Eva - fashion model

Ted Szukalski

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Few more shots from Carla Zampatti collection can be found here!

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Ted Szukalski

This image got blasted on other forums for (in no particular order)
* white balance (most people suggested more natural skin tones even at the cost of changing the colours of the environment to benefit the model)

* framing (show the car and bit of logo as it was sponsored by Lexus or just focus on the model)

* facial expression (too strong or agressive look)

Not one comment here. Does it mean most of you actually can see what I wanted to show and are not fussed by above?

binghott

Ted Szukalski wrote:

This image got blasted on other forums for (in no particular order)
* white balance (most people suggested more natural skin tones even at the cost of changing the colours of the environment to benefit the model)

* framing (show the car and bit of logo as it was sponsored by Lexus or just focus on the model)

* facial expression (too strong or agressive look)

Not one comment here. Does it mean most of you actually can see what I wanted to show and are not fussed by above?

i've been called harsh in the past for some critiques. i tend to go with "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" until i know that the person i'm critiquing can handle it.

i don't find anything appealing about this image. i agree with all of the above comments. just because the person is beautiful or the story is good, doesn't mean the picture is good.

Ted Szukalski

I appreciate your post.

I, for one am, here to share, learn and help others learn (if I can). In 100s of posts here and on other forums I never took a negative comment personally and if there were some aimed in that direction I've ignored them.

I post photos which I find somehow interesting or that contain interesting subjects (in my opinion obviously).

In short if anyone refrained from commenting on my photos because they thought they will hurt my feelings - don't. Constructive criticism even when negative is still valuable feedback.

pathfinder

Ted,

Is she supposed to be attractive?? I just don't find her attractive in this image. Her hair looks stringy, and the facial expression puts me off.

I don't really get the Lexus connection here although I recognize the logo on the left side of the image.

So I don't find this image attracts my interest. It is sharp, and well exposed, but......the car certainly does not seem to be the subject nor the background. She is the subject, just not one that I find that appealing in the milieu of commercial model shots.

Ted Szukalski

This is a fashion show at Sydney Motor Show. The intention of show organisers was to add some variety to the car show. As far as I know she does not directly endorse the car company and the car company does not endorse the designer label (Carla Zampatti in this case). The same models will exhibit other designers' collections on various makes' stands through the week. I may attend one more of these shows and try to capture a bit more orthodox fashion shots.

Car corporate logos everywher you turn.

I found her face to be striking and captivating and certainly photogenic, beyond that it would be personal preference if anyone finds her attractive or not. I guess what I am saying is that she stood out amongst the models.

pathfinder wrote:

Ted,

Is she supposed to be attractive?? I just don't find her attractive in this image. Her hair looks stringy, and the facial expression puts me off.

I don't really get the Lexus connection here although I recognize the logo on the left side of the image.

So I don't find this image attracts my interest. It is sharp, and well exposed, but......the car certainly does not seem to be the subject nor the background. She is the subject, just not one that I find that appealing in the milieu of commercial model shots.

photogmomma

I have come back to this shot several times to figure out what I was thinking and what I should say. Since you are pretty open to critiquing, I think what I'd have to say is that I have no clue what the real emphasis of the image is. Is it her? Is it her with the car? Is it the car show? Is it where you were taking a photo?

I think by incorporating something from the background, that adds to the confusion. If it's about her and her alone, I'd crop down and get it to be just about her.

If it's about her and her location, include more of it. Something that gives us more of a context of what's going on.

The lighting is decent for where it was taken. The white balance may be a bit off, but it's not overly distracting to me. I find her to be striking and can understand why others would - and wouldn't. But I think I need something more to pull me in to be more interested in her or the context....

Does any of that help? Make sense? I am just not sure where you were going with this.

System

Ted,

I can't say that I'm enamored with the car show series of pics. This one in particular is not appealing even in a "look at the pretty girl" kinda way. Her face is brutally square, she almost looks like a guy in drag. The lighting exposes the vast quantities of foundation applied to her face in relation to the skin tone of her chest. The framing does nothing for me either. I guess I'm used to your work really having more depth in it's social critique or something.

Ted Szukalski

I have taken a more conventional portrait of her too. You can view it here. It still contains bits of the environment but certainly is not as complex.

At times I like to experiment with portraiture and I guess this photo falls squarely in that category. Roof line of the car and a part of a logo hints the information where it was but without overpowering her face.

If the Lexus stand and the models were at my "command" I could have done more and perhaps do better. As it was the girls had set stations to stand on and they rotated very quickly (few seconds literally). So some photos were "shoot what you see" and some were "set the frame and capture the model when she enters it". This photo is from the later category.

photogmomma wrote:

I have come back to this shot several times to figure out what I was thinking and what I should say. Since you are pretty open to critiquing, I think what I'd have to say is that I have no clue what the real emphasis of the image is. Is it her? Is it her with the car? Is it the car show? Is it where you were taking a photo?

I think by incorporating something from the background, that adds to the confusion. If it's about her and her alone, I'd crop down and get it to be just about her.

If it's about her and her location, include more of it. Something that gives us more of a context of what's going on.

The lighting is decent for where it was taken. The white balance may be a bit off, but it's not overly distracting to me. I find her to be striking and can understand why others would - and wouldn't. But I think I need something more to pull me in to be more interested in her or the context....

Does any of that help? Make sense? I am just not sure where you were going with this.