First shots with home studio...

Deadeye008 · Oct 30, 2007

I convinced my wife to pose for me even though she claims she's not very photogenic. I had 2 umbrellas set up, one on either side of the camera. Each had a hotshoe flash shooting through it. An on-camera-flash at 90 degrees with a bounce card, and a piece of white foam board in front of my wife that acted as a reflector. I just had her sit on the couch since I don't have a backdrop yet. Here is one of the pics after PP. Let me know what you think since this is my first time trying out this sort of thing. Thanks

Sideburns · Oct 30, 2007

it looks like you said to her "open your eyes!" and then the flashes scared her..lol

Sweetsomedays · Oct 30, 2007

Well first off tell your wife to shush it, she's beautiful

Secondly (and I am NO pro and don't have any nice lighting) it just looks to bright and flat to me. I think if you softened the light up some and she relaxed you could make some great photos.

Ajay · Oct 30, 2007

I agree with sweetsomedays. Also, maybe its just me but her eyes look a little soft. Do you focus specifically on them before you shoot?

Deadeye008 · Oct 30, 2007

Sweetsomedays said:
Well first off tell your wife to shush it, she's beautiful Secondly (and I am NO pro and don't have any nice lighting) it just looks to bright and flat to me. I think if you softened the light up some and she relaxed you could make some great photos.

Thanks for the comment. I'll have to do some experimenting and see if I can vary the light a little better.

Deadeye008 · Oct 30, 2007

Ajay said:
I agree with sweetsomedays. Also, maybe its just me but her eyes look a little soft. Do you focus specifically on them before you shoot?

Yes, I was focused on them. Maybe I'll hit tem with an unsharp mask and see how they look. Thanks for the comment.

Allsmiles7282 · Oct 30, 2007

As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't shop off people's chins. For some reason the human brain just can't deal with it. Chopping off their heads is okay but the chins just doesn't work!

(If read out of context, that could have been a really bad statement! lol)

zendianah · Oct 30, 2007

The eyes are nice and sharp.. The chin chopping does bother me as well. Your wife is beautiful! OH and ALLSMILES... I just laughed so hard I almost choked. I must have been one of those reading out of context..

There are some people that I would rather chop their heads off... Did I say that out loud?

Deadeye008 · Oct 30, 2007

Allsmiles7282 said:
As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't shop off people's chins. For some reason the human brain just can't deal with it. Chopping off their heads is okay but the chins just doesn't work!

(If read out of context, that could have been a really bad statement! lol)

Thanks for the tip. I'll remeber that next time I shoot, I mean chop...

heip · Oct 30, 2007

Try one umbrella to the side (45 degrees) and one beside the camera for fill. Move them around until you get what you're looking for.

Deadeye008 · Oct 31, 2007

heip said:
Try one umbrella to the side (45 degrees) and one beside the camera for fill. Move them around until you get what you're looking for.

Thanks heip! I'll have to try it out. Maybe tonight.

Joxby · Oct 31, 2007

she's very.......close
I feel like I want to step back from my screen a few feet.
She looks like she feels too close, kinda caught in the headlights.
Lightings great though, no flash shadows, nice
I think you could be a little heavier in post process to make her really stand out, hopefully in the large version those little.....did you do any...erm...blemish tidying, if so, at whos request, and how big was the stick...

:er: