Rob- Natural Light Portrait

[DanOstergren]

I haven't had much new to shoot the last few weeks, so I'm going through old shoots and looking for anything good that I never got around to retouching. I'm feeling pretty good about this one, although I probably spent more time retouching it than I should have; I got a little OCD with the dodge and burn. Tell me what you think.

Natural light + reflector
EOS 5D
135mm @f/2.2
1/500th sec
ISO 320

Before/After:

 

[manny212]

I got a little OCD with the dodge and burn

HAHAHAHA , I know the feeling . LOL

Dan on all accounts it looks great . Think you did a nice job , OCD and all .

 

[DanOstergren]

I got a little OCD with the dodge and burn

HAHAHAHA , I know the feeling . LOL

Dan on all accounts it looks great . Think you did a nice job , OCD and all .

Thanks man.

 

[nf1]

I like it, but can I have one suggestion - try and burn the out of focus leaves - my eyes keep going at them.

 

[xDarek]

You did such a good job with the retouching.The pic is looking amazing!

 

[FKP007]

Good image but man he looks like he has ants on his face. I would clone some of those out as they are proper distracting especially when you combine the tarzan esq style of image you can't help but thing they are ants.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

 

[DanOstergren]

Good image but man he looks like he has ants on his face. I would clone some of those out as they are proper distracting especially when you combine the tarzan esq style of image you can't help but thing they are ants.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

The moles?

 

[DanOstergren]

I like it, but can I have one suggestion - try and burn the out of focus leaves - my eyes keep going at them.

Thats a good idea, thank you. I focus so much on the model/ skin that I often forget to pay enough attention to the rest of the photo.

 

[DanOstergren]

You did such a good job with the retouching.The pic is looking amazing!

Thank you.

 

[FKP007]

Good image but man he looks like he has ants on his face. I would clone some of those out as they are proper distracting especially when you combine the tarzan esq style of image you can't help but thing they are ants.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

The moles?

Yes the moles.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

 

[jcdeboever]

Nice shot. Man, if I looked like that, I'd lob those ants off.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[DanOstergren]

Good image but man he looks like he has ants on his face. I would clone some of those out as they are proper distracting especially when you combine the tarzan esq style of image you can't help but thing they are ants.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

The moles?

Yes the moles.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

Ok. I removed a few (the tiny ones), but kept a few as well. I try to leave things like moles and distinct scars for portraits. If it were a commercial shoot or at a client's request then I would remove them, but since it's personal work I wouldn't feel ok with removing all of the moles; they're so distinct to his appearance.

Also (unrelated to the moles), I warmed up his skin tone a little bit just to give it a healthier, less green look. I'd love to know what you think. I replaced the images in the first post with the updated ones.

 

[DanOstergren]

Nice shot. Man, if I looked like that, I'd lob those ants off.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Thank you. It's more of a personal choice for me to keep them. Had he asked, I would remove them, but he's never mentioned them during either of the two shoots we've done, and I usually don't ask.

 

[DanOstergren]

I like it, but can I have one suggestion - try and burn the out of focus leaves - my eyes keep going at them.

Fixed. What do you think?

 

[FKP007]

Good image but man he looks like he has ants on his face. I would clone some of those out as they are proper distracting especially when you combine the tarzan esq style of image you can't help but thing they are ants.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

The moles?

Yes the moles.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk

Ok. I removed a few (the tiny ones), but kept a few as well. I try to leave things like moles and distinct scars for portraits. If it were a commercial shoot or at a client's request then I would remove them, but since it's personal work I wouldn't feel ok with removing all of the moles; they're so distinct to his appearance.

Also (unrelated to the moles), I warmed up his skin tone a little bit just to give it a healthier, less green look. I'd love to know what you think. I replaced the images in the first post with the updated ones.

It's better but you left the Queen ant still there...the big one. I think because you've done such a good job with the skin retouch his skin is so clean and perfect that these very dark contrasty moles jump right out. I would keep the small ones in remove the massive one and then clone in another small one in its place. This way you keep his moles but reduce their impact. Also lighten them down by 30% or so. Prefer the warmer skin tone..good call.

Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk