Competition Worthy? You Help Decide...

Dancer72

I have been told by a few photographer friends (all full-time or part-time professionals) that I should enter this image in our upcoming local PPA affiliate print competition. I am interested in getting C&C from some other photogs before I make the decision.

Thanks for taking the time to look & hopefully comment.
Caroline

TITLE: "I'm Gonna Be Like Him"

Original PP


Rev 2

heatherfeather

I really love the base image, but your skin work is quite a bit too heavy. You have lost all detail in the ears... and masked out the nostrils so they really pop like giant targets for your eye. Men have a lot of texture in their faces, so any skin work on them needs to be very discrete or they start to look feminine. I would start again and use a much softer hand on your skin work. (One other nit, the boy has something behind his front tooth that makes it look jagged. Easy fix.)

Ed911

heatherfeather wrote: »

I really love the base image, but your skin work is quite a bit too heavy. You have lost all detail in the ears... and masked out the nostrils so they really pop like giant targets for your eye. Men have a lot of texture in their faces, so any skin work on them needs to be very discrete or they start to look feminine. I would start again and use a much softer hand on your skin work. (One other nit, the boy has something behind his front tooth that makes it look jagged. Easy fix.)

+1 Excellent advice...

Sam

heatherfeather wrote: »

I really love the base image, but your skin work is quite a bit too heavy. You have lost all detail in the ears... and masked out the nostrils so they really pop like giant targets for your eye. Men have a lot of texture in their faces, so any skin work on them needs to be very discrete or they start to look feminine. I would start again and use a much softer hand on your skin work. (One other nit, the boy has something behind his front tooth that makes it look jagged. Easy fix.)

What an eye!!!!!

Good advice. That's why I ask for critiques here.

Sam

Agnieszka

Raaaaaannndyyyy So nice to see him in front of the lens for once Very nice photo, great moment

reyvee61

Super sweet image but my first thought has to do with the skin softening. It is indeed overdone for this type of image.

Dancer72

Thank you all for the feedback...I was wondering myself about the softness of the Dad's face & neck. Some of it is dof related but some was definitely related to the treatment. I am reworking the image & will repost the modified version for comparison if you're willing to check back and see if it's any better.

Thanks again for the help!

Dancer72

I have reprocessed the image based on everyone's comments...any better or does it still need work? I appreciate any additional C&C you all might have.

Thanks!
Caroline

richtersl

What a lovely image! It should do well in the competition you're planning on entering.

I see a change for the positive in Rev #2 of the man and it looks great. But the boy still looks a bit overcooked with the noise reduction. To me it seems like there should be more definition in his collarbone.

Darren Troy C

Nice image. However, the boy's skin...and left ear especially, look far too processed...almost china-doll like. And I would maybe crop to just the end of the bill on the boy's hat as well...to match dad's. Just an idea.

Dancer72

Thanks Linda & Darren for the additional feedback! I'm gonna give those a try & repost, if you're willing to come back tomorrow & check it out.

reyvee61

Heading the right way, well done.....

Icebear

Since we're all piling on with respect to overprocessing . . . Dad's t-shirt looks like a plastic clerical collar. It's a great image. Well worth working on.

Dancer72

Icebear wrote: »

Since we're all piling on with respect to overprocessing . . . Dad's t-shirt looks like a plastic clerical collar. It's a great image. Well worth working on.

Thanks John for mentioning the collar...I hadn't noticed that before. Guess I've been looking at the image too long.

Dancer72

reyvee61 wrote: »

Heading the right way, well done.....

Thanks for checking back reyvee61...hope to have another version posted this afternoon if you wanna check back in.

RBrogen

Agnieszka wrote: »

Raaaaaannndyyyy So nice to see him in front of the lens for once Very nice photo, great moment

Hey Angie! I really like this shot as well. Caroline did a great job seeing it because it only lasted a split second and she was able to see and capture it! It is strange seeing my mug though lol.

zoomer

What does the original look like. Wondering what about this photo required so much processing. Seems meybe a nice bright exposure would have done the trick all by itself.

Dancer72

zoomer wrote: »

What does the original look like. Wondering what about this photo required so much processing. Seems meybe a nice bright exposure would have done the trick all by itself.

I appreciate you commenting zoomer. This was not a planned shoot...father & son just out having fun on an overcast Sunday afternoon while scouting a location for a senior portrait session; not even one break of sun to help with natural lighting. Since the boy had a red hat against red hair and a green, yellow and white shirt on against Dad's all white shirt, I converted the original to monochrome. Dad also had redness and peeling on his nose, cheeks and forehead as a result of a golf outing a few days prior. When retouching his skin, I went heavy handed as you'll see from the comparison now posted...I needed to put texture back in his face and neck. No other adjustments were made in post.

Dancer72

Completed version of rev 2 on this shot now posted. Appreciate any c&c you might have.

Thanks again for looking!