Model Shot - Feedback?

[shrutebucks]

Hey guys, I'm looking for some feedback on this picture I took of a friend...I really like it - but I think the lighting could be improved. I took this photo in her basement where the lighting was not great, and I don't have an external flash. I shot this in manual mode with my rebel XSi.

I played around with it in photoshop but I'm fairly new to photoshop as well, and don't have a lot of knowledge on creating good lighting setups.

Feel free to edit - how would you improve this shot?

Thanks!

 

[reznap]

The background isn't a good thing. It too closely matches her skin tone and her left arm (the one on the right) is almost blending into the background completely.

Also, her eyes and hair are a bit dark.


The following is all just my humble opinion:

I've got an aversion to cats so for me, it takes away from a picture of a pretty girl. I do like how they're both looking at the camera though,

If I were there with the camera I'd ask her to hold the cat up and have her make eye contact with it. Something different maybe. Her expression is pretty blank here.

If you're on a budget you could get creative with light. Buy a clamp work light from a home improvement store and put a plastic jug over it as a diffuser (like $8 USD total..). Anything is better than a pop-up flash or the dim lights in the basement.

 

[shrutebucks]

hey thanks for the reply...yeah i realize the colour is too close to her skin tone. the cat was being a little rowdy so I was lucky to get that shot as it was, haha...she just wanted to put it down ASAP.

i'm very much on a budget and want to create a cheap lighting setup for future projects...thanks for the tip on the work light. what kind of jug, like a pail? and use it to cover the light, or to direct the light flow in the way I need?

I do plan on reading more about lighting...saw a nice thread in this section. thanks for the tips

 

[reznap]

the tip on the work light. what kind of jug, like a pail? and use it to cover the light, or to direct the light flow in the way I need?

I haven't tried that, I was just trying to say you can use a number of different things without spending hundreds on studio lighting.

If you google 'diy softbox' or 'diy diffuser' you'll get tons of hits on little lighting projects you can do on the cheap.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

White balance!
Slight under exposure.

Taking it too far?

 

[ghpham]

That second edit...MJ...is that you??!

A little bit too "plastic" for my taste.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Yeah, well, plastic or noise. Six of one...

 

[ghpham]

Yeah, well, plastic or noise. Six of one...

true....

 

[outamyway]

Actually, I bet if you went further with that 2nd edit, it would look like something from a graphic novel. I kind of like that one, plus it makes the cat look pretty bad a$$.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Taking it farther does exactly all of that. Especially eviling up the cat very nicely.

 

[BekahAura]

White balance!
Slight under exposure.

Taking it too far?

These are great, how did you lighten/adjust the skin? Was the second one created using a filter? I've taken 2 classes on Photoship back in the CS2 days, but I never learned much about color correction.

shrutebucks,

I'm just as new as you are to lighting setups, but many people here suggested reading the Strobist blog, and I'm already halfway through his Lighting 101 posts. There is some really great information on this site, including suggestions on what to buy. You may end up spending more than $8, but I think this would be the cheapest way to go for basic lighting equipment that can give you great results.

Whoops, forgot the link to the strobist blog: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

 

[Derrel]

Rotating the camera to vertical would have improved the shot immensely.

 

[shrutebucks]

hey guys thanks for the feedback...i love the white background, and esp the 2nd pic, the cat looks amazing there. yeah her expression was blank in this shot - not very engaging.

do you think the shot looks better cropped and centered, or the way I had shot it, slightly off centre? I liked the off-centre personally.

i'll check out the strobist blog this afternoon. thanks for the link

 

[pbelarge]

Some people do not like the idea of working on a shot.


To me, photography is an art in so many ways, that all can be happy with different aspects of the talents that abound.

This edit is really cool, I love the glove and the cat in this....

 

[TylerF]

image quality is kinda rough but here's my shot at pp. hope you don't mind