C&C request

adbsgicom

Taken at the same spot as that 4-some, but I had the option to have her turned away from the harsh sun. Pretty close to SOOC. ISO 200, 50mm, 1/250 @ f/6.3 flash at -something EV (fill). LR doesn't include the FEC value in the metadata... grr.



Things I noted:
1. Not good posture
2. Bit of hair up on her cheek.

Are the hands okay?
Any other C&C more than welcome...

gecko0

I don't feel qualified to offer much, but since you asked about the hands...

The one thing standing out w/ the hands is the crazy fingernail polish color. That caught my eye...not good or bad...just throwing it out there. It does match the color scheme though, so maybe a good thing?

kingmamaof2

I think you did a great job metering-the lighting looks very balanced. I do agree with you on her posture, wish she would have turned slightly more toward the camera a bit. Overall, I think it's a keeper and I'm sure Mom/Dad will like it a lot.

kidzmom

Hey Andrew,

This looks great. The first thing I noticed was her pretty face---not a trace of stray sunlight on it (and lighting is very evenly balanced). Was this the same time of day? Looks like you've found your spot and positioning for shooting here. I didn't notice hair on the cheek but the hands are a "bit" loose. If only she had clasped them together or put at sides or wrapped around her back. Otherwise great shot! Very cute and beautiful scene!

kris10jo

very nice lighting and sharpness. and i love the expression you've captured on her face, like she knows something that you don't!

DeeCajun

personally I love the hair on her cheek, her posture, her hands,, her crazy nail polish.. she looks normal and unposed.. like you caught her in the midst of a thought... you captured who SHE is.

That is all

adbsgicom

Thank you all for the feedback.

Looking at it a second time, I did the dreaded shoulder-on angle...

Dad is happy -- she's mine

I'm sure she is getting to know more and more that I don't. She's 11....

This was the same time of day, (with about 10 minutes), but with her, I can ask her to turn away from the sun and move a bit (though I got her over-rotated in the torso); the other family was much harder (just getting them not to be hit broadside with the sun took a bunch of coaxing and then I had two exposures and the opportunity was gone.

It definitely is who she is; we don't bother with the clothing choices for the most part; they are appropriate if not a bit funky at times.

zoomer

Not bad over all, you mentioned the angle is not ideal.
What jumps out at me is the uneven lighting, look at her arms and hands,
it looks like burned/vignetted the outer part of the photo...which when done moderately works to highlight the subject...but maybe just a bit to much here.
Try to use a larger F-stop to blur the background more and that will highlight your subject for you.
She is a very cute young lady.

adbsgicom

Zoomer, thanks. I had forgotten that there was a vignette at all by the time I ended up deciding I wanted to bother running through PS. Usually the vignette (if I even apply one, which is rare) is done on the PS'ed image in LR. I went back to the pre-vignette source and redid the post (trying a slightly different detail-enhancement flow using Topaz Detail2 instead of a straight unsharp mask flow).

divamum

Very late to the party here (I seem to be typing this sentence a LOT at t the moment )

I very much prefer the rework. I like the first one but I found it hard to see details; it almost felt a little hot, but the Topaz rework is terrific. She looks to be growing like a weed at the moment- you better batten down the hatches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

adbsgicom

Diva, hope to see you at the party on time more often now that the blitz is over.

I need to play with the flow a bit, it was Topaz Detail, which really made it the skin look awful, but then I ran portaiture on that, and the skin texture didn't seem to get as plasticized as the default generally does. So many knobs...

Mike J

Hey Andrew,

Austin, Texas - what a great place. I love the BBQ there. What is the name of the BBQ place in the airport?

Back to business. Very nice lighting on her face and I love the personality in the hat.

You said you got the dreaded on-shoulder angle with this one and I tend to agree with your assessment.

Keep having fun!

adbsgicom

Mike J wrote:

Hey Andrew,

Austin, Texas - what a great place. I love the BBQ there. What is the name of the BBQ place in the airport?

Back to business. Very nice lighting on her face and I love the personality in the hat.

You said you got the dreaded on-shoulder angle with this one and I tend to agree with your assessment.

Keep having fun!

The Salt Lick has an outlet there. The real one is down in Driftwood, about 20 minutes outside of town to the south and west. Also really good is Green Mesquite in town on Barton Creek Drive just south of the river.

johnmireles

Don't forget County Line BBQ off Bee Caves and I think it's Ruby's off Capital of Texas. I don't live in Austin, but I'm there pretty often. (Be back in May.) Love the food!

Nice processing overall and a good connection with the subject. Technically a solid shot. You burned in the background, but I think the image might look better if you blow it out. The background is competing with the subject so you need to make it go away as much as possible.

Overall, I think the biggest flaw with the image is the composition. This shot is really about the girl so having her off to the side makes the image a little awkward. If you are going to compose like this, you'll probably want to blow out the background focus a little more. Either that or put something back there that ties in with the subject.

Also, when you go back to this spot, try putting the sunlight behind the subject to act as a rim light. Here you have it off to the side which just brightens up her ear.

I like how you're getting in close and on the subject's level. That makes for a more intimate portrait.

John

adbsgicom

Rudy's is a great experience, and love their spicy sauce. Never really got into County Line, though it is immensely popular.

The composition was a bit two-fold, which may be too much to hope for given her more urban garb. I wanted to have the creek in the b/g as location. The b/g was intentionally underexposed a bit in part to keep it from blowing out and help allow the flash to even out the dappled sun on her. I get your point though.