#18 low key

JAGJAG Super Moderators Posts: 9,088 moderator
edited January 29, 2009 in The Dgrin Challenges
...with a sepia flare and attitude. I am not sure if I will keep this one or not. Have a few other ideas floating around in my head but have to get them on sensor.
463754205_kXh2d-L.jpg


Edited to darker.
2.
463794444_qEVW3-L.jpg
~JAG (Joyce) - My site: JAG Creations JAG Creations be a fan.

Comments

  • davevdavev Registered Users Posts: 3,118 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2009
    It's a nice shot, but it sure seems bright for a low key shot.
    dave.

    Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
  • Candid ArtsCandid Arts Registered Users Posts: 1,685 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2009
    davev wrote:
    It's a nice shot, but it sure seems bright for a low key shot.

    15524779-Ti.gif

    I do like the composition though.
    Candid Arts Photography | Portland Oregon | Fine Art
    OneTwoFiftieth | Portland, Oregon | Modern Portraiture

    My Equipment:
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  • JAGJAG Super Moderators Posts: 9,088 moderator
    edited January 29, 2009
    ok...from what research I did on low key. I saw everything from total blackness and just barely visable light to brighter images then my first one. So I adjusted the curve a little more and darkened it more. Any better? (in the first post).
    ~JAG (Joyce) - My site: JAG Creations JAG Creations be a fan.
  • Candid ArtsCandid Arts Registered Users Posts: 1,685 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2009
    I think the light cut right on the center of his face is kinda weird.

    It's like way darker on the right side, and way lighter on the left side, perfectly split down the middle. No over lapping or anything. I dunno... I definitely like the darker side though. I think it's just the split that is throwing me off. IMO...just my .02
    Candid Arts Photography | Portland Oregon | Fine Art
    OneTwoFiftieth | Portland, Oregon | Modern Portraiture

    My Equipment:
    Bodies: Canon 50D, Canon EOS 1
    Lenses: Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS, Canon 50mm f/1.4, Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8
    Lighting: Canon 580EXII, Canon 420 EX, 12" Reflector, Pocket Wizard Plus II (3), AB800 (3), Large Softbox
    Stability: Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 Tripod, Manfrotto 488RC4 Ball Head, Manfrotto 679B Monopod
  • JAGJAG Super Moderators Posts: 9,088 moderator
    edited January 29, 2009
    I think that is where monitors come in. I have found that different monitors see different things. I am seeing a mid tone blend on this...not so " split". But then it is low key. Usually light is contrast sharply.
    ~JAG (Joyce) - My site: JAG Creations JAG Creations be a fan.
  • angevin1angevin1 Registered Users Posts: 3,403 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2009
    JAG wrote:
    ok...from what research I did on low key. I saw everything from total blackness and just barely visable light to brighter images then my first one. So I adjusted the curve a little more and darkened it more. Any better? (in the first post).

    yep!

    I like numba 2 ! I think the eyes look deeper for me !

    Nice photo!
    tom wise
  • divamumdivamum Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2009
    Interestingly, I was just scrolling up and down to look at them when my monitor essentially "cropped" the shot across his arm (cutting out the torso) and it looked really good and, somehow, darker (less light skin, I guess?). "Uncropped" I prefer the first one; when I saw it from the arms up, I preferred the second.

    In both cases, I like the sepia - it almost has a kind of 19th century/Western feel to it, particularly with his look and the light.

    I do see the light as very much right half/left half. The actual shading does blend... but almost exactly down the center of his face :D

    Hth!
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  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2009
    Very nice and I don't mean just the model.

    This certainly qualifies as low key.

    If you wanted to experiment, I'd try moving a diffused light source closer to get more wrap on his face so his right eye (camera left) shows up just a bit more than it does now. (A simpler solution would be to do just a bit of dodging on that eye socket - just a tad.) Repositioning the light would naturally soften the shadows two without sacrificing the drama of the split lighting.

    The other issues is that his back and arm to camera right are brighter than the face and that is distracting. If you aimed your light source a bit higher so the light skims over his head, you might get some nice drop off below the face. (I'm channeling Joe McNally here.) There may be a way to deal with this in post using one or more gradients. Or you could try cropping as Diva suggests. I do like having the chair in the photo though. It helps tell a story.

    Anyhow, I like the shot a lot.

    Virginia
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  • JAGJAG Super Moderators Posts: 9,088 moderator
    edited January 29, 2009
    "I'd try moving a diffused light source closer to get more wrap on his face so his right eye (camera left) shows up just a bit more than it does now. (A simpler solution would be to do just a bit of dodging on that eye socket - just a tad.) Repositioning the light would naturally soften the shadows two without sacrificing the drama of the split lighting.

    The other issues is that his back and arm to camera right are brighter than the face and that is distracting. If you aimed your light source a bit higher so the light skims over his head, you might get some nice drop off below the face. (I'm channeling Joe McNally here.) "

    I agree with these corrections. Too bad I cannot get him to pose for me again (he only allowed me about 15 minutes to shoot, its not easy getting models in my house!). I have several other things in the works for this challenge. So I will not be using this image for the challenge but I do appreciate all the help on perfecting techniques.

    I do have a cropped image but really do not like it as well. Here is another one that was taken in this session.
    463650701_XSwog-L.jpg
    ~JAG (Joyce) - My site: JAG Creations JAG Creations be a fan.
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