Girl by flame

Allenc873 · Aug 21, 2013

which one do you prefer?

1,

Girl by flame by Allenc873, on Flickr

2,

Derrel · Aug 22, 2013

I saw this hours ago, and waited for somebody to comment on it...huh...nobody yet???

I like the color shot more. Everything in color "reads" more clearly to me.

weepete · Aug 22, 2013

B&w for me

Allenc873 · Aug 22, 2013

Thanks guys.. im still stuck on the one I prefer haha

Braineack · Aug 22, 2013

I like the color one better, but have other issues with it in general.

ronlane · Aug 22, 2013

I like the color better. The processing seems different to me and her arms have a halo appearance to them.

Designer · Aug 22, 2013

Allenc873; there's quite a lot going on here, so it's rather difficult to simply "pick one".

The color version "reads" better, but that might be a stretch; saying that it "reads" better, when IMO it doesn't quite do what I presume you intended.

I think you were trying to mimic the light of a candle flame illuminating the girl, but it just doesn't fill the bill.

Since you didn't specifically ask for C&C, I'll skip it for now.

Besides; I don't want to come off as seeming "harsh".

Allenc873 · Aug 22, 2013

ya I have 1 issue with it i should have a shadow under her arm.. alot of people prob think there shouldnt be smoke because the candle isnt blown out I just think it adds something

Allenc873 · Aug 22, 2013

Designer said:
Allenc873; there's quite a lot going on here, so it's rather difficult to simply "pick one".

The color version "reads" better, but that might be a stretch; saying that it "reads" better, when IMO it doesn't quite do what I presume you intended.

I think you were trying to mimic the light of a candle flame illuminating the girl, but it just doesn't fill the bill.

Since you didn't specifically ask for C&C, I'll skip it for now.

Besides; I don't want to come off as seeming "harsh".

No go ahead.. ya I was trying to mimic the cadle light didnt work as well as I hoped what would you have done differently ?

amolitor · Aug 22, 2013

You can definitely see what's going on better in the color, but b&w is more visually coherent. The colors in the color version are jittery and inconsistent, to my eye. Which might well be a good thing.

The compositing is pretty sketchy. I would either do a better job, or a worse job. This looks like you tried to make it look real and failed -- make it look like a loosely assembled collage of an idea, and it'll stop looking "bad" and start looking "abstract".

Designer · Aug 22, 2013

Allenc873 said:
what would you have done differently ?

I might have tried to use the candle flame (a real candle flame) as my primary lighting source. For that you will need a lens with good light-transmitting qualities, and a model who can hold the pose for several seconds. I'm not sure if even that will work, given that humans cannot hold perfectly still for a long time.

As to using some other light, I might have lowered the source to be more in line with the top of the candle, and avoiding any shadows of the candle itself. Snoot the light down even more than you have done, and make it really low power.

Meanwhile, get a reflector up and to the rear to add definition to the model's head and body, without adding a lot of light anywhere.

Skip the smoke from a fake flame, and skip the vampire. You don't need him.