First portrait C&C

dakkon76 · Apr 9, 2009

Playing cards with the parents this afternoon, irritating them playing with my new 50mm f/1.8. Got one shot that I actually liked. Light was pretty low and they have an amber-tinted chandelier... but after playing with colors and desaturating it a bit (I like the washed out look for portraits), I ended up with the first portrait I've actually been happy with. Looks a little grainy around his collar, I noticed.

Anyway, please let me know what you think:

jbeanv · Apr 9, 2009

I like the expression on his face. The washed out looks a little too gray for me, maybe needs to be warmed up a bit.

Invictus · Apr 10, 2009

Nice. the grain and the shadows look nice.

dakkon76 · Apr 10, 2009

Invictus said:
This is an HDR.

Nope, single image and just played with saturation and sharpness in photoshop elements.

Invictus · Apr 10, 2009

I posted that out of impulse. then i realized what i said and edited my post. LOL!

Sw1tchFX · Apr 10, 2009

Too overproccessed for me....ever been to an open casket funeral? That 'expired' tone?

bdavis · Apr 10, 2009

Yeah, either go full color or B&W. This one would look good as black and white.

SpeedTrap · Apr 10, 2009

I find the face is a bit too under exposed as I am brwaw to the brighter back ground.
A little fill light would add a bit more dimension and remove the open casket look as was mention above.

dakkon76 · Apr 10, 2009

Thanks for the input everyone! I'll have to play with this image a little more and try it in black and white. As for the foreground being underexposed, I think that was a problem for the beginning, this was just a bad light at our kitchen table and half of his face was in a pretty dark shadow. I'll see what I can do with it, C&C is greatly appreciated!

CraniumDesigns · Apr 10, 2009

i think it needs more contrast. it looks too flat to me. maybe just do a good old "auto levels" on it. and i agree, either full color or B&W. the low saturation color doesnt work for me.