Singer portrait C&C appreciated

rknrl · Oct 2, 2013

it's been a while. i realize this doesn't scream "RnB singer" but this is what came out of the shoot.

as always some constructive critique is appreciated.

#1

#2

rknrl · Oct 2, 2013

#2 is too much on the green side in the mids??

tirediron · Oct 2, 2013

C&C per req:I'm afraid that these don't even whisper "singer" to me let alone any specific genre. #1 is over-exposed and awkwardly composed/cropped (and the huge reflection of your light in the background doesn't help either), but it is a nice expression, and I think if you take the raw file back into lightroom and massage it carefully, you can probably pull a decent headshot out of it. #2 is under-exposed with WB issues. The posing here is just plain wrong unless you're advertising women's posterior foundation garments. Start with the basics: One key light high, 30 left, reflector close in opposite, and a hair light probably 2/3 stop under key. Have the subject stand facing you, then tell her to turn slowly to the left until she's about 20-30 off axis, and then slowly bring her head back. Place her near foot on a posing block (2-3" is all you need). Bring her chin foward and have her look at you. Also consider the surroundings? For R&B, why not try low key, single BD overhead, give her a microphone to hold and sing. She's an attractive and confident young lady, you could get some killer shots with a little more work. Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.~John

Braineack · Oct 2, 2013

#1 would be great if there was a silhouette (or actual) of a microphone stand in the relfection of your umbrella on the wall.

#2 does nothing for me.

gsgary · Oct 2, 2013

2 is very unflattering it looks like i could rest my pint on her arse shelf

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Derrel · Oct 2, 2013

I cropped out the reflection of the monolight+ umbrella,color-corrected the image to the Nikon Portrait Standard pre-set that I sometimes use, and went with a more square, CD-cover type crop.

I am not a fan of the lighting pattern used here, with the right side of her face being the brightest part of the image...so I lowered the highlights quite a bit, after converting to the STandard Portrait pre-set look.

I then went through some various looks, and settled on this one.

This look is called Summer Haze. For the tall shot, well, I went with this look.

Here, I lightened up the dress material so we could literally see it better. Being able to literally see the lines in that knit dress makes this shot a whole 'nother thing...smokin!