Fire Goddess

[jetrim]

Trying to decide on processing for this morning's beach shoot... Too much?

[Frog]

Not my kind of shot so I'll only say that your circle of fire looks more like a loop of twine, which I suspect it is.

[jetrim]

Actually that's genuine fire, frog. A friend met this group of fire dancers performing at an event and talked them into letting us shoot them on the beach while they practiced their act.

[caleb]

love the first, i would try to bring out more red/orange/yellow in the fire using selective color+mask though.

third is very nice as well, but i don't like the desaturated sky.

the movement of the fire/dynamic positions of the bodies/ocean backdrop make for some really aesthetic shots.

[BlueRob]

Not my type of PP but I like the first and last shot, I must add that yes, for my taste is a bit too much PP in the extent that the background seems fake. The concept is great but I prefer a more "natural" approach. My 2 cents.

[Shebang]

I like your daring approach to photography. Most of it really works, I think -- however, this is not working for me. The subject matter of fire dancers on the beach is awesome, but #1 and #3 look cut and pasted to me, and it would be difficult to really know what's going on in #2 if it stood alone. My newbie two cents.

EDIT: I do think #3 has the most potential, though.

[jetrim]

Thanks for the comments. This part of the series of shots was a bit overexposed due to the difficult nature of getting the camera "dialed in" in quickly changing light. I eventually ditched full manual in favor of aperture priority + slow snyc rear curtain flash which worked out better. Unfortunately, I missed a good chunk of the "golden 10 minutes".

The second shot was more of a reference shot for Frog so he could kinda see how the fire trails were made. She had these small boxes on chains which had wick material inside that they dipped in lamp oil and lit.

BlueRob,
Here's a more "normal" one from later in the shoot

[OldClicker]

I like the first one a lot, except for the water. It looks flat; two dimensional, like a bad backdrop. - TF

[BlueRob]

You like to put me into trouble Jet LOL. Now that I see the "normal "shot" I have doubts, comparing them I think I like the first one better, or maybe one that falls right in between. Th first shots has "magic" and a nice mysticism touch all over. The last pic you poster lacks of that.
Reading what OC commented makes me...the background flatness is what bothers me, the subject itself with this strange but captive tones, fire, a transparencies here an there works really well with the "magical" mood I assume you intended to capture.

Edit...after a third look on pic no2 and no3 maybe the skin saturation is too broad, maybe some desaturation will aid to some extent. This might apply also in the blue color spectrum.

[shootme]

OK I can't critique this, it's beyond my level. How did you do it though it's great, I'd love to give it a try. The 1st and 3rd are my favorites.