Model in building

[GB1]

Was afraid that the sunlight would add too much contrast, but it appears to be under control. Comments?

Fuji Reala 100.

-gb

[Tyson L. Sparks]

A little too much head room I think, not a bad shot. I like it.

[GB1]

Thanks Tyson. I tend to add some extra negative space cause I know I can easily remove it. Thanks for your view on the shot!

GB

[Greg McCary]

I think that I would level the post on the right and crop out the door, also the sunlight at the bottom left is distracting. And the corner of the wall is almost merging from her head.

[GB1]

I think that I would level the post on the right and crop out the door, also the sunlight at the bottom left is distracting. And the corner of the wall is almost merging from her head.

Greg

Hmmm.. Not sure... If I level the right, it will make the center and left side verticals lean more to the CCW. shoot... shows what happens when ya shoot wide angle. I would like to crop the door, but wonder if that would contrict the pic too much. Unfortunatley, nothing to do about the sunlight cept clone it out (can't just crop it cause it will also crop out parts of her). Maybe I should bring a big towel to hang in front of windows like this to block harsh sunlight :idea: I didnt even notice how close that middle vert. came to her head.. Guess shots like this are mostly about the small things!

GB

[CLKunst]

Well . . .who's going to expect a straight line in a house like that anyway? Life's not all straight lines you know.
This is one of the first model shots of yours I really, really like! I love the colors and textures happening here. She's quite a pretty girl and that's always nice. I'm going to say crop a smidge off the left and bottom of the frame if you really want to but not much else. It would reduce the bright spot on the floor to a more manageable portion and cut out the edge of the window sash running on the edge of the frame. Bringing along a white bed sheet to hang over windows in places like these would be a great idea and very easy to keep in a backpack.

[GB1]

Thks Cindy. I think I can tone down the sunlight. I think cloning it is too hard. I showed to Denny here (another PS forum person) and he thought that I missed out by not illuminating her with a reflector. Probably true - the far side of her face is prob too dark. I can probably trim off the window sash. I do like her pose (looks artsy to me) and its tonality, so I hate to discard it because of the sunlight.

I think I'll have to work on quality vs quanity on these shoots, where time is valuable and I have a tendency to shoot like crazy . I also tend to not plan things out too strictly, feeling that it can make the model uptight... I suppose there's a balance there.

-GB

[Ronnoco]

Well, as has been mentioned you need some cropping and work on the bright spot on the floor, but everyone seems to forget to look closely at your model. You seem to have got a somewhat primitive S curve from the body position but it could have been a little smoother and more flattering by changing the position of her arms and legs, but more importantly you de-emphasized her hair and face for no apparent reason.

As an on camera type you could have improved the lighting around her face with a little bit of flash fill or to be more natural a reflector. In post processing, it only takes a few minutes to highlight the hair better and give the face more punch and presence in the image.

In general terms, I have to say that many portraits that I have seen in Critiques tend to be unflattering toward the model, but yours is better than most.

Ronnoco

[jkriminger]

I apologize in advance for this crop......just thought i'd throw it out there with all the light discussion

[GB1]

Well, as has been mentioned you need some cropping and work on the bright spot on the floor, but everyone seems to forget to look closely at your model. You seem to have got a somewhat primitive S curve from the body position but it could have been a little smoother and more flattering by changing the position of her arms and legs, but more importantly you de-emphasized her hair and face for no apparent reason.

As an on camera type you could have improved the lighting around her face with a little bit of flash fill or to be more natural a reflector. In post processing, it only takes a few minutes to highlight the hair better and give the face more punch and presence in the image.

In general terms, I have to say that many portraits that I have seen in Critiques tend to be unflattering toward the model, but yours is better than most.

Ronnoco

Ronnoco - Thanks for your comment. I'm not sure I'm in agreement with you on the S curve, I sort of like it myself... seems 'artsy' to me. I don't know if I've ever seen a pose like this before (I attend drawing studios too), so maybe it's the novelty. I'm not sure what you mean about me de-emphasizing her hair and face... I didn't de-emphasize it intentionally. It was more of a natural shot... We both thought that corner was interesting, but as you can see the most powerful lighting was from the sunlit floor and and her face and hair were pretty far away. As you and others mentioned, I should have used a reflector here. It was just us two and it's a real pain to set those things up by yourself. You're really working against the clock.

I did massage it in Corel a little but not specifically the face and hair. If you'd like to take crack at it pls feel free. My PP skills are still evolving.

-Gb

[GB1]

J - I really like your crop. I see you eliminated the sunlit floor and in a very convincing way. How long did it take you? What procedure did you use on that? I was telling someone here that it would probably take me hours to get the floor right.

-GB

[SmartWombat]

I was going to suggest a crop like that.
Take out the sunlight on the right and bottom.
Much nicer.
... ad yes, next time use that gold reflector !

[jkriminger]

J - I really like your crop. I see you eliminated the sunlit floor and in a very convincing way. How long did it take you? What procedure did you use on that? I was telling someone here that it would probably take me hours to get the floor right.

-GB

Thank you..took me about 3 mins...used adobe cs2 with the clone stamp..kinda small and just followed the existing crack at the same angle down to the right..then blended around it same technique. Theres so much ..ah character with the old floor you cant really mess it up and it would be the last place you'd be looking at in depth. Thanks again.