Maria

nikos · March 21, 2007

My "I look terrible in pictures" sister-in-law. She's got a bit of a complex because of her honker. This is a combination of natural light from a nearby window and the flash bounced off the ceiling to eliminate the shadows on the bridge of her nose.

Even though this is a snapshot, I believe she looks great -- unfortunately, Maria isn't fully convinced.

DRabbit · March 21, 2007

It's a really nice shot, and Maria is a beautiful girl. It's amazing what us women can find to be self-conscious about.

Love your B&W conversion too

urbanaries · March 21, 2007

nikos wrote:

My "I look terrible in pictures" sister-in-law. She's got a bit of a complex because of her honker. This is a combination of natural light from a nearby window and the flash bounced off the ceiling to eliminate the shadows on the bridge of her nose.

Even though this is a snapshot, I believe she looks great -- unfortunately, Maria isn't fully convinced.

I think you did a fantastic job, and if you hadn't pointed out her nose, I never would have even noticed it. We all are harder on ourselves than others are, in general.

You have done her beauty justice. Her gorgeous eyes, creamy skin and wonderfully textured hair take the stage here...really a beautiful shot.

JimM · March 22, 2007

Great conversion. I don't believe her nose stands out in this image, but in general, the longer the focal length of the lens the less rounded the image will get. Not sure if I am doing a good job of explaining this... Basically portraits are more flattering with telephoto vs wide angle lenses and this one appears to be taken with a slightly wide angle. Does that make sense? So in the future, a telephoto will help to not accentuate her nose.

Scott_Quier · March 23, 2007

She is a beautiful woman. Your choice of lens, though, didn't do her any favors. To minimize facial feature (such as noses, etc), shot with a longer focal length from a further distance. On a crop body, think about using something between 50 and 85 mm.

saurora · March 23, 2007

I like what you did with the lighting. I agree with others that if you had not mentioned it, I wouldn't even have noticed her nose....she's a beautiful gal. I also agree that the lens did not do her any favors. What I notice is that her one eye that is in focus, is "too" prominent, almost bulging, probably due to the lens. I do, however, like the pose and the shallow depth of field. I would definitely attempt it again with a different lens and see what you come up with.

nikos · March 24, 2007

Thanks everyone for the compliments and great advice.

If I understand correctly, I should take a close up shot of her with my 10-20mm lens next time for better results. I know that once I show her the results, she won't be as camera shy anymore.

Okay, just kidding

. Just to clarify, I was using my 50mm 1.4 lens to take pictures of my newborn. Maria's pic was a snapshot that I was able to sneak in since she usually turns her head to foil the picture.

I have a 70-200 2.8 IS lens and I'll see if she is willing to let me do a shoot of her. She's a bit more lax now since she gets to hold and play with the baby.

Thanks again,
Nikos

dogwood · March 24, 2007

nikos wrote:

I have a 70-200 2.8 IS lens and I'll see if she is willing to let me do a shoot of her. She's a bit more lax now since she gets to hold and play with the baby.

Thanks again,
Nikos

The 70-200 is definitely the way to go. 200 is very flattering, believe it or not. Used to be a lot of fashion shooters who used 400's, maybe there still are?

Maria

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