New shots today...CC

Photos de l'amour · Apr 25, 2010

Took some shots of my girls and her best friend today. Need some CC on the colors...these are all shot in RAW.
The first one is as it was shot. I was trying to use my reflectors. What do I do about the shadow on her forehead??
The second one....if I change it to shade in lightroom it makes it look orange. Is the coloring wrong on it the way it is??

Third....does my reflector make it to bright?

I have a ton more but want to get your ideas on these first. I will post more after I see what needs to be done.

I will be shooting my sons prom photos here in two weeks so I want to get it right.

Thanks

Thanks

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Sbuxo · Apr 25, 2010

#1: it's really my favorite of the set. Her hair is really pretty by the way, and the lighting is the best in this one. About the shadow on the forehead, are you talking about the one in this photo? You can probably clone it out or dodge it out? You can also try making her pretty eyes pop more and whiten her teeth up a little bit, just to make it extra pretty. Good shot!

:love:
#2: It's kind of dark, try brightening it up a bit, but if doing so with the brightness slider/curves blow out the background, just try dodging the girls' faces and anywhere that needs a little popping.
for #3: were you using a gold reflector? It's too warm for my taste, she does look a bit on the orange side.

Photos de l'amour · Apr 25, 2010

Ok, did the teeth and the eyes and I tried working on the shadow on her forehead. Softened the skin a little too. How is #1 now?

#2 I upped the exposure and in #3 I changed the white balance but does it make the color wrong now? Maybe I should use the custom on white balance adjustment in lightroom?

#4 I tried to make it not so orange. I was using the gold side of the reflector. The silver seemed way to bright! Is it any better?

Are these worth keeping?
Can I show more from the session? I really need to see if they are any good. Once I post a few more I will probably understand what the color should look like. Sorry if I am bugging you guys...just trying to learn.

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Sbuxo · Apr 25, 2010

Don't apologize! It's fine, post away

I think #1 and #4 look much better and what happened to #3? I'd choose #2 over it.

Photos de l'amour · Apr 25, 2010

Well, #3 I changed the white balance. Should I leave it like #2? I will post some more.
Thanks

Sbuxo · Apr 25, 2010

yeah, leave it @2

Photos de l'amour · Apr 26, 2010

When you guys post a photo then you edit it, do you upload the new one and post it or delete the old and upload the new and post it? Do you keep the old photos uploaded on say, Photobucket, or delete them? Hope this makes sense.

Sbuxo · Apr 26, 2010

I've seen people upload the before and after on a new post within the thread.

Photos de l'amour · Apr 26, 2010

Ok, that is sort of what I am doing. I edited a few more and wanted to post them. They are still uploading. Do you usually make the files that you upload smaller? It seems to take forever.

Photos de l'amour · Apr 26, 2010

Ok, these are all edited. What do you think??

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Photos de l'amour · Apr 26, 2010

Anybody else? :blushing:

Ryan L · Apr 26, 2010

I really like number 11, just wish the whole reflection was there. Can't say I like the selective coloring in number 14. The oof girl in the background of 8 and 9 I am not too fond of, but for some reason 10 I do (not really sure why, maybe its because she's a little more focused and not so much a distraction). I do like most all of the compositions though.

Sbuxo · Apr 26, 2010

#1-3 are fine.
#4: the light on her is too strong
#5 i prefer more than #6, the angle suits it much better and the lighting too.
#7: I like it.
#8 & #9: I don't really see the point in having the friend pose in the background, it only serves as a distraction to the eye. I think They would have been better without that.
#10: Looks fine to me.
#11: I really like this one, but it's blown out! She's super photogenic and looks lovely in every photo but the lighting really takes away from it. Maybe you should've waited for the sun to come down a bit. In my opinion, it's easier to edit shady photos than super blown out ones.
#12: Another good portrait, but I feel like something's missing. Maybe some highlights in her hair and just popping her eyes. I recommend the eyes for every portrait! They're really beautiful so you really want to bring them out. Just another detail to play with.
#13: This one needs some brightening to it. I don't like that you cut their legs off, you could've done without all that negative space and lowered the frame.
#14: Really cute photo! Was there a reason you had to take it from the side? I think face forward would've been nice, but that's just a minuscule matter. I usually think selective color is tacky but I like how the blue in her eyes were picked up by the camera (or did you photoshop it?)
#15: Is that her sister? She's so cute! I think if you took a step back it would've worked better, but it's still okay.

*The honey-blonde one should be a model!

Photos de l'amour · Apr 26, 2010

Ok, thanks guys.
I was trying different poses, like the one where one is in the background, more for when I do my son's prom photos. So maybe when I do those I will pull the background person more in focus.
It was 2:00 in the afternoon, so ya, it was pretty bright. When I do the prom shoot it will be 4:30 so hopefully that will help.
So one of you like the color selection in #14 and the other doesn't, lol. I couldn't use the one that I shot straight on, something just wasn't right. Maybe I will try to play with it....

Yes, the little red head is her little sister. The dark brown gal is my daughters BFF. She was not as comfortable with the whole thing as my girls were, lol.

Thanks for the replies.