low key B&W CC please

blaser321blaser321 Registered Users Posts: 201 Major grins
edited July 6, 2009 in People
This is a shot of my step Mom it makes me think she is sad.
And one of my niece just in town for the week
setup was one soft box and one hair light f8 -200 70mm
I have not done very many B&W conversations any CC is welcome


1
581433889_UA4Yq-XL.jpg


2 witch crop do you like?
581433518_BH2Nk-XL.jpg


3
581433380_jjyN7-XL.jpg
5D mark II, 24-70 2.8L, 70-200 2.8 L IS
EF 2.0x II extender BG-E6

Comments

  • grosdagrosda Registered Users Posts: 36 Big grins
    edited July 4, 2009
    blaser321 wrote:
    witch crop do you like?

    All three images are wonderful. Of the pair I like the close crop better. The eye just jumps right out at you. I really notice the highlights in eye
    Dale G

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  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited July 4, 2009
    blaser321 wrote:
    This is a shot of my step Mom it makes me think she is sad.
    And one of my niece just in town for the week
    setup was one soft box and one hair light f8 -200 70mm
    I have not done very many B&W conversations any CC is welcome

    I could do one of two things - I could say 'gorgeous!' or I could be honest - I'll opt for honest -

    I think they're too extreme. Splitting a face between shadow and light is fine, but I'd try to do it in a realistic way - have you ever seen a person whose entire right or left side of their face simply wasn't there, while the other side was fully lit? I'd wager not. So I'd suggest one of two things -
    Either do a really tight crop, where you just focus in on one eye and part of one side of the face, or do the light/shadow thing, but keep the shadow light enough so that we have a reasonable hint of the features in the shadows...

    This is an idea of what I mean, though I realize you'd want the light side to be much lighter...
    553862253_vFh5x-XL-1.jpg

    And here's what I mean by coming in extremely tightly.
    555354014_xGNWy-XL-1.jpg

    I realize neither of these may be everyone's cup of tea - or can of Redbull - but I'd suggest at least letting some light fall on "the darkside."mwink.gif
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
  • tortillatorturetortillatorture Registered Users Posts: 194 Major grins
    edited July 4, 2009
    i also like to be honest, and i think they are really nice.
    i think bdcolen has a point, but its not a law, strangest things can work really well sometimes.

    you could crop quite a bit of the hair in shot nr 1, thats the only thing that bothers me with this picture,
    i think its a strong shot with real expression.
    i dont mind the contrast at all an find the blackness in the shot to really underline the mood.
    --
    shot nr3=better crop.
    --
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 4, 2009
    BD, this is one of the "extreme" lighting patterns we learned during my recent workshop. Naturally there are miriads of them, but Brian opted for this one here and I personally think he did a very good job on the first two. deal.gifthumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • zoomerzoomer Registered Users Posts: 3,688 Major grins
    edited July 5, 2009
    I like two best, do you have a version with the negative space on the left of the frame instead of the right, with the face more in the upper right of the frame instead of the lower left.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/21695902@N06/
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  • blaser321blaser321 Registered Users Posts: 201 Major grins
    edited July 5, 2009
    Thanks for the input I really like the way these came out. Interesting, it is definitely art not realistic. My wife did not like them but my kids did. And I'm glad others do too.
    5D mark II, 24-70 2.8L, 70-200 2.8 L IS
    EF 2.0x II extender BG-E6
  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited July 5, 2009
    blaser321 wrote:
    Thanks for the input I really like the way these came out. Interesting, it is definitely art not realistic. My wife did not like them but my kids did. And I'm glad others do too.

    By all means, go with what you like. :D
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
  • D'BuggsD'Buggs Registered Users Posts: 958 Major grins
    edited July 6, 2009
    I like em'.

    We see images 'like' this, all the time. It's just that they are fleeting and we simply don't take them in and remember.... That's the beauty about Still Photography; we can get glimpses of what normally is taken for granted.

    Now these shots are obviously staged but IMO that doesn't make them any less a shot than a person sitting for a portrait that's been hit with several lights - Creativity comes in all flavours and by all means, strap it on (creativity) and see where it takes ya. :D

    In #2, the hairline distracts me - I much prefer the tighter crop. The conversions look appealing, I see no reason for change on this. All in all, nice job. thumb.gif


    *** I've too have recently been playing around with a 1 light set-up. IMO some of my best work with a particular subject (self port) has been achieved in this manner. WTS, I am now also playing with adding subtle fill, like bd suggests... Not sure if I'm liking the results as much - The shots are completely different now and the flavour isn't the same. It worked very well on other projects, just not this one.
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