You are the reason I smile...
- Thread starter NormanSelvaraju
- Start date
one eye jack
Senior Member
Looks like you have increased brightness/contrast and sharpened #35 since you last posted yesterday.Of course this version is more perky compared to the gloomy one.Back photos make viewer think what subject is doing..create mystery.
Is she looking up or down.What is her mood and thoughts, etc. Contemplative?
Is she looking up or down.What is her mood and thoughts, etc. Contemplative?
NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
Thanks for dropping by, OEJ.
It's the same image but different resolution. The previous one was uploaded as an attachment thru the phone. A lot of detail was discarded as a result. This I reverted to the usual way of linking the image to the high res photo on Flickr! instead.
As for the composition, you are right, the drama was what I was going for. A contrast of the somewhat gentle nature of the model as opposed to the stark/moodier environment.
one eye jack
Senior Member
Long time no see Norman, I was quite surprised to see this composition as compared to the run of the mill.Looks like you are on your way to become a national geographer..haha.It's a compliment.
NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
Yeah, I haven't been actively contributing to the forum. Hope that changes!
Thanks for the compliments. This is one of my favourite shots in recent times, in fact. But I'm wondering how someone else would render the processing. Still feels that there is something amiss in the processing aspect. But even after mulling over it for a day, I found no better way to process.
NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
one eye jack
Senior Member
#36 - jess 2
You should pay attention to the whites of the eyes.Ideally the iris should be surrounded by
equal portion of white.Since this is a night shot it exacerbates the condition of the left eye.
If a reflector was used it could help the eye,lower lip,hand, as well as the nose shadow and underneath the chin/neck area.Or another small light /snoot.
You should pay attention to the whites of the eyes.Ideally the iris should be surrounded by
equal portion of white.Since this is a night shot it exacerbates the condition of the left eye.
If a reflector was used it could help the eye,lower lip,hand, as well as the nose shadow and underneath the chin/neck area.Or another small light /snoot.
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NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
Totally agree with the white around the eyes comment. That is something that I try to get right when posing the model. And very often, nice shots are left wanting because of that.
As for your comment on the shadows, I'm curious to know if your comment is based on a particular lighting ratio or a personal preference? Or to be more accurate, what makes you say that there are too much shadows, that from your perspective need to be softened?
one eye jack
Senior Member
Don't confuse yourself with the term lighting ratios,I don't understand them either.:bsmilie:
Sure you read pros or rather old pros live by it as taught by their sifu.Nothing wrong with working with lighting ratios either if you understand it.It's a "formula" for photographic success in the studio.But real life not so straight forward when on location.So if you have PC to review using tiny LCD on camera quite hard (takes time peering lcd or evf with magnified view.)Also not a reliable method.
The shadows on model I assume is when using one light or source,hence the hard shadows unless a diffuser is used such as soft box + reflector,etc.Or is it a street lamp? Most people shoot beauty shots so soft shadows are prefered for soft feminine look rather than the dramatic one.It's the overall look or impression although people have preferences but in general they are similar.If you show model a hard and a soft look which do you think she prefer?
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NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
Ah. So the observation you made earlier was based on your preference and not a strict following of any prescribed lighting ratio. That's what I wanted to know. Great.
You are right. I only used one light source in this case by the way.
You are right. I only used one light source in this case by the way.
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nehpyh
New Member
Nice.
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nehpyh
New Member
Well shot. Are there any post-production?
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NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
Haha. Certainly!
Some skin smoothening,
Adjustment of colour tones.
Removal of some out of place strands of hair.
dennisc
Senior Member
Shoot full manual lah, get exactly what you want
one eye jack
Senior Member
Heavens!!! 8 years into photography and you ask this question. If you don't want to waste good money on this photoshoot then pay attention here.Exposure is very important,for digital if it's underexposed you lose shadow details (at least you can still recover if not too dark) and if it's overexposed highlights you can not recover bright parts as there is only pure white. Strangely digital image sensors have more resolution in the mid to bright tones than shadow/dark part,hence the need for accurate exposure.
So trust your in-camera meter but know that it is calibrated or referenced to 18% grey.For example if model is in a white dress meter will still give reading that will render the white dress as middle grey.Or if scene is all white meter can be fooled and underexpose,vice-se-versa if black dress meter will render as grey and not black or if scene is very dark meter will overexpose.So need to adjust exposure compensation accordingly.But if meter sees only average/mid tones then metering should be good.I know it's confusing but you need to be aware of this.That's why people always want better or new camera models which they think will solve this problem.Even pro cameras also have this problem.It's just the way exposure meters work.Use of camera histogram (distribution of dark to bright tones)will be helpful.
Now for the photoshoot,it's no diferent than shooting portrait.It's the face that matters.So focus on the eyes as they have the highest contrast to ensure the face is in focus.Try not to shoot model body square to lens like passport photo..very boring.Also model will look full or big.At an angle is ideal and look slimmer.For thin or small model full frontal is ok makes them look fuller.
Although model may be a professional if you let her pose herself then she will pose her stock poses and may look the same like everyone else.Be polite and give some direction as what pose you have in mind.That way model will not be nervous (with many cameras pointed at her).Still the shoot organiser may have a system of rotation? If all you are allowed is just shoot as is then I doubt you can learn much.Anyway these are the more important points.At least you will have well exposed and sharp focused faces to show off.Good luck. Lastly you can shoot with P mode,TV or AV but I doubt you have time for manual mode.White balance if really no confidence then no choice use auto WB but may have problems in post process (can not apply global/fixed adjustments as every photo has different WB.)
NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
Heya... I think it's never too late to ask! Oneeyejack has provided a number of relatively useful tips.
If I may, I'd like to suggest the following, which is what I have learnt over the few years of shooting portraits.
1) post processing / camera technique and lighting all play significant roles when it comes to portrait photography.
2) I learnt by reverse engineering/copying examples of photos that I see online.
I copy the posing
I reverse engineer the lighting (see where the shadows are, what modifiers the catchlights show)
I copy the camera settings (if possible)
I use the post processing from tutorials learnt from YouTube videos.
I try and test and see how is it that I get certain results, then make some minor adjustments and proceed from there.
3) I don't know about under exposing for colours. But you could try three things.
A follow the camera's metering
B shoot the exact same thing 1,2,4 (or more) stops brighter. Then see what's the result you get
C shoot the exact same thing 1,2,4 (or more) stops darker and see what you get.
Funny thing is, different people would like each of the different options! You see what you like best! And work on it from there.
Hope this answers your question!
Cheers and keep shooting!!
NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
NormanSelvaraju
Senior Member
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