Still more SP messin' around (C&C welcome)
This was sorta kinda aiming for Rembrandt lighting, although these three are not necessarily the best example of that in the series. I think I got it in a few of them, although "the triangle" was often hittting at lip height instead of under my eye (light simply too low, or ...?)
Also, I stupidly stuck with 5.6 instead of stoppping down a little more and because in many of these I was at an angle, I didn't nail my DOF focusing :cry It's a shame, because the best two shots in the whole set are ruined by soft focus in the rear eye, and so aren't really representative of anything, darnit. :eek1
Setup was 420ex+softbox to my right, a small clip lamp behind and above me to my left and sometimes I had a reflector in my lap and sometimes not (I varied).
1. Shame about that neck shadow - can't decide just how "wrong" it is, but it bugs me anyway
2.
3
4 Some serious messing about - have no idea if it works or not, but it was kind of fun to do! It's the same gold scarf as in #1, btw.
5 and in BW
Also, I stupidly stuck with 5.6 instead of stoppping down a little more and because in many of these I was at an angle, I didn't nail my DOF focusing :cry It's a shame, because the best two shots in the whole set are ruined by soft focus in the rear eye, and so aren't really representative of anything, darnit. :eek1
Setup was 420ex+softbox to my right, a small clip lamp behind and above me to my left and sometimes I had a reflector in my lap and sometimes not (I varied).
1. Shame about that neck shadow - can't decide just how "wrong" it is, but it bugs me anyway
2.
3
4 Some serious messing about - have no idea if it works or not, but it was kind of fun to do! It's the same gold scarf as in #1, btw.
5 and in BW
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Caroline
yeah, that's what i was hoping - glad it reads! I was just going through my scarves drawer, saw the lace and immediately thought of this picture (which I in fact only just now googled to post this -I wish I'd thought to look it up earlier, as I could have learned a thing or two from studying it before invoking the style!
http://www.yourshot.eu/blog/gloria-swanson-by-edward-st.jpg
Mod edit: Inline image changed to link for copyright reasons. BTW, that's one of my all-time favorite Steichen images...I saw the original recently and it blew my socks off.
That is the funniest thing! When I read that I laughed out loud and made all my kids come a running saying "What mom! What did I miss!?" We are all crazy huh.
I looovie #1. Seductive and elegant all in one great photo. I also love #3 with all that negative space and perfect hair lighting. Whoop! Whoop! Good job!
Also I really like how you converted #5 into BnW...
you're about 4000x better at self portraits than I am
With every post you make, I'm just more and more amazed at what you are producing and the HUGE strides you made in the last month or two.
As far as DOF is concerned, it's usually (classically) preferred that both eyes be in focus but it's not a necessity. If only one is going to be in focus, it's usually best if it's the one closest to the camera. Again, that's just a rule of thumb.
Ahh ... the eyes! Wow. Did you do any whitening of your eyes? If you did, it's so natural looking that one would have to say you did a wonderful job of it. If you didn't, WOW - you have some very clear eyes - beautiful! I love the catchlights in your eyes, the fact that I can see both eyes, and the intense look!
And about this photo .... My first impression was something along the lines of, "Oh boy, is she pissed or what?" Then, it was, "Those are some strong shadows she has going there." And you do have some strong shadows - not something usually seen in a lady's portrait. But, with you coloring, this works wonderfully!
At this stage in your progress (and given your budget and the equipment you are using), I don't think I would be too concerned about the shadow on the side of your neck. You know it's that and that you really don't like it (I don't find it that objectionable, actually) and when you have an additional light source, you can fill that shadow in a bit. But, I don't think I would try to over-come it completely.
There needs to be just a bit more light on your clothing to better seperate it from the background. You have a bit of the "floating head" thing going on here. But, aside from that, you have a very strong portrait here. A little fill for the shadows would probably be a goodness.
This is cute! The light is wonderful - I can see definition in the shadow side of your face. Usually, seeing just the ear (as you have it here) is not a goodness, but the hair that goes across it really helps to anchor it. And the light on the color/scarf/whatever it is really works. Without it, you would be the floating head again. With it, your face/head is anchored and it looks great.
All the above is my true testimony and I'm sticking to it. But, the thing that really strikes me is the very strong sense of the amount of fun you are having.
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Thanks Heather! Glad you like it and glad it comes across as "seductive and elegant" instead of "totally terrifying!" Looking at them again this morning ... I look so MEAN! I swear I'm not that scary. I went through the entire shoot again this morning and realise that, whether because of the outrageous makeup I gave myself (I was goin' for full-blown, over the top eyes on this one) or because I just wasn't tuned into "smile" (what's with that?!) ALL of the shots which aren't actually a bit silly are quite severe.
Thanks for the comments - glad that I'm starting to put all the previous feedback to use (hair light, hair light lol. Also, after our previous exchange on that score, I decided to go a little crazy with red highlights this week - I liked what I saw so much once I got some light on my head that pulled out the natural red lights in my hair that I added some extra ones just for fun and am loving them
Thanks Jeremy.
I've been sitting here trying to reverse engineer #1, and I still can't figure quite what cast that shadow - I'm going to guess that I had a reflector in my lap for that one (no shadows under my chin) so I have to guess that maybe it's my hair casting a shadow from the light behind it pointed down on my head? But then I wonder why it's got such a clear square corner... Not quite sure - have to work on that next time.
Of course, that's the hard part about SPs - you can't look for things like that until AFTER you've taken the shot, so it all gets very time consuming.... However, we've had a lot of bad weather (cooped up at home) and thus I've had time to mess about with it. I'm itching to work on people who AREN'T myself, but so far I'm the most cooperative model I have on hand lol
Scott, you are too sweet, and please - take the credit YOU (and all the other wonderfully helpful dgrinners who have taken the time to guide me along) deserve for helping me grow like this! Truly - it's been reading in here that has educated my eye and started me down this path.
Heeeheeee... Yes, I HAVE been focusing an awful lot of my mental energy on this but I've had the time just now. Between bad weather and canceled contracts, this has been a wonderful creative outlet to keep me busy - I think my family are actually grateful I've had something positive on which to focus my attention instead of getting pulled down by the stressful stuff going on in Operaland....
Yes, I did do a tiny bit of brightening but I was also painted up like a Kabuki artist - seriously, you cannot BELIEVE how much makeup I had on. As for brightening eyes, I'm pretty basic about it (don't knwo if this is the "right" method, but it's what I figured out by trial and error in my self-taught way): I quick select them, ctrl J to make the selected area a separate layer, boost the brightness and reduce the contrast and then adjust the opacity of the layer until they don't look like an alien creature.
See my notes to Heather (on the expression) and Jeremy (on the shadows) above. Glad it works despite the flaws! I agree that a little bit of shadowing isn't bad, but these have such a square edge. I think I'm as much bugged by the fact that i can't figure out *what* caused it as the way it actually looks.
Yeah, floating head. Whoops
I admit that I cheated some of that light in post - I bumped the brightness of the hat and collar WAAAAAYYYYY up to bring out the details. But to my surprise, it works - I expected it to get very noisy and/or look fake but it seems to be ok on this occasion. Didn't even have to do anything other than basic noise work when first processing (no noiseware or anything, just ACR).
YOU BET!! I'm absolutely LOVING it and having so much fun. And I'm excited that I'm finally reaching the stage where friends are saying, "Wow... you took those? Would you take some shots of me?" I almost feel like I'm ready to take that step and, in fact, I think February could turn out to be a lot of fun on that front - watch this space!
As always Scott, THANK YOU. Your comments (to me and others) have been invaluable!
(edit for typos. Whoops!)
Daft?? Are you, daft?
You're cute! And you have the most adorable eyes!
I love this photo series! Your light and shadowing are all to my taste!
Continue having and Sharing your fun!!
cheers, tom
Awww, thank you so much - and yes, I am indeed having fun (and I'm sure I'll be inflicting more shots on you all in coming weeks... just try and stop me!
(PS I do indeed have big dark eyes and as a trained performer I've learned how to use 'em, but there was also a lot - and I mean A LOT - of makeup involved in this series :giggle. But thanks for the compliment - I'll take it!!!
Right on!
I am not a make-up fan at all....until it comes to photography...lots of times it is the make-up that so helps the
shots work...and these work!!
cheers tom
I really like this one a lot!! The others are really good too but this one stands out to me