My Girlfriend- NSFW!

[Battou]

Well, BB....I think you have earned the right of total honesty from me....


There is only one image in this set that has any potential to my eyes but it has it's flaws.

PM inbound.

 

[Big Bully]

The title of this thread threw me off....I saw the first picture and thought "hey your gf looks a lot like....you" :mrgreen:

lack of sufficient lighting and lots of noise are my only critiques though.

That was the point actually.

 

[Big Bully]

Ok, I get the fact that the light was an issue, and that there is noise in some of the shots. Now, how about some constructive criticism, like would these shots be better in black and white, or sepia? No more about the light situation.. I get it. And if all you have to say is that you don't like them. Don't bother posting please.
Or if your comment is about the noise, tell me how I can get rid of it.

 

[Pugs]

Meg,

All of the technical critiques that I had on the pics have been covered in prior replies (lighting, noise, focus (possibly caused by a little bit of camera movement), stiff posture, WB, etc...).

My only other comment then, DANG WOMAN! You are seriously HOT and your husband is a fortunate man!

My wife's comment was, "and she's had kids?!" She also finds your sig-line about the affairs of dragons to be freakin' hilarious!

Thank you for being brave enough to share these pics with us. With a little work on the technical side (and turn up the heat in your house so that the cold doesn't result in that stiff posture and bearing), a re-shoot will produce some stunning pics I'm sure!

 

[Overread]

BB where did they go????
if you have taken them down due to site posting rules then it only states that photos need to be linked to rather than posted here as images if they are not yours (though in all honesty in this context I can't see any wrong)

After that if its because of the comments - be strong - I have yet to meet the person who has made no mistakes - we all make them and it is from them that we improve and learn

If high noise is a problem and you are shooting a studio type of shot then I suggest that ISO is a factor - you want this to be low (100) and since you are in control of lighting and don't need super fast shutter spees this should be achivable. Consider natural light lightbulbs as well for more natural looking light than house lights.
I am afraid there ends my lighting control understandings - I just don't shoot and studio work to go further

 

[Big Bully]

Meg,

All of the technical critiques that I had on the pics have been covered in prior replies (lighting, noise, focus (possibly caused by a little bit of camera movement), stiff posture, WB, etc...).

My only other comment then, DANG WOMAN! You are seriously HOT and your husband is a fortunate man!

My wife's comment was, "and she's had kids?!" She also finds your sig-line about the affairs of dragons to be freakin' hilarious!

Thank you for being brave enough to share these pics with us. With a little work on the technical side (and turn up the heat in your house so that the cold doesn't result in that stiff posture and bearing), a re-shoot will produce some stunning pics I'm sure!

:blushing: Thanks Pugs, and tell your wife thank you too! Believe me there will be reshooting. I have fun doing it. It's fun to get away from the camera for awhile. And believe me it takes a ton of guts to put them on here!

 

[Big Bully]

BB where did they go????
if you have taken them down due to site posting rules then it only states that photos need to be linked to rather than posted here as images if they are not yours (though in all honesty in this context I can't see any wrong)

After that if its because of the comments - be strong - I have yet to meet the person who has made no mistakes - we all make them and it is from them that we improve and learn

If high noise is a problem and you are shooting a studio type of shot then I suggest that ISO is a factor - you want this to be low (100) and since you are in control of lighting and don't need super fast shutter spees this should be achivable. Consider natural light lightbulbs as well for more natural looking light than house lights.
I am afraid there ends my lighting control understandings - I just don't shoot and studio work to go further

Nope I moved them and forgot that it would break the link. I will put them back up.. or.. different ones..

 

[monkeykoder]

Work on comfort and lighting (the number one thing any model has to work on and the number one thing any photographer has to work on.). See if you can post-process away the noise (I'm not familiar with doing this). Lighting indoors is always difficult especially when you have multiple different types of lights but something that might do the job can be had for relatively cheap (as detailed earlier). The noise problem stems from the initial problem of lack of light.

 

[Pugs]

Ok, I get the fact that the light was an issue, and that there is noise in some of the shots. Now, how about some constructive criticism, like would these shots be better in black and white, or sepia? No more about the light situation.. I get it. And if all you have to say is that you don't like them. Don't bother posting please.
Or if your comment is about the noise, tell me how I can get rid of it.

Oops,

Sorry! I posted my previous reply before seeing this post from you.

Constructive criticisms:

- I prefer black and white. I'm a little color-blind, though, and that probably explains my preference.

- Sepia tends to seem "forced" or trying to be "too artsy" when I see it. There've been a few exceptions, but generally I steer away from it.

- For the noise, you're gonna want to put your camera in manual mode and set the ISO as low as you can. I understand that the lighting conditions are not ideal, but a tripod can reduce the camera movement to allow the slower shutter speeds that the lower ISO will demand. The model will have to be able to keep very still as well, which could lead to stiff postures again.

- Also for the noise, I'm not sure what editing software you use, but in PhotoShop CS3, I use Noise Ninja which does a GREAT job of reducing the noise of higher ISO shots. I generally like a bit of grain/noise in my photos, but portraiture (which I suck at) generally demands smoother looking pics.

- To truly address the noise, you'll likely need to address the lighting (SORRY!). You need to be shooting at an ISO of around 100 to truly reduce the noise to portraiture levels and if you're shooting at that low of an ISO, in order to be able to utilize fast enough shutter speeds to eliminate problems with camera shake, you'll need better lighting. If you can get a hold of some of those shop clamp lights, you can put a 100 watt bulb in them and then set it up so that they're aiming at your set with a thin white sheet hung a foot or two in front of them (so that the light doesn't set the sheet on fire). You can also stretch an old white cotton t-shirt around an improvised frame of wire coat hangers and put that in front of the lamps. You'll want several of these lamp/diffuser combinations aimed at your set.

- Play with the white balance on your camera to match this new lighting (or if the camera can shoot in RAW, use that and adjust the white balance in PhotoShop).

- Turn up the heat in your house.

That's about all I have at this point. If you want, I can run your pics through Noise Ninja to show you what they would look like with a little less noise in them.

 

[Big Bully]

I added different pictures. Most of these are from later on in the shoot.

 

[Overread]

number 3 I think has one of your best facial expressions - its less forced looking than some of the others - and I think your poses in general are working well.

number 5 though is saying to me that you have had enough

 

[Big Bully]

number 3 I think has one of your best facial expressions - its less forced looking than some of the others - and I think your poses in general are working well.

number 5 though is saying to me that you have had enough

Haha, #5 is when I was starting to have a ton of fun. I just don't like to smile for pictures. Maybe I need to work on that.

 

[Overread]

yeps - more smiles needed - don't forget to smile with your eyes as well as your mouth. If you are having fun then chances are your eyes will be smiling
so all we need now is to tape the sides of your mouth up a bit more

 

[Big Bully]

Ok I will work on that. Tape, ok now which is the best kind to use that won't be seen by the camera
j/k

 

[mark h]

Now, how about some constructive criticism, like would these shots be better in black and white, or sepia?

You can't just chuck a bad photograph into black & white or sepia and expect it to become a good photograph.

Post-processing is not a crutch to lean on with bad shots. More people need to learn this. Give up on the images and take what you have learnt into a re-shoot.