Is this appropriate, or am I just taking the easy way out?

[tirediron]

Someone called me a gentleman. Mark it on your calendars.

BTW, tired... I do also think you're taking the easy way out, btw. It's not that you couldn't put some more effort and do what pic_chick was suggesting, but... that would be more work too.

Yeah... I guess the question really was, "Is the product appropriate given the price & circumstances?" I'll play around a bit with some of the suggestions and see if I can come up with anything better that I can pump out quickly.

 

[jake337]

I thinking working on the floor might help a bit. She seems to be levitating to me. Not sure how to work that out so I'm no help in that regards. Who knows she might love the fact that she looks to be levitating!

 

[tirediron]

I thinking working on the floor might help a bit. She seems to be levitating to me. Not sure how to work that out so I'm no help in that regards. Who knows she might love the fact that she looks to be levitating!

I agree, but she is on the floor. That's the original scene, position and flirt, just blacked out the background and added a gradient to the floor. I think it's an illusion caused by my processing and her skirts, but it really adds to the cut and paste look and I dont like it.

 

[gsgary]

I'm betting that us photographers will notice the issues where most of your patrons would not... I imagine they love them. I also suspect that you're putting more than $25 worth of labor into each one of those, so you're being more than fair, IMO.

I thought so, but there's that 'cut & paste' look that bothers me slightly.

ok I would maybe ask each lady to give you a good pose with a good background and better lighting then maybe a group shot what you have above is nice but with a bit of planning it could be great also I would get into the dressing rooms maybe a few shot of them fixing hair and makeup would be nice but the above photo I would try adding a blur to your edit maybe that would soften it a bit

How/where do you suggest adding the blur. Unfortunately, posed shots aren't an option, and the "dressing room" in this case was behind a screen in the hallway. My primary task is just to record the event, for the event coordinators, and there's no time or place for posed shots.

It looks blurred without using Photoshop

 

[TonysTouch]

I took about 5 minutes to dupe in a shot of one of my backgrounds. I also added a bit of blur to the bottom edge of the backdrop to help it "sit" on the ground.


If this was one of my photos, I would have spent more time on where the backdrop meets the ground. Also, I did no PP on the image except for adding the backdrop. I hope you enjoy.

 

[TonysTouch]

I think the real deal breaker in this photo is that she is out of focus. A lot of things can be fixed in PP, but focus issues is not one of them. I personally would not pay for a photo that is out of focus.

 

[bianni]

Maybe try to soften and darken the bg and try some reflections.

 

[tirediron]

I think the real deal breaker in this photo is that she is out of focus. A lot of things can be fixed in PP, but focus issues is not one of them. I personally would not pay for a photo that is out of focus.

Fair comment, HOWEVER, not relevant to the situation. This was a 'capture of opportunity' snapped at the end of a dance, while I was actually setting up for the next performance. I am under no illusions as to the quality of the image, however the dancer liked it, and printed at 11x14 and viewed from 4-6' it's acceptable.

 

[tirediron]

I took about 5 minutes to dupe in a shot of one of my backgrounds. I also added a bit of blur to the bottom edge of the backdrop to help it "sit" on the ground.
View attachment 22177

If this was one of my photos, I would have spent more time on where the backdrop meets the ground. Also, I did no PP on the image except for adding the backdrop. I hope you enjoy.

Excellent! Thanks - that works much better.

 

[DiskoJoe]

Given the original you had to work with your edit looks far better. It does, however, appear to have a slight magenta skin hue compared to the original to me.

Yeah, this.

 

[imagemaker46]

John, I know for the fee that you are asking and the work involved it is very fair.

 

[tirediron]

John, I know for the fee that you are asking and the work involved it is very fair.

Thanks!

 

[TonysTouch]

In order to answer if the price was fair, ask yourself one question. Do you feel like $25 dollars was worth the amount of time you put into it?

I honestly don't calculate costs per photo. I calculate by taking the time of the entire project, then come up with my cost that way.