Tattoo

rokvi · Jul 25, 2012

My son's girlfriend asked me to take a photo of her tattoo. This is the result.

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janineh · Jul 25, 2012

Can't see it!

rokvi · Jul 25, 2012

janineh said:
Can't see it!

Really? wonder if anyone else is having problems seeing it?

Jaemie · Jul 25, 2012

Here's how I viewed this:

1st Thought: The quote. Isn't "living for something" different from "dying for nothing"? I mean, they're two different concepts. And vague concepts, at that. Usually the phrase, "She died for nothing," means her death was in vain, as in she was killed by a spider bite, not saving a drowning toddler from a croc-infested river. Whereas "living for something" implies a life devoted to some worthy cause, such as to promoting literacy in poor rural areas, or raising a family, or conservative politics, or something like that. It just seems like an unusual choice for a... Wait. This is a photograph. I'm supposed to be looking at more than just the tattoo.

2n Thought: That tattoo looks really new. I wonder how long ago she got it?

3rd Thought: Nice skin and tones and shadows.

4th Thought: That elbow really wants my attention. So does that belly button thing. Why doesn't she just lift her shirt up completely? Jaemie! You perv!

Okay, I'm being a bit silly. But my point is that with tattoo photos, all my attention really goes to the tattoo(s) and I hardly think of the photo as a whole until much later. The technique in this image is quite good. The composition has some distractions, but that seems unavoidable. I'd say you did a pretty good job, overall.

JAC526 · Jul 25, 2012

I agree with the shirt comment. Having it rolled up like that draws my attention to the seam. You should roll it up the other way so the seam isn't visible.

And yeah the tattoo looks really fresh. Maybe re-shoot once its not so fresh?

rokvi · Jul 25, 2012

Very fresh, done earlier today. Actually I would like to do a re-shoot and pose it/her properly when it settles.

Thanks for the replies.

amolitor · Jul 25, 2012

Actually I love the raw newness of it. In color is would be an ugly red mess, but in B&W you're just left with the texture. It makes it look like letterpress. The tattoo is beautifully done, and the sentiment is spot on. I'm not here to review the tattoo, though!

When you re-shoot, have her twist at the waist, and tense up everything. Get in a little closer, I think. I like her tummy, it's sexy, she's got good skin. Twisting to bring the tattoo and the tummy visually more in line will allow a tighter shot that brings these two elements together, and also create a little dynamism in the shot. Posing is hard work, if you're not working like a dog you're not doing it right. Twist, tense, stretch, engage all your muscles.

raygunboost · Jul 25, 2012

The shadow's and textures are fabulous, also I am loving the rawness as well

.

rokvi · Jul 25, 2012

Ye lol when I asked her to twist this is all I got.

I new when I was shooting it was going to be B&W.

Jaemie, I know what your saying about the tat, and I agree. But their young, Im just happy that none of my boys or their girlfriends have "LOVE", "HATE" on their knuckles.

12sndsgood · Jul 25, 2012

For the meaning of the tat, i just see it as give youreslf something in your life to life for or you will have died without making a diffrence or serving any real pourpose. kind of like give your life some pourpose.

as for the photo. to me it just seems more like a photo of a tat. im at work so my screen isnt as good as the home one but the right side near the tail end of the tat seems a bit bright and more difficult to read. I personally would want that tat to stand out more if it was the main focus.

PinkDoor · Jul 25, 2012

I love everything about it - with the exception of the elbow (just seems too large and in too much of the shot).

Jaemie · Jul 25, 2012

Haha! Ya, what can you do. My daughters have ink, some of which they now regret but at the time seemed so awesome. Butterfly... *rolls eyes*

MTVision · Jul 25, 2012

Jaemie said:
Haha! Ya, what can you do. My daughters have ink, some of which they now regret but at the time seemed so awesome. Butterfly... *rolls eyes*

I got tattoos when I was younger and I regret them - oh and 1 is a butterfly of course!

My boyfriends got the best tattoo EVER! Smart boy tattooed his ex girlfriends name in large letters across his left pec. Good thing me and his ex have the same name and the same spelling!

Derrel · Jul 25, 2012

Jaemie said:
Here's how I viewed this:

1st Thought: The quote. Isn't "living for something" different from "dying for nothing"? I mean, they're two different concepts. And vague concepts, at that. Usually the phrase, "She died for nothing," means her death was in vain, as in she was killed by a spider bite, not saving a drowning toddler from a croc-infested river. Whereas "living for something" implies a life devoted to some worthy cause, such as to promoting literacy in poor rural areas, or raising a family, or conservative politics, or something like that. It just seems like an unusual choice for a... Wait. This is a photograph. I'm supposed to be looking at more than just the tattoo.

Jaemie,
Kids today get all types of stupid chit tatt'ed onto themselves, often by third-rate tattoo "artists" who can barely spell, nor lay down a decent line...anyway...yeah...it's a photo of her tat. Not too bad a photo. It'll be a nice reminder of what the tat looked like when she was at a normal body weight and the words were still readable.

TheFantasticG · Jul 25, 2012

At first I thought something was wrong with her boob, then I realized it was her elbow.

I admit, I don't "get" B&W photography, but I like the image overall.