kinda on the fence

Pallycow · May 30, 2013

if you follow my random posts you might have seen my lates set with the dramatic lighting on the men/kids. I never do that with women...just doesn't work.

however, during that shoot, her husband wanted one of her. so I did one...and man...with that harsh dramatic lighting, every little hair, mark, pit, anything on the face just stuck out soooo bad. which is one reason I think it works best on a man...charachter.

anyway, I did it and she loves it. I had to pretty much give a photoshop mask, however I wanted to try to soften the feel of the whole image...so as not to just have a soft fake face.

I was curious what other photogs thought as I don't trust regular people or facebook.

my first thought was "insta fail...delete" but I processed it for her anyway and naturally she and her fans love it. lol

so what ya think? does it work technically or no from a photog point of view...

Pallycow · May 30, 2013

and yeah...I did not get the light in the eye right....kinda has 'dog eye', I wold have rather had it perfect like on the mans shot but I missed.

Pallycow · May 30, 2013

I don't wanna ruin it by 'suggestive perception' so I'll see if anyone picks out the major issue I have with this...so if ya get it then I'll open that door. lolol

runnah · May 30, 2013

What does the original look like? I'd love to see it and take a stab at softening.

ktan7 · May 30, 2013

This is a one light setup, probably the best you can do in terms of lighting. The problem I see with this picture is the catch light in her eyes...

Granddad · May 30, 2013

First impression is WOW! - but then I look again. You've got the neck and necklace crisp and sharp but the face has sacrificed the sharpness for the softened look that this lady shouldn't need for another 20 or 30 years. The hair also appears to have been digitally brushed, was it untidy? Maybe the untidiness would be preferable?
As for the lighting, yes, dramatic but it seems to suggest planes and angles not usually associated with an attractive woman's face.
I see what you mean about being on the fence. I'd love to have a go at it with my software and see what I can do, I've recently managed to do some pretty reasonable gentle age removing on my wife that doesn't look too cooked. This shot is worth working on.

LOL! We'll be fighting about who gets to work on it! :lmao:

sashbar · May 30, 2013

It does not work for me. Not because of the technical issues, but simply because the dramatic lighting does not suit her character it seems. Her facial expression and the way she looks at somewhere above her eyes level suggests a much milder personality. I think there are lots of women who would look great with that kind of lighting, p.e. some strong Spanish types. It is not a male/female choice, it is personality choice and also what exactly whey want to project, what feelings and character traits. This woman looks much milder, romantic, even shy, than the image she wanted to project. You can put boxing gloves on a person who never did any sports and he wpoul look out of place. Same here. Otherwise it is good photo.

Majeed Badizadegan · May 30, 2013

This isn't in the same league as the other one light shot you posted. It might be two leagues away.

One thing that pops out at me is her arm looks amputated at the shoulder. Just a touch more shadow detail around that area would resolve that. The overall and local softness is going to bother other photographers more than the average person. But even to the average person, some parts of her hair look like actual blurs rather than the texture of hair.

It's flirting with becoming a painting, more than a photograph. Even the pupil in this shot doesn't register perfectly, because we're looking directly 90 degrees.

Compare this to your one light portrait of the man. Look at the crisp detail and the way the light is caught in the eye.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/328926-one-weekend.html

I would say a re-shoot is in order if possible.

Pallycow · May 30, 2013

Rotanimod said:
One thing that pops out at me is her arm looks amputated at the shoulder. .

winner winner chicken dinner. other than other reasons I personally don't like it, the amputee effect kills it for me. I did not want to point it out 'cause then others wold see nothing but that. ;-)

I processed it to have a painterly feel, so that you said it's flirting with becoming a painting means I suceeded...at least in that attempt, so win there, fail as a whole. lol

the hair is very blurred...on purpose...going with softening the whole image, not just face...using various methods...no one method.

anyway, thanks for taking a gander at it all. I never do this for women and this is why...just proves that people like odd chit.

Pallycow · May 30, 2013

I wold not want a reshoot as I think this style is not suited for a woman, especially her. Just did it cause they wanted to see.

I'll ahve the original linked in a sec

Pallycow · May 30, 2013

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2825/8849168628_4b4d31217c_o.jpg

Pallycow · May 30, 2013

link up to the orginal size on flickr, feel free to do whatever. this was not a paid gig.

Pallycow · May 30, 2013

good catch granddad, I forgot I had masked in the original sharpness of the necklace. My original idea was to do that to see if it stood out, then I forgot to smooth it back over when I changed my mind. ;-)