Katharina - enjoying the last autumn sunrays

Nordic

Hi!

I didn't post any pictures for a few weeks, it was really busy around here.

But I want to share the memories of a wonderfull day a few weeks ago with you all. It still was warm and sunny, and the autumn colors were absolutly stunning. All the trees still got most of thier leaves, and it was like wandering through a bewitched, burning fairy forest.

We met right after work to take a long walk in Viennas most beautifull park. I had my camera with me to get a few impressions of the colorfull leaves and so on, but as always, Katharina was on nearly every single photo I took.
I just can't resist her.. :lust


The lightning was extremly difficult under those trees. There were areas of the brightest sunlight abd deepest shadow right beside each other. Sometimes, her hair was completly blown, whereas her face was extremly underexposed. I tried to expose for the highlights and used RAW. Then I blended several exposures together in photoshop.
This was extremly difficult for me, I wonder how you find the results.

I'm really thankfull for all constructive suggestions!
Was there a better way to expose the sohts in the first place?
What could I improve in postprocessing?

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

I hope you like some of them, and I'm happy about all comments.

Regards,
Andreas

Owen

Nice photos, but I don't care for her eye makeup.

JimM

I like her eye makeup on the side shots like #2.

Scarhart

Seems like tough lighting conditions! You might be able to tweak here and there with Photoshop. I think #2 is an excellent composition, but would lighten up her face just a touch, like this:



I won't keep the picture up for long and I hope I'm not doing something that offends by editing and posting. Just seemed more straightforward than describing.

As far as processing goes, I added a curved layer so the whole picture lightened up, then used a mask with a soft brush to make the curve only affect the face and neck. Finally, I dropped the opacity of the curved layer to 50% to make it blend better.

Cheers,
Scott

Nordic

Thanks a lot!
Scott, I like your version, I saved the image and will try to recreate this effect.
Up to now, I never used curves. I always messed up completly when I tried them....

I also find her eye makeup too strong, and I would have prefered other clothes. :

Regards,
Andreas

Photosbychuck

Hi, Andreas
I think you did a great job with the condtions you had to work with.
The pale skin and dark clothes plus shadows and rays of sunlight.
Keep up the good work.
What camera did you use?

Take Care,
Chuck Cassidy,
Marshall, NC

Nordic

Photosbychuck wrote:

Hi, Andreas
I think you did a great job with the condtions you had to work with.
The pale skin and dark clothes plus shadows and rays of sunlight.
Keep up the good work.
What camera did you use?

Take Care,
Chuck Cassidy,
Marshall, NC

Hi Chuck!

Thanks for your kind words.
Yes, the dark clothes didn't help either. But as this 'shooting' wasn't planed at all, we had to work with what we had.

I used a Canon 350D with a 50mm f1.8 prime lens.
On some pics I also used a Sigma 500 Super flash for fill.
I shot RAW and exposed for the highlights in her hair, so the rest of her was seriously underexposed. The rest is was postprocessing, blending several RAW - "exposures" together.

Regards,
Andreas