Two Sides of a Coin

dadwtwins

As an adult I realize making friends is not as easy as in the days of school yards and recess play time. Now-a-days silly emotions and mostly ego get in the way of creating life long friends. Fortunate for me, I have made some during my time at my present job and no other as much as Stace. Stace has become a true friend and a friend I would like to keep for a lifetime.

Many years ago when I first met Stace, she asked me to take some pictures of her and her clan of friends. I took a few but nothing super and nothing that showed the different persona's of this gorgeous but feared by many complex person. She has the presence to either rip your head off with speed and grace or give you a big hug of unbelievable warmth. It just depends on what end of the spectrum you may be on. I am thankfully usually on her good side.

It has taken a very long time, probably years, to finally have time off at the same time to go out for the day and try to capture some of this presence I have been talking about. In the wee hours of the morning, I took some shots that hopefully will show her strong and powerful side that has made her so successful in life, career and martial arts.

#1
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#2
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#3
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#4
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#5
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#6
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After the early morning session and freezing are buts off, we headed to get some coffee and warm up a little before shooting the second part of her persona. This time she was able to show not only her beauty but a side many do not see. Still a strong presence but now instead of instilling fear into others, she was turning heads with her femininity.

#1
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#2
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#3
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#4
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#5
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#6
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#7
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Not all of us are blessed with great beauty or even with a ton of smarts but at least you need to know someone that carries them and carries them well. That is my advice and I am sticking to it.

Photosbychuck

Great Series

The only nit I have is in #3 & #5 the staff is blocking part of her face.
She is a very pretty lady and you did a super job showing both sides of her persona.



Take Care,
Charles

Joe Dukovac

First off, very nice, good job!

If I had to pick something it would be the first two shots in part 2 of the series. The first one with the columns, they seem to be slanted left, and the second one the horizon looks to be slanted left also.

Apart from that, she is very beautiful, and I wouldn't want to get on her bad side either; she just might pickup a broom stick and beat you with it! All kidding aside, very well done.

Joe

Derweissehai

Excellent Series. Love 4 & 5 of the second set the best. Captures her carefree side of her persona. Great work.

adbsgicom

Nicely done.
My faves are 2 & 4 from the first set and 4 & 5 from the second.
In the future put numbers by each pic to make it easier for those of us who have trouble counting

Sam

Great series!

My only comment would be to see if you reprocess the B&W images. To me at least a lot of detail is lost in the blacks.

But over all very nice work and I am sure she is pleased.

Sam

dadwtwins

Joe Dukovac wrote:

First off, very nice, good job!

If I had to pick something it would be the first two shots in part 2 of the series. The first one with the columns, they seem to be slanted left, and the second one the horizon looks to be slanted left also.

Apart from that, she is very beautiful, and I wouldn't want to get on her bad side either; she just might pickup a broom stick and beat you with it! All kidding aside, very well done.

Joe

Thank you Joe, The second shot...she is actually walking on a steep incline. I lined up the horizon with the bridge towers to the right. As far as the colum shot, I will redo the horizon line...:)

dadwtwins

Sam wrote:

Great series!

My only comment would be to see if you reprocess the B&W images. To me at least a lot of detail is lost in the blacks.

But over all very nice work and I am sure she is pleased.

Sam

Hey Sam, the B&W were shot with IR in mind. This causes the blacks to loose detail as well as the green grass to turn white and blow out a little. Just a casualty of IR. I will try to reprocess one of the shoots to see if I can regain some of the details on the shadows. Thank you for your critic and comments.

dadwtwins

adbsgicom wrote:

Nicely done.
My faves are 2 & 4 from the first set and 4 & 5 from the second.
In the future put numbers by each pic to make it easier for those of us who have trouble counting

I promise to number the shots next time and even re-edit this post to reflect your great suggestion

met

I really like the first two or the black and white series. I prefer the ones with the tree background, because they seem like they could be in another time whereas the graffiti in the others takes a bit of that magic away. But maybe you were going with the juxtaposition of the old and new in those.

My favorites in the second series are #4 and especially #5 because she seems so at ease in that one. It almost doesn't seem like the same woman.

dadwtwins

met wrote:

I really like the first two or the black and white series. I prefer the ones with the tree background, because they same like they could be in another time whereas the graffiti in the others takes a bit of that magic away. But maybe you were going with the juxtaposition of the old and new in those.

My favorites in the second series are #4 and especially #5 because she seems so at ease in that one. It almost doesn't seem like the same woman.

I agree with you about the B&W. I loved that tree as soon as I saw it. Getting her up on that platform is a different story. She was standing on top of an old wooden roof that was covered with over growth. I loved the grass and tree plus shooting from a low level giving a stronger appearance was the idea I was trying to convey.

Here is a pic unprocessed/test shot to show the actual platform she was standing on and my single lighting setup.

schmoo

Dan these are exquisite portraits. I can tell from your words and the great care in your setup and processing that Stace is really important to you.

I agree that some of the blacks are a little deep, resulting in a little too much contrast in the first set. But apart from that I love the simple (but very effective) lighting and the location (particularly the grass and trees) couldn't be better. She looks like a surreal warrior. Perhaps a little more separation between her and the background? Her outfit blends a little bit because it is so dark, and the eye naturally expects the foreground subject to be a touch lighter than the things behind it.

For the color ones, she chose the perfect outfit. I love the conservative black that shows her steel, but the red scarf that pops. There's not much that's delicate about her, despite the femininity. My favorites are 3, 4, and 7 because of her pose, focus, and composition. I gotta say that 5 and 6 don't do anything for me because they're standard captures for a female model. I know you are capable of pushing the envelope, as you demonstrated with the others.

I'd say the shoot was well worth the wait!

aktse

I think you should do more portrait work. :DAnd I can’t believe that you shot a portrait series in IR! I don’t think I would have the guts to do that! I remember the original martial art series – this is better and you have improved.

In general, I love how you found locations that matched the personality of the subject. Both locations are very different, but fit the scene that you crafted.

For the B&W series, I think the blacks are too dark and her robes blends into the background. I know that you like a strong black point and contrast, but I think you need to back off a tad since you're losing detail. For example, the bottom part of #4 adds nothing to the photo since it blends into the darkness. I think you cropped the image to include the entire stick, but I think it’s much more powerful as a ½ to 3/4 body crop at the cost of shorter stick. I know that you were trying to show the motion blur of stick motion, but it doesn’t work when it cuts into her face. Also, the motion blur itself blends into the tree branches, especially with the darkness like #3. The grey wall is a better location, but I would rather have her not face the camera and swing to the side. Perhaps, more background separation would help? I think my favorite of the series are #1 and 6 since they provide a sense of quiet power; she exudes it in your photos.

For the second series, was the clothing your choice or her choice?

The black with the pop of red works. I think my favorite are #3 and #4 due to the composition and her expression. For #2, I think I would have used a reflector to pop some more light on to her face to draw us there first because I find my eyes going to her coat. I like #7 (eyes, expression, compositions), but I think it would be a bit better if she pulled down the sleeve of her coat, and tugged the scarf down a tad, but that’s just a personal choice. I find a few of the poses generic and almost “senior portrait”ish. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you’re better than that.

Just curious.. is there any reason why you’re sticking with full body or ¾ shots for your portrait work?

In general, if I was her, I would be soooooooooooo happy to have these photos. Amazing. I don't think I could have pulled off these portraits.

I wished that I had your skills!

Zygote

Just wanted to say that i really like these pictures. Great work Especially #1 from the first and #4,5 and 6 from the second. Stunning girl

dadwtwins

schmoo wrote:

Dan these are exquisite portraits. I can tell from your words and the great care in your setup and processing that Stace is really important to you.

I agree that some of the blacks are a little deep, resulting in a little too much contrast in the first set. But apart from that I love the simple (but very effective) lighting and the location (particularly the grass and trees) couldn't be better. She looks like a surreal warrior. Perhaps a little more separation between her and the background? Her outfit blends a little bit because it is so dark, and the eye naturally expects the foreground subject to be a touch lighter than the things behind it.

For the color ones, she chose the perfect outfit. I love the conservative black that shows her steel, but the red scarf that pops. There's not much that's delicate about her, despite the femininity. My favorites are 3, 4, and 7 because of her pose, focus, and composition. I gotta say that 5 and 6 don't do anything for me because they're standard captures for a female model. I know you are capable of pushing the envelope, as you demonstrated with the others.

I'd say the shoot was well worth the wait!

Thank you schmoo...i will work on the blacks to try to get some detail out of them. My personal taste always seems to make my IR shots too contrasty and I need to back up a little.

I also posed her in some simple generic poses from her request but I should of been a little stronger in requesting some poses I that would look good or less generic.

dadwtwins

aktse wrote:

I think you should do more portrait work. :DAnd I can’t believe that you shot a portrait series in IR! I don’t think I would have the guts to do that! I remember the original martial art series – this is better and you have improved. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

In general, I love how you found locations that matched the personality of the subject. Both locations are very different, but fit the scene that you crafted.
<o:p> </o:p>
For the B&W series, I think the blacks are too dark and her robes blends into the background. I know that you like a strong black point and contrast, but I think you need to back off a tad since you're losing detail. For example, the bottom part of #4 adds nothing to the photo since it blends into the darkness. I think you cropped the image to include the entire stick, but I think it’s much more powerful as a ½ to 3/4 body crop at the cost of shorter stick. I know that you were trying to show the motion blur of stick motion, but it doesn’t work when it cuts into her face. Also, the motion blur itself blends into the tree branches, especially with the darkness like #3. The grey wall is a better location, but I would rather have her not face the camera and swing to the side. Perhaps, more background separation would help? I think my favorite of the series are #1 and 6 since they provide a sense of quiet power; she exudes it in your photos.

For the second series, was the clothing your choice or her choice?

The black with the pop of red works. I think my favorite are #3 and #4 due to the composition and her expression. For #2, I think I would have used a reflector to pop some more light on to her face to draw us there first because I find my eyes going to her coat. I like #7 (eyes, expression, compositions), but I think it would be a bit better if she pulled down the sleeve of her coat, and tugged the scarf down a tad, but that’s just a personal choice. I find a few of the poses generic and almost “senior portrait”ish. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you’re better than that. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/rolleyes1.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >
<o:p> </o:p>
Just curious.. is there any reason why you’re sticking with full body or ¾ shots for your portrait work?
<o:p> </o:p>
In general, if I was her, I would be soooooooooooo happy to have these photos. Amazing. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/bowdown.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" > I don't think I could have pulled off these portraits.

I wished that I had your skills! <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/mwink.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >
<o:p> </o:p>

Great comments April and I always love your honesty and forthcoming thought.

Her out fit colors she picked out but I added my wife's scarf to add contrast and nothing works better than a primary color. It is a good thing my wife leaves her cloths in my car<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

I still have many 3/4, 1/2 and head shot only pics from this series but I did not post them. I think it is much harder to shoot full body and have them look good than 3/4 or even just head shots since you need to control and be very aware of the lighting, background and composition.

This photo shoot was a lot of fun but maybe I did play it a little safe and shied away from my normal style since I so wanted to do this young beautiful lady justice before tearing it down to my level<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/rolleyes1.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

dadwtwins

Zygote wrote:

Just wanted to say that i really like these pictures. Great work Especially #1 from the first and #4,5 and 6 from the second. Stunning girl

Thank you very much

Nikolai

Dan,
great yin-yang series. Choosing the location and IR for the first part is an awesome decision. Lighting is superb!
I also like the warthm of the morning sun and her red scarf in the second part!
Merry Christmas!

dadwtwins

Nikolai wrote:

Dan,
great yin-yang series. Choosing the location and IR for the first part is an awesome decision. Lighting is superb!
I also like the warthm of the morning sun and her red scarf in the second part!
Merry Christmas!

Thank you Nikolai...I am honoured you like my series