 1, 2007

The cropped version is much better but what bothers me most about the photo is the waterfall which obviously you wanted to make a key element in the photo. It fights with her eyes, which are looking out of the frame. Maybe had she been looking toward the waterfall there'd be more balance.

That of course IMHO.

NJMAN · Jun 1, 2007

Peniole,

I think you had some nice elements to begin with, but as everyone has pointed out, there are some elements that need improvement.

I like the cropped version by mysteryscribe the best. I also agree with a few other aspects:

1) Her pose looks too "posed". She needs to have a more natural look, and it probably would have helped if she was looking at the camera.
2) If she was facing and looking at the waterfall, I think the waterfall could have worked as part of the portrait, but with her in focus, and the waterfall (and possibly the shrubbery) blurred in the background.

I am no expert in portraits, but I am learning and hope to improve. So, looking at this post is helping me too.

NJ

rp1600 · Jun 1, 2007

With a few simple changes this could be a very nice portrait. I agree with NJ on making her the center of focus with waterfall blurred. As it is now there's too much compeition in the photo.