Dakar 1

[daq7]

[daq7]

I have a version of this without lens flare, but the angle of the head is not as good, and I like the lens flare.

Still, the front flash was not filling as much as I expected. Not sure I had it set right.

Flashing is hard.

[Andrew Eagleson]

Very nice. Those eyes really stand out.

[Frog]

It is lovely EXCEPT for the lens flare on her face.
I would clone it out. Be a bit of work but well worth it for the shot is otherwise beautiful.

[daq7]

I will probably just do a reshoot. It could be cloned out but it would be hard to do without messing up the texture. I guess I could try it.

[daq7]

Well I tried clone stamping out the lens flare, but I just could not make it work. Too much fine texture in the skin. I do believe it could be done, but my skill level with the stamp just ain't good enough.

[BlueRob]

One of the best shots I have seen from you Daq....I thinks is really appealing...nit pick the lens flare mentioned already and a bit to soft for my taste but a nice shot no doubt.

[daq7]

Thanks Rob. I *really* wish I had this shot without the lens flare. And I would make parts of it harder myself for sure, but I am already pushing the texture in her skin too hard. There is not softening on the light. But I did slightly tone map this one. ...as well as blend it with Pshop layers. ...fair amount of work actually. Without the lens flare it MIGHT be worth printing. With it? Probably not unless I am trying to win favor with cannibals or pack rats.

[BlueRob]

Personally the flare does bother me big time...takes a lot of weight out of the important aspects of the shot. Thanks to digital era we can fix this flaws pretty easy. Hope you dont mind but since I really liked your shot I did a quick fix...I think is worth it. Far from perfect but I think it works...with a little more patience you can really suck out the marrow out this one :thumbsup:

[readingr]

daq,

Lens flare is killing this for me. It just detracts too much from the woman. The rest of it is stunning.

Roger. R

[draymorton]

Wow. Or, should I say, waaw. (I think that's how they spell it)

One of my favorites of yours.

Prefer without the flare.

[daq7]

Thanks guys. Rob showed me that the flare can be successfully taken out, so I will have another go at it and may play around with other parts too.

[daq7]

Ok, I got off my *** and went and did it myself. I had totally forgotten about the healing brush. If you just try to clone it it is way harder. You clone to establish the hue and value and just blow the texture off. Once you have those the way you want it, you heal the texture in. It really is fairly easy. I did a few other things, and unlike Rob's version, I kept the bright area in the back of the head near the neck. May still need work, and it is probably that Rob's instinct to just darken it is the right instinct.

[daq7]

Carp. I lost some of the darkness at the edge of the face. I think it was too dark in the original and not dark enough now. I will probably redo it to fix that. And also to tone down that part that Rob darkened, because it just looks to sharp now.

[daq7]

Ok, a few more tweaks and a different crop. With all the suggestions and a kick in the pants from Rob, maybe this one is something to be at least a bit proud of:

[jetrim]

played with this a bit, shifted all the blues & greens to reds (except the eyes), a little cloning of the background cloth and burning to even out the tonality - here's my take on it...

[daq7]

Need to think about your mods jet. They definitely give it a more natural color balance and I should perhaps do that. At this moment I kind of like the color variation give buy the flare from the left side flash. But I will take a few days to think about your suggestion.

[alik]

good shot.

[LeeIs]

Great shot. Love the look in her eyes. very strong.

I'd much rather have the shot with the flare if removing it won't be perfect.

[gahspidy]

Ok, a few more tweaks and a different crop. With all the suggestions and a kick in the pants from Rob, maybe this one is something to be at least a bit proud of:

Yes, daq, you can certainly be proud of this.
I like the background, the look and lighting on her face as well as the placement and framing. Lots of texture and color and a pretty neat portrait overall. Yes, the flare was troublesome but i do like some of the glowing softness from the flare once those colored spots are removed.
Jet did a fine job smoothing away the flare, but i like some of it left in there.
daq, your last edit (and Robs) is more or less where I would like this.
Be careful whenever you have a flash aiming almost directly at the camera. You may want to try placing a piece of card or something to clip or rubberband attach around the flash head that just blocks the direct light from the camera.
All and all and in the end, its looking to be a fine image, and a good learning process along the way for anyone reading through.

[daq7]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the sticky.

[draymorton]

Congrats on the Sticky. Again, I'd say that this is my favorite offering from you so far. Very strong work.

[OldClicker]

Congrats on the sticky! They just keep getting better - funny how it works that way when you practice, practice, practice. - TF

[jetrim]

Congratulations Daq !

[LeeIs]

Congrats on the well deserved sticky daq!