Intimate Moment (Implied Nude) Pic Attached

[McMadCow]

I took this one last weekend and I'm pretty happy with the results. I shot a total of 7 or 8, but this one turned out the best under the difficult lighting conditions (natural light through the one window). This pose followed the general theme of the shoot and it's family friendly for the most part. Shot with my Leica, 35-70 (60) at around f4.5 on Delta 400. I appologize for the low-quality scan... I've got to get a better scanner soon. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[mtbbrian]

The first thing my eye goes to are the hot spots on the arms.
Then my eye goes right to her eyes, which is where they should be going to in the first place.
After that, my eye comes right back to the hot spots.
The composition and mood are good. It's just those hot spots on the arms that detracts from the photograph.
Thanks for stating there is some nudity in the Title line, a lot of people look here from work.
Brian

[jar_e]

I agree with what Brian said. Those hot spots are annoying, yet the eyes and pose is perfect.

Nice shot,

Jared

[GB1]

I took this one last weekend and I'm pretty happy with the results. I shot a total of 7 or 8, but this one turned out the best under the difficult lighting conditions (natural light through the one window). This pose followed the general theme of the shoot and it's family friendly for the most part. Shot with my Leica, 35-70 (60) at around f4.5 on Delta 400. I appologize for the low-quality scan... I've got to get a better scanner soon. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Difficult lighting indeed! Like sailing against the wind here, but congrats on getting a decent shot out of it.

I took the liberty of trying to tone down the contrast, with modest success. It still has a wild look about it, moody, extreme... I think B&W is simply the best for photos of humans.

The only complaint is that I wish I could see her other eye more. I looks a little too unsymmetrical the way it is, and it's like you can *almost* see the other eye, but not quite.

Nice attempt here -
GB

[dbutler]

Ok, maybe I'm strange but I kind of like the hotspots. I mean, this is a sensual photo. Heat, energy, should be a part of it, yes? The hotspots seem to frame her face (which is where my eye keeps travelling back to). May be a male/female thing. Don't know. My only thing is that I wish I could see her hand. It seems like the shot should have continued and my eye just meets the edge of the shot and gets stopped abruptly.

What about this take?

[McMadCow]

Thanks for all the comments so far, guys! GB1, I like how you've toned down the harsh hotspots, but I think the overall result of that effect is that it now looks like a digital photo to me. I'm kind of in the same camp with DButler in that I like this particular shot as a result of its imperfections. It was a spontaneous moment, and my hope was to capture that first and foremost above making it technically perfect. Eh, it could go either way. Someone with no personal connection to the girl in the photo could want it the other way around. I would have loved to be able control the lighting a little more, but as I mentioned this wasn't a studio shoot with the mid-morning sun illuminating the one spot on the bed. I have another one that I managed to use the sun with a little more success, but she's on her back and I'm not sure how appropriate that would be to post on here. Thoughts?

[Sebastian]

I would have loved to be able control the lighting a little more, but as I mentioned this wasn't a studio shoot with the mid-morning sun illuminating the one spot on the bed.

You don't need a studio to control light. A piece of white cardboard close to her off the right would fill in the shadows enough to retain much detail and still expose the highlights to prevent blowing out. Hell, even lifting the sheet up might have been able to reflect enough of the direct sunlight to accomplish the same thing. In the end I agree, the shot would be stronger if the bright spots weren't so distracting.

[Arctirus]

I [i]guess[/] the photo might be a little more effective without the hotsposts but in this situation they really don't bother me all that much. I would definitely disagree with GB1 about the eye though. I think the single eye looks very powerful and intriguing. The cat-like posture of the model is very nice and has a powerful feminine grace to it. Maybe it's because I know the model or maybe I would see this anyway but at the same time I see it as being intimate I can also see aggression in her eyes.

[McMadCow]

I see this just got stickied. Thanks to whomever decided that!
If you need me to post a higher-res, sharper scan here, I've got one now. Let me know.

[jar_e]

Congrats on the sticky and the featured photo!

[Photo-John]

I'm pretty sure it's been said before, but people forget. We ask that people please ask the photographer for permission before altering and reposting their images. Most of the time it's no big deal. But since copyright is an important issue to all of us, it's a good practice to treat each other as we'd like to be treated.

Thanks!

[gahspidy]

Congrats on the Featured photo. Yes, the pic would have been stronger with the arm not being so blown out, however, in this type of shot you get away with it i think as everything else (model expression, pose,setting, framing, comp etc) is strong and makes it work, for me. Good shoot

[McMadCow]

Here's that larger, better scan as promised. Hope it helps.

[Daniel S Diaz]

I took this one last weekend and I'm pretty happy with the results. I shot a total of 7 or 8, but this one turned out the best under the difficult lighting conditions (natural light through the one window). This pose followed the general theme of the shoot and it's family friendly for the most part. Shot with my Leica, 35-70 (60) at around f4.5 on Delta 400. I appologize for the low-quality scan... I've got to get a better scanner soon. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Great picture, the lighting is awesome!!

[McMadCow]

Great picture, the lighting is awesome!!

Someone likes the lighting!!! The "mood lighting" was the main reason I shot her right there in that pose. Thanks very much for the kind words, Daniel.

[handstrap]

I took this one last weekend and I'm pretty happy with the results. I shot a total of 7 or 8, but this one turned out the best under the difficult lighting conditions (natural light through the one window). This pose followed the general theme of the shoot and it's family friendly for the most part. Shot with my Leica, 35-70 (60) at around f4.5 on Delta 400. I appologize for the low-quality scan... I've got to get a better scanner soon. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

It is not easy looking at a low res image on a screen that may be calibrated a million miles away from what you are using... however, I will try to make some useful comments.

Tonal Range:
While there is a full range of tones visible, with a digital colour meter measurement, that does not tell the complete story. Adjusting all of the levels towards black (shadow slider on the right of the levels dialogue box) still leaves the burnt out highlights. The amount of exposure latitude that was inherent in your Delta 400 has been exceeded by a long way.

This suggests that your exposure metering was at fault. There is a very high contrast ratio in this image and you, as the photographer, have to make a decision as to what is important information. What is unsettling about this image is that areas that normally would be expected to display some texture (the arms and parts of her hair) have no texture.

It looks accidental (for example parts of the hair do exhibit texture) so the reason for the burnt out highlights is not clear. If it is some kind of artistic device, the observer also needs a sense of where it derived from. The highlight details in the window are also invisible, thus showing that your exposure choice could have been made so as to place the emphasis where you had wanted it to be. Despite the high contrast ratio, the image has no real impact. It is quite grey looking and (to my eyes) somewhat lifeless in character. It appears to me to be an image that is lacking in contrast. The grey appearance is not a substitute for softness.

Composition:
The eye has no natural resting place. At first glance one is drawn to the eyes of your subject. The bright highlights attract the eye away from her face and the bedding in disarray provides yet another competing area of interest. The arms of your model would have provided a perfect framing device for her face, had they not been burnt out. In my view that would have kept the viewer's eyes on the main subject which must have been the face of the model.

The dark line emanating from what appears to be the subject's left ear should have been removed at the taking stage. If you had moved to your right a few steps, it could have been avoided. The lighter line that appears to sprout from the top of the subject's head is a compositional no no. The position you shoot from has to be tempered by what is in the background and how it will translate in the final printed image.

Image making is about showing the subject to its best advantage, usually, unless there is a specific brief to change that approach. The dark line where your model's neck joins her body is unattractive and looks ugly. You need to be aware of what body positioning will do to the features of your model if this sort of position is to be avoided. Before you make the image, you must look through the viewfinder and see what you will capture in the frame.

Lighting:
You have left the face in relative shadow and if that was the point of you making the image, then a reflector would have helped to raise the lighting in her face so that it did not have the same tonal value as her back. If this were mine, I would have opted to move the bed so that the window was not in the frame and the background and harsh sun lighting were far more sympathetic to the model.

Very high contrast images can be made and look soft and sensual. One tip is that where any degree of nudity is involved, it can be very helpful to remove any identifying features (by this I mean the face, eyes or even the whole head). The study then takes on the appearance of a classic figure study and the model feels more relaxed once they realise that they are not going to be publicly exposed. Another is to google for Chiarascuro and you will learn about high contrast images and why they are a very difficult image form to achieve... but nevertheless very satisfying to produce dark, almost forbidden yet tantalising images.

I would choose to re-shoot this image. The creative idea is good and the possibilities for a stunning image are within the basic idea you have explored. Overall... it is an interesting idea but many issues that impinge on technical quality are not addressed. I would suggest that you try again but don't be afraid to move furniture, contrive the image, use a reflector and bend the light to where you want it to be.

One of the USA's finest exponents of documentary photography (W.Eugene Smith) went to huge lengths to set up his shots.

In this image... http://www.masters-of-photography.co...mata_full.html

The bath was moved after he had requested it so that the light fell in the way he wanted. there is a fascinating story behind the image (made at Minemata in Japan) and Smith was beaten severely for making the image and almost lost his life over it.

Do note the heavy contrast and see how much more life the image has because of it. download the image and adjust the contrast until it is soft and the image loses a lot of its impact. Smith described the image as the best he had ever taken. Quite an admission given that so many of his images were very fine.

I hope you do not mind me casting a critical eye over your image. As a professional photographer, it is hard to keep quiet sometimes. ;)

h

[McMadCow]

Wow! 1,000 views! Thanks to all those who commented and I'm glad that most of you liked it ( ^^^Ouch! ;) ) I'll pass this on to my girlfriend. She should be pretty stoked!