Playing with my new 2.8

[LShooter]

Recently returned a 70-300L and went with the 70-200L 2.8 IS II. I'm very happy with this lens. Also just picked up some Alien Bees and am really liking them also. This was shot with a b800 in a Westcott Apollo camera right, reflector cam left and b1600 grid for hair. Had a small fan blowing just to move her hair a bit.

 

[jake337]

I like it. Great catchlights. Could use some post work under the eyes, she looks tired. Can't help ya there though as I suck at under the eye work!

Do you like the dead space to the left? Can't really envision it without it so I'm not sure.

I'm sure someone will try to slam you for the crop on top but I don't mind one bit.

 

[LShooter]

She's always tired and has my eyes! Though I've always been told not to fix under the eyes as it takes away from who a person really is. I try not to go to plastic in my post process. I love negative space so I used that setup a lot in my portraits. I like the crop but wouldn't do it on a 3/4 or full length shot. Just head and shoulders. Thanks for the input.

 

[Derrel]

She's a lovely young woman. I like the lighting setup mostly, and think the fan for the hair movement was a splendid idea! I honestly do not think what is being used here is properly called negative space. As it is, she is looking out of the frame and up and away, and the "weight" of her gaze is making the frame exceptionally "side-heavy", and all the space on the left is, as the first respondent above called it, dead space, not "negative" space. Anyway, the LIGHTING is probably more of what we should focus attention on.

I DO LIKE the look of this, but there are a few areas I see that could be altered for a different result. FIrst is the degree of contrast of the shot. To me, it looks like the shadows are too deep and detail-less. Specifically, the shadows in her hair areas around her ears...I can see a specular highlight on an earring, but NO earring...because, I am thinking, the HAIR light was a bit too hot for your taste, and you corrected that in post production, and when you got the hair brightness just PERFECT...that exposure adjustment pulled the shadow values down too low...for my taste, the overall contrast is too high for a studio-lighted portrait...just a bit too high on the gamma, or degree of contrast.

I have mentally gone back and forth on the color balance...on one hand the light seems awfully yellow and golden, and her skin looks a bit too yellow-ish...and yet, it makes her look tanned and healthy...I dunno... I like the background's simplicity and color. It's always so awesome to get new gear, and the Alien Bees are going to be a treat to work with! Thanks for posting. I agree with you on the eyes thing...too,too much movement these days to go STRAIGHT to retouching real people...she's very pretty just the way she actually *is*. No need to rush right in an make her look like a plastic, imagined doll-like person who does not exist!

 

[LShooter]

Derrel, thanks for your awesome input and advice. I am just really learning studio lighting and loving it and I do appreciate valid input to help me learn. Too many folks here offer critique but no advice. I don't love the hair shadow either and think what I should have done is bring the reflector around a bit to get a bit more light in there. The tone was just set to flash and ever so slightly tweaked. She is pretty fair skinned and likes when I can give her a bit of tan. It's actually just a tad tanner than how she looks. I didn't correct for the hair light with an overall exposure adjustment, just a bit of local brush dodge/or burn, which one is it! I was thinking about bringing the contrast down a bit. I'll have to give that a go when I get a minute and see what happens. I'm also working with some new presets in LR4 and trying to figure out how much they need tweaked to get the exact look I'm going for. The background is just a greyish purple wall in my house. I see what you mean about not using the term negative space. I've always like that look though. Too me it adds some depth and interest rather than a centered shot. Again, thanks for your input and I look forward to learning more from you!

 

[Derrel]

Thanks for the reply LShooter. You took my comments in the spirit in which they were intended. As an aside, about 5 minutes after I posted that, I got a nice message from a TPF member whom I had never heard from, thanking me for the C&C I gave on your photo! Wow...positive strokes for the Big D, from all sides!! Yippie skippie!

Ah....Lightroom Presets...I JUST STARTED using Lightroom myself, after using Photoshop since version 2.5...and I must say, I DIG the LR Preset options for portraiture. I still think in old-school terms however. I have a niece who is very fair-skinned AND who also has red hair, and she too likes it when I can add a bit of a tanned look to her skin-tone. Again, thanks for such a pleasant response to my C&C, and for also replying with some excellent photographically-related commentary and additional information on your thoughts, and your shooting AND post-processing information. I DO LIKE that background!!!!

Well, just wanted to touch bases with you on this shot. Have a good one!

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Beautiful image

On a side note - Lightroom rules the earth

 

[jake337]

She's always tired and has my eyes! Though I've always been told not to fix under the eyes as it takes away from who a person really is. I try not to go to plastic in my post process. I love negative space so I used that setup a lot in my portraits. I like the crop but wouldn't do it on a 3/4 or full length shot. Just head and shoulders. Thanks for the input.

I don't mean that plastic look, I do not like that either. It's just, most women I know, wouldn't want bags under their eyes. I personally agree with what your saying on the realism because I do not fix bags under the eyes either. But a paying customer might expect it.

Again, I'm not taking about skin smoothing under the eyes either just maybe some adjustment so it matches the rest of her facial skin tone.

This is your daughter? I can see why you wouldn't do much of that kind of editing because of that too.

 

[mommy-medic]

Well done! I can't tell if I'm seeing something around her mouth or not that may need to be touched up- just me? Looks like maybe chocolate at the right corner of her lips?