simple portrait, need c&c

Tango

i always browse the people forum and usually never post here because people photography is my weakest skill...

i would really like to hear your c&c.

any nits from the master gurus here?


Jordan, my biggest little girl

Shima

I like your processing and framing of this. I don't think it's weak.

roentarre

Good use of muted colour!

Jeremy Winterberg

I'm no portrait Guru (yet), but I feel like the crop on the left side either needs to not cut off a little of the arm, or not show a little of the wall. You get what I'm saying? Maybe Its just my eyes, but at least to me it looks like her arm is just SLIGHTLY cut off.

And also, maybe have her move away from the wall a tad, you can see a shadow from your flash or lighting or whatever you used.

Other than that, I like the coloring. I'm still trying to figure out how to PP photos with the bronzing/duo tone look... haven't done much with that, and seeing as I'm trying to start a little studio I'm gonna have people that want their pictures like that.

divamum

For starters, she's gorgeous - beautiful daughter you've got there!

The other People Gurus can offer more authoritative comment than I can, but the only things I see that could possibly warrant changing are that shadow on the wall behind her, and perhaps decentering her just a little bit with a different crop.

I LOVE the processing - what did you do to it?

jeffreaux2

AaronNelson wrote:

i always browse the people forum and usually never post here because people photography is my weakest skill...

i would really like to hear your c&c.

any nits from the master gurus here?


Jordan, my oldest girl

Aaron,

Shes a doll!!!

...but lets get to the technical issues...

If you are thinking of a reshoot, you want to try to get rid of the shadow on the wall. It appears you used a shoe mounted flash. While it is entirely possible that the shadow could have been reduced in size by rotating the camera 180 degrees, your best bet is to use flash exposure compensation to also reduce the intensity of the flash. Let the available light control the exposure, and take advantages of the nice shaping shadows that natural light provides us. Then, just a squirt of flash to brighten the eyes. A good starting point might be -1 1/3 FEC, though I routinely shoot a lot at -3. The shadow on the wall is one thing, but if you are using enough flash power to creat a shadow like that, then you are also knocking out all of the natural shaping shadows on her face.

Be careful of the blacks in your processing. Especially the darker areas of her hair. Also, in this shot her right eye is small compared to her left eye. She may have been anticipating the flash, but I routinely have clients who have an eye that closes when they smile. If this is the case with her, it can be a challenge to get the eyes to appear to be the same size. Try some "no smile - serious" poses as well as some with a slight grin and see if that eye will open up more. It can also be made larger in photoshop (liquify tool), but I don't normally revert to that. Eyes are the most important element in a portrait. I have had some success in showing my subjects the closed eye on the LCD and then working at it together.


I like to use brick walls as a backdrop myself. In that regard, I suggest using an angle that places you shooting more parallel to it rather than perpendicular. Then, using an F4 or larger aperture will let it dissolve away from her.(example below)

My daughters are entirely different from one another. My oldest is always gung-ho to have herself photographed, while my youngest is quite the opposite. It can be very satisfying to combine two things you dearly love....daughter and photography...into a single project. Trading her the opportunity to polish your portrait skills in return for a disk full of images for her to use on her myspace/facebook page might be a good bagaining tool.

Good luck...and thanks for sharing.

Trevlan

Aaron, would you mind if I take a snap at a quick edit? I can get rid of that shadow! Great shot by the way, your daughter is gorgeous. More shotguns needed.

Shima

Trevlan wrote:

Aaron, would you mind if I take a snap at a quick edit? I can get rid of that shadow! Great shot by the way, your daughter is gorgeous. More shotguns needed.

If you do remove the shadow, I'd be interested in hearing how you went about it.

pathfinder

What Jeff said.

I might try a slightly tighter crop.

If you want to shoot her in front of the bricks, I would have her stand farther away from them than in this shot, or as Jeff mentioned, shoot parallel to the wall with a wide aperture. That is a great device!

Tango

Thanks everyone, ive been so hesitant to ever post my family, i think ive been missing out on great instruction from you all...

Trevlan,
you can try some work on this image and post it on this thread, thank you for asking.

Jeff, thank you , seriously you just blew my mind... i will need to soak that all in, and return to your advice often.
Both my daughters are really just very silly and i was lucky to get any images like this one. we usually never have the time to dedicate ourselves to a portrait session but i really want to do more.... heck she has grown up so fast...

the settings for processing image in
Lightroom2 was found from this photographer:
http://mikelao.wordpress.com/2008/01/09/lightroom-300-presets-download/

jeffreaux2

AaronNelson wrote:

.... heck she has grown up so fast...

I know the feeling.....it is a sobering....almost....sickening realization.

Life...at the speed of light.

I forgot to mention my senior portrait tips. There are some basic rules of thumb there that can be applied to most portrait work.

Here is that link!

The great thing about learning to do a great portrait is that the tools required for that can easily be applied to candid "snapshot" type photos we often take on vacation or get togethers. Taking the family album to a new level.

eoren1

Thanks for that great link/info Jeff!

I'm realizing that, despite spending at least 2/3 of my time and photos on my kids (now 1 and 3), I rarely post or visit this forum. This post is making me realize that I have been missing out on the expertise and growth potential of this corner of dgrin...I intend to correct that this year!

Also, you're post is yet another reminder to attach that 420ex of mine to the camera more often. I often think of it during harsh conditions; but not for around-the-house shots. Immediately after reading your tips, I grabbed the camera with the 50/1.8 and threw the flash on to photograph my 3 year old doing what he does best - playing with his cars/trucks. With my standard -1 2/3 FEC, I got a lot more 'pop' (especially the eyes), than I usually do. I'll make sure to post some of those later today.

Thanks again,
E

dlplumer

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Aaron,

Shes a doll!!!

...but lets get to the technical issues...

If you are thinking of a reshoot, you want to try to get rid of the shadow on the wall. It appears you used a shoe mounted flash. While it is entirely possible that the shadow could have been reduced in size by rotating the camera 180 degrees, your best bet is to use flash exposure compensation to also reduce the intensity of the flash. Let the available light control the exposure, and take advantages of the nice shaping shadows that natural light provides us. Then, just a squirt of flash to brighten the eyes. A good starting point might be -1 1/3 FEC, though I routinely shoot a lot at -3. The shadow on the wall is one thing, but if you are using enough flash power to creat a shadow like that, then you are also knocking out all of the natural shaping shadows on her face.

Be careful of the blacks in your processing. Especially the darker areas of her hair. Also, in this shot her right eye is small compared to her left eye. She may have been anticipating the flash, but I routinely have clients who have an eye that closes when they smile. If this is the case with her, it can be a challenge to get the eyes to appear to be the same size. Try some "no smile - serious" poses as well as some with a slight grin and see if that eye will open up more. It can also be made larger in photoshop (liquify tool), but I don't normally revert to that. Eyes are the most important element in a portrait. I have had some success in showing my subjects the closed eye on the LCD and then working at it together.


I like to use brick walls as a backdrop myself. In that regard, I suggest using an angle that places you shooting more parallel to it rather than perpendicular. Then, using an F4 or larger aperture will let it dissolve away from her.(example below)

My daughters are entirely different from one another. My oldest is always gung-ho to have herself photographed, while my youngest is quite the opposite. It can be very satisfying to combine two things you dearly love....daughter and photography...into a single project. Trading her the opportunity to polish your portrait skills in return for a disk full of images for her to use on her myspace/facebook page might be a good bagaining tool.

Good luck...and thanks for sharing.

Some more nice coaching Jeff

divamum

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Aaron,

Shes a doll!!!

...but lets get to the technical issues...

If you are thinking of a reshoot, you want to try to get rid of the shadow on the wall. It appears you used a shoe mounted flash. While it is entirely possible that the shadow could have been reduced in size by rotating the camera 180 degrees, your best bet is to use flash exposure compensation to also reduce the intensity of the flash. Let the available light control the exposure, and take advantages of the nice shaping shadows that natural light provides us. Then, just a squirt of flash to brighten the eyes. A good starting point might be -1 1/3 FEC, though I routinely shoot a lot at -3. The shadow on the wall is one thing, but if you are using enough flash power to creat a shadow like that, then you are also knocking out all of the natural shaping shadows on her face.

Be careful of the blacks in your processing. Especially the darker areas of her hair. Also, in this shot her right eye is small compared to her left eye. She may have been anticipating the flash, but I routinely have clients who have an eye that closes when they smile. If this is the case with her, it can be a challenge to get the eyes to appear to be the same size. Try some "no smile - serious" poses as well as some with a slight grin and see if that eye will open up more. It can also be made larger in photoshop (liquify tool), but I don't normally revert to that. Eyes are the most important element in a portrait. I have had some success in showing my subjects the closed eye on the LCD and then working at it together.


I like to use brick walls as a backdrop myself. In that regard, I suggest using an angle that places you shooting more parallel to it rather than perpendicular. Then, using an F4 or larger aperture will let it dissolve away from her.(example below)

My daughters are entirely different from one another. My oldest is always gung-ho to have herself photographed, while my youngest is quite the opposite. It can be very satisfying to combine two things you dearly love....daughter and photography...into a single project. Trading her the opportunity to polish your portrait skills in return for a disk full of images for her to use on her myspace/facebook page might be a good bagaining tool.

Good luck...and thanks for sharing.

This is a great set of specific "how to's", and has answered questions about some of your "tradmark" looks that i've wondered about - great stuff!

Aaron, I'm really glad you posted - I've learned a bunch from the responses to you!!

jeffreaux2 wrote:

I know the feeling.....it is a sobering....almost....sickening realization.

Life...at the speed of light.

You are SO not kidding. And the more pictures I take, the more I'm seeing the changes (vs not taking so many pictures, I mean). I can't stop her growing up, but i can make sure I keep some of those silly lively expressions and behaviours in pictures to look at and remember once they're long gone .

Good stuff, gentlemen - thank you

Tango

jeffreaux2 wrote:

I know the feeling.....it is a sobering....almost....sickening realization.

Life...at the speed of light.

I forgot to mention my senior portrait tips. There are some basic rules of thumb there that can be applied to most portrait work.

Here is that link!

The great thing about learning to do a great portrait is that the tools required for that can easily be applied to candid "snapshot" type photos we often take on vacation or get togethers. Taking the family album to a new level.

what a LINK !

"Life at the speed of light!" Im a stranger to time....it seems all an illusion sometimes....then i get a hug:D

Tango

divamum wrote:

Aaron, I'm really glad you posted - I've learned a bunch from the responses to you!!

me too.... its not too late to start getting better portraits of my kids (4)....

(i believe im going to be reading far more here in "people" ! )

divamum

AaronNelson wrote:

(i believe im going to be reading far more here in "people" ! )

The funny thing is that this is where i first started here at dgrin; then I got wooed by the Challenges and kind of stopped the portrait thing for a while. But during the last challenge when "banned" from reading due to our judging duties, I came back to the fold and BOY am I glad I did - I'm actually *ready* to learn this stuff now (thanks to the growth during the challenges) and am so excited by the possibilities before me!!!!!

I really love this community (all the forums, that is!) lust

Swartzy

Hey Aaron! You should be a proud Papa! Jordan is a very pretty girl with a lovely smile. Since this is the shot you decided to post, allow me to give you my take for what it's worth. I see Jeff provided you with numerous examples in his thread...a great one for certain. This shot, IMHO would most likely bring out her personality a bit more with a "less" saturated, brown type processing. Yes, there is a shadow enveloping her form on the wall behind but is slight. That can at times work to one's advantage at the proper shoot angle. This shot is a bit "head on" but could work a bit better with a more refined treatment.

One thing we like to have is sharp eyes as that is where the viewer identifies with the subject. They are sharp in the photo but the processing subdues them and blankets the overall vibrancy of her character. For kicks and giggles, I'd love to provide you with a different processing treatment should you care to make the file available (strictly for example purposes only ).

Something we all try to accomplish in portrature is getting different angles, slants in conjunction with the subject's bodily pose, head tilt, shoulder tilt, etc. Using a small step ladder or say shooting from a different vantage point will supply such a look. And as Jeff has mentioned, shallower DOF will fade away the background or wall in this instance.

You'll be amazed at the similarities between landscaping and portraiture, especially when doing environmental type shots. Head and shoulder shots are of course different but I will say, the landscaping aspect of my photography has fortified the ability on people shoots.

Tango

thanks Dave, i sent you a pm, feel free to work on the image and share here on this thread. i am very interested. and i will prepare for another mind blowing awakening

Swartzy

One of the key elements here was to bring this to a more traditional look. The reason being is that the photo is a traditional pose, look, smile and so forth. If it was a funky environmental then the desat, sepia types would work....I personally felt (and it's just me) that it needed a "pretty" treatment.

A couple freckles removed, skin softening along with a slight opcity on hair. Notice how the distinct shadow on the wall dissappeared. Also the backdrop is a bit more blurred as we don't need a "sharp" brick wall and was darkened a tad. At the end I do some overall and selective sharpening, including luminocity and high pass. I use a particular sequence when sharpening for people and have found the results appealing, at least to my eye. Oh, I did crop it a bit as well. Here's my take and thank you for allowing me to "do it up"

Tango

thanks, that is really really , really really great.

, wait that is








amazing

jeffreaux2

Swartzy wrote:

Here's my take and thank you for allowing me to "do it up"

dlplumer

jeffreaux2 wrote:

+1