Some more of my SP's (for real this time)

divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
edited January 10, 2009 in People
After being PRODDED last night into posting the truly bad SP's I managed to capture :giggle, I pressed on today.

C&C of course welcomed!!!

The goal here was NOT to get formal shots, but I was trying

1. To create a very natural somehwat "warts and all" picture in situ - I wanted the piano and room in shot, with no obvious makeup or retouching creating the effect (there is some there, of course, I just don't want it to LOOK like it's there!! :D)

2. To fix the focusing problems I was having last night (finally got the shot framed so I could use one focus point instead of all of them).

3. To experiment with using my flash off camera but bounced (rather than modified with the softbox) and get more familiar with what different setups will produce as a final result

4. To reproduce the soft light I achieved last night, but with more alive light on my face (ie catchlights). I added my homemade BBC (thanks Heather - can't believe I didn't think of that until you mentioned it!) and repositioned the flash a little differently and actually wound up bouncing it off the wall BEHIND the camera rather than the ceiling since pointed up with the BBC it cast nasty shadows (small room- nowhere for the light to go).

Ok, all that "out there", here ya go (NB still on an uncalibrated monitor - if something looks way off, that's likely why so please let me know!)

1.

452426898_eY2Vq-L.jpg

2.
452427062_CGSWa-L.jpg

3.

452427168_VxVNx-L.jpg
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Comments

  • lisaplisap Registered Users Posts: 294 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    I'm not so good at giving feedback about lighting, so keep that in mind. :)

    I like the posing in #2 and #3 for the more relaxed and natural look. (You're looking a bit cheeky in #2...heehee)

    I think I like the light on your face the most in #1 and then #2. #3 is kind of missing that sparkle in your eye that I remember seeing I think it was your first or second self portrait post.

    I do like how relaxed you look in #3. :)

    I had a hard enough time trying to just get my face in frame, never mind props and such! Nice job. :D

    -- Lisa P.
    -- Lisa P.

    http://www.pictureyourlifephotography.com
  • heatherfeatherheatherfeather Registered Users Posts: 2,738 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    See- further proof about the beauties that hang out at DG!
    You really are lovely! I wonder about your ethnic heritage? Perhaps Greek or Italian? Do you talk with your hands? Whatever you are, it works and is beauty.

    #2 and #3 are my favs...
    #2.. because you look so darn cute and mischievous...
    #3.. because you look relaxed and real! Like you are having a conversation with someone and you look up and smile. Very realistic!

    Really nice work!

    Another note- I can just hear that dissonant sound of your piano keys with your elbow resting on them. It is almost a distraction to the photo. Silly me.
    Heather
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  • VisualXpressionsVisualXpressions Registered Users Posts: 860 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    heatherfeather wrote:
    See- further proof about the beauties that hang out at DG!
    You really are lovely! I wonder about your ethnic heritage? Perhaps Greek or Italian? Do you talk with your hands? Whatever you are, it works and is beauty.

    15524779-Ti.gif

    Nicely done!

    Winston
    http://www.vxphotography.smugmug.com/
  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    Nice work. Number 2 is adorable!!

    Virginia
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

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  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    lisap wrote:
    I'm not so good at giving feedback about lighting, so keep that in mind. :)

    I like the posing in #2 and #3 for the more relaxed and natural look. (You're looking a bit cheeky in #2...heehee)

    I think I like the light on your face the most in #1 and then #2. #3 is kind of missing that sparkle in your eye that I remember seeing I think it was your first or second self portrait post.

    I do like how relaxed you look in #3. :)

    I had a hard enough time trying to just get my face in frame, never mind props and such! Nice job. :D

    -- Lisa P.

    Thanks! I actually found framing it much easier this time, since before I only had my 50mm 1.8 - with the Tamron I can shoot at around 35 which makes such a HUGE difference in giving the shot a bit more airspace so there's more leeway! The Tammy is just about as sharp, too (although I have to absolutely nail it with a single focus point; if I try to use all of them it grabs the wrong thing and I get soft eyes but sharp fingernails or something.... :)

    Thanks!
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  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    heatherfeather wrote:
    See- further proof about the beauties that hang out at DG!
    You really are lovely! I wonder about your ethnic heritage? Perhaps Greek or Italian? Do you talk with your hands? Whatever you are, it works and is beauty.

    #2 and #3 are my favs...
    #2.. because you look so darn cute and mischievous...
    #3.. because you look relaxed and real! Like you are having a conversation with someone and you look up and smile. Very realistic!

    Really nice work!

    Another note- I can just hear that dissonant sound of your piano keys with your elbow resting on them. It is almost a distraction to the photo. Silly me.

    Well I guess all us gals are just going to have to accept Scott's verdict and nod that we're taking pictures and we're on dgrin so we must have somethin' good going on... nod.gif

    I'm mixed pan-European MUTT as far as ethnicity - you name it, I probably havea bit of it in me. And while I don't think I talk with my hands, I have been told I have a ::ahem:: "big personality" (makes big diva gesture)

    It's so funny how others see us - #1 is by FAR my own favorite, and yet the one everybody else likes least... go figure!

    Btw, the power of perspective: elbow was a good 6" away from the keyboard (but agreed - it DOES look like I'm resting on it!)

    I'll be continuing this project - it's really educational just to keep going in there and seeing "what if?", and now that I have the ste2 it is GREAT just to play around and see what effects are avaiable to me with my one wee flash. This is FUN!!! :)

    Thanks!!!!!
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  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    VisualXpressions wrote:
    15524779-Ti.gif

    Nicely done!

    Winston
    Thanks VX!
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  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    Flyinggina wrote:
    Nice work. Number 2 is adorable!!

    Virginia

    Thanks Virginia! As I said in my post above it's funny how others see us (or how we see ourselves) because that's the one I probably like *least* (I can still hear my mom saying, 'Don't smirk - SMILE!!" I guess lol)

    I'm having fun with this, I must confess. I find it VERY bizarre to sit and stare at my own image as much as this (oy... it is so hard to be objective about oneself!) but it's so liberating to finally have the tools to allow me to get closer to the idea I have for the photo - still have a way to go before I can always imagine the "how" accurately as well as the "what", but I'm have a lot of fun trying to get there! :)
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  • sweet carolinesweet caroline Registered Users Posts: 1,589 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    I like the smirk! You've been so good lately about trying these self portraits, I I think they are getting better and better. I think the focus is better in these. I also like your sweater- good color but not distracting.

    Caroline
  • Scott_QuierScott_Quier Registered Users Posts: 6,524 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    I'm not liking #1 so much - mostly for the pose. The light, however, is working quite nicely.

    My favorite is #3 - the pose is so relaxed and it seems to be more "you". The only issue there is your eyes - they don't have the life that a little light would add. A little more fill and a catchlight and this would be superior!! And, if you wanted to, you could add both in post.
    Scott
    My Photos
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  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    Scott_Quier wrote:
    I'm not liking #1 so much - mostly for the pose. The light, however, is working quite nicely.

    My favorite is #3 - the pose is so relaxed and it seems to be more "you". The only issue there is your eyes - they don't have the life that a little light would add. A little more fill and a catchlight and this would be superior!! And, if you wanted to, you could add both in post.
    Agreed on the light - as noted, it's been an experiment to see what would happen to the light by modifying the flash in this way. I prefer the actual *look* softbox lighting gives (such nicer catchlights), but bouncing means no reflectors and also lights the background area, so I can see how different circumstances would benefit from different approaches.

    Btw, I certainly hope you had a good laugh at the (requested) Really Bad Shot I posted in Heather's thread late last night (I must admit, that one WAS bad enough for a laugh, so I figured I'd oblige as requested.... :encore)
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  • LlywellynLlywellyn Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,186 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    I don't have much to add beyond what's been said. I love the personality in 2 and the warmth in 3. Your lighting is definitely improving! thumb.gif

    Next I want to see a close-up with big catchlights in those awesome dark eyes of yours. :D
  • Scott_QuierScott_Quier Registered Users Posts: 6,524 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    divamum wrote:
    Btw, I certainly hope you had a good laugh at the (requested) Really Bad Shot I posted in Heather's thread late last night (I must admit, that one WAS bad enough for a laugh, so I figured I'd oblige as requested.... :encore)
    Yes I did and I did have something of a laugh. I have, in the past, produced my fair share of such images as well.
    Llywellyn wrote:
    Your lighting is definitely improving! thumb.gif

    Next I want to see a close-up with big catchlights in those awesome dark eyes of yours. :D
    15524779-Ti.gif - those eyes are beautiful!!
    Scott
    My Photos
    Thoughts on photographing a wedding, How to post a picture, AF Microadjustments?, Light Scoop
    Equipment List - Check my profile
  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2009
    Scott_Quier wrote:
    Yes I did and I did have something of a laugh. I have, in the past, produced my fair share of such images as well.

    Always happy to oblige with a laugh (even if it is at my own expense!)

    Thanks everybody for the comments!

    This project is going to run and run I suspect, so I'm sure there will be more amusement among what one hopes will be increasingly decent shots. Looking at this batch again I'm dissatisfied with the processing work I did, but one of these days I'll streamline that part of the job into something less haphazard and more consistently successful as well. But I'm getting there ... thanks to all you guys for the valuable feedback and assistance thumb.gif
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