Trying for an edgy 60's pose

[Tropicalmemories]

Hard light, wide lens too close - trying for a 60's look.

 

[Derrel]

The wide angle Lens and the short camera-to-subject distance have , together,caused quite a bit of foreshortening, causing her feet to look quite a bit larger than they are in reality. I get the 60s style vibe that you were going for.

 

[tirediron]

Honestly? I don't see this light as especially hard, but I understand what you're going for, and I think you more-or-less got there. I would consider bumping the exposure maybe a half-stop, and consider cropping just below the fingertips. If you were to reshoot, avoiding the black square in the background wouldn't hurt. If you want a real '60s look, have her hold a cigarette between her fingers!

 

[Grandpa Ron]

I guess in I am missing something, this looks like many of the "edgy" artsy photos I saw in the 50's, 60's and 70's; until the used of color started to become the dominant medium.

 

[Tropicalmemories]

Honestly? I don't see this light as especially hard, but I understand what you're going for, and I think you more-or-less got there. I would consider bumping the exposure maybe a half-stop, and consider cropping just below the fingertips. If you were to reshoot, avoiding the black square in the background wouldn't hurt. If you want a real '60s look, have her hold a cigarette between her fingers!

I'm on a US business trip now - so no chance of a re-shoot until next month, but I found an old chair that's shaped like the one in the Lewis Morley image of Christine Keeler, so we're going to have a go at a go at some shots inspired by Morley's iconic image.

Meanwhile, here's two mobile phone App edits of the first shot using your suggestions - done during the flight as I've seen all the movies.

 

[smoke665]

I think I like the toned one better. Like TI, I don't see "hard light". I may not be getting the reference, but my impression of hard edgy is more of the Film Noir look maybe eased some from the 40's & 50's but still a little harder edge on the shadow transition. One thing I think continues to hurt your images is not paying attention to the background. You have a great shadow outline on the wall, that could really add to that edgy look, but it's losing the competition with the black blob of the partial curtain.

 

[Tropicalmemories]

I think I like the toned one better. Like TI, I don't see "hard light". I may not be getting the reference, but my impression of hard edgy is more of the Film Noir look maybe eased some from the 40's & 50's but still a little harder edge on the shadow transition. One thing I think continues to hurt your images is not paying attention to the background. You have a great shadow outline on the wall, that could really add to that edgy look, but it's losing the competition with the black blob of the partial curtain.

I know what you mean about the backgrounds. We live in a small rented house and there's no clean wall without distractions, so for indoor shots it's a challenge, especially during the monsoon when outside shots can be difficult.

But we're currently building a house on some land outside the city - and a priority is a large window and some clear wall space.

Also, I think keen photographers have different visual perception compared to 'normal' people? Never once has my model or her friends when she posts on social media, said anything about the backgrounds, and nobody apart from keen photographers has ever said "there's a tree growing out of the top of her head".

I think we look at images differently?

The main feedback I get from my subject when I take portrait shots outside is "stop making the background fuzzy, I want to see where we were visiting". And after spending a fortune on a new wide aperture lens, that hurts.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

Tropical,

In photography, or most any of the arts, there is no normal. There are just a multitude of opinions.

If you ask ten different people how to improve your photo, you will most certainly get ten different answers. These answers may be similar in many respects, but each reflects the writers sense of normal. By studying and reflecting on these view points you gain a broader sense of the term normal within the community you are addressing.

It would be a very dull world, if we all viewed the world in the same way.

 

[smoke665]

We live in a small rented house and there's no clean wall without distractions, so for indoor shots it's a challenge, especially during the monsoon when outside shots can be difficult.

I think the key is uniformity, either you have a clean wall or a wall with manageable distractions, or lacking that a complete wall of curtains would work equally well (curtain panels and a rod). Not having the separation between the subject and the background can create challenges, but can be overcome with lighting and camera aperture.

The main feedback I get from my subject when I take portrait shots outside is "stop making the background fuzzy, I want to see where we were visiting". And after spending a fortune on a new wide aperture lens, that hurts.

You're on your own there creamy backgrounds are overrated anyhow. LOL Most photos on social media are snapshots, lacking very little thought or skill, as such a lot of folks don't know any better.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

Smoke,

I may be a bit overstated to say that snapshots require very little thought. Having suffered through a number of group shots and other family or vacation photos; I can assure you that the person taking the photo, be it a Grandma, a Cousin or colleague, will move the group around like chess pieces until it is ...just right....

I have been told not to stand there because the sun will make you squint, step over so the moon is showing behind you, put your arm around her, raise your wine glasses or pose with the dog.

Just like a fine arts photographer, these folks know what they want to see. But unlike the fine arts folks, they have a far different opinion of seeing what is normal. Perhaps the selfie is the epitome of that, they will shoot six pictures off the stick, then cull through them with the seriousness of an art critic.

 

[smoke665]

@Grandpa Ron I'm sure there are some like that, but there's also a lot of cell phone photos on social media loaded up with stickers, animal faces, and what ever else might be trending at the time.

 

[Tropicalmemories]

@Grandpa Ron I'm sure there are some like that, but there's also a lot of cell phone photos on social media loaded up with stickers, animal faces, and what ever else might be trending at the time.

That's what I was missing. Good idea.

 

[smoke665]

That's what I was missing. Good idea

May not have hit 60's definitely working 2019, but you forgot cats ears and whiskers.