Further breaking in Photoshop

[ElNico]

Form disclaimer - I'm a hobbyist. I do photography for fun, not to make money or make a career out of it. I've been told to mention this up front. It's also in my signature.

Two photos from this shoot with issues that I'm attempting to tackle now that I have Photoshop.

For #1, the issue was various objects cluttering up the frame, both in the foreground and reflected in the window. I've tried to get rid of them using the patch tool. (Obviously it would have been better if the curtains were closed; I'm trying to make what I can of this image as I like how the pose came out.) For #2, I liked the pose and the framing, but felt that the model's hair was blending too much with the black sky behind her - her head looked kind of like it was fading into the background - so I've enhanced the brightness and the contrast of her hair using a mask in order to make it stand out more. I've included the unedited version of #2 for comparison.

#1 was originally shot at f/2.8, 1/20s, and ISO-100; #2 at f/2.8, 1/30s, and ISO-160. Camera model is in my sig.

In addition to general feedback on the pose and the shot, I'm interested in the following lines of thought (this may sound like a lot of questions; but these are mainly things that I imagine you would notice yourselves if they were problems, so I'm more trying to show what thought I've already put into these images, and where I'm uncertain):

-Generally, how did the edits come out? How did my attempts to make things disappear in #1 come out? Should I be trying to hide the remnants further, perhaps using stamp/clone? In #2, how does the hair look?

-I haven't edited these photos other than as mentioned; does either need the brightness, saturation etc adjusted?

-Does #1 warrant further elimination of things reflected in the window, such as the table and the doorway? Should I be more drastically trying to "black out" the window altogether, eliminating the reflection of the white walls of the room?

-In #2, I enhanced all of the hair by the same amount, except where the hair itself was thinner; but as her hair seems to be dyed less (or not at all) nearer the roots than nearer the ends, I'm wondering if I ought to be enhancing the upper part more (or enhancing the rest less); since the point is to increase the contrast between the edges of her head and the sky, and I'm unsure whether the lower parts of her hair look TOO bright and saturated as is. What do you think?

-Would a different crop have been better for #2? I wanted to focus on the model's torso and face framed in the doorway, so I cropped out the bottom half; but this left her left arm taking up too much of the frame, so I then cropped the top and the left side. Does the result look good?

Thanks everyone.


#1


#2


#2 unedited:


#2 uncropped:

 

[zombiesniper]

I've taken my sweet time getting to this one now haven't I?

Good effort getting some portraits here.

Do you have access to lighting?
Even cheap Amazon battery powered LED constant lights can make a pretty big difference in what you can do.
Overall I would like to have more light in these. Even if you use a constant light it will provide a bit more detail in the hair. They are under exposed.

#1.
Lighting.
The exposure on this one appears the best.

Shooting angle.
From the image you appear to be a bit taller than the subject. This angle will shorten her legs and elongate her head.
Try to come down a bit and keep the plane of the sensor perpendicular to the subject to minimize this type of distortion.

Posing.
I'll leave this for someone that has more knowledge than I.

The stool.
This just my preference but the subject is nicely dressed and has taken time with her appearance. A cheap looking stool (I know probably not much else to work with) seems out of place.

Background.
I would prefer a more simple background as the items in this one do not add anything to the image. They are just competing for attention. This may not have been possible in the space you were in but it is something to watch for. If the background isn't meant to set the scene then try to keep it as simple as you can.

#2
Lighting.
This is where a light could have really helped.
This image appears to be about to be a 1/2 stop under.
I agree her hair does look better after adjusting however even a simple flashlight could have saved you time in editing and provided more detail

Shooting angle.
This one really shows how a sensors angle can distort body proportions. Her right (camera left) arm on the un cropped image appears unnaturally long.

Background.
I don't mind the background here.

The crop.
The crop did help the image by eliminating some distracting elements and bringing the viewer in and making it seem more intimate. I may have to have a look at it and come back with a better answer on how I may have cropped.

These are decent final products but still need some work in camera.
Keep shooting and keep posting. Would love to see your progression.