First portraits - Can't Decide.

[yairh20]

I finally decided to try my hand at some portrait shots now that i have my D80. and I cant decide which is better





Please comment

[polarbeardiggers]

you have a great eye for portraits and both are great shots especially the second,but what i have learned is to never cut a persons face off,you did it on both the tops and bottoms, will never win awards , man your so close to perfection, with the second and the first not a big fan on the over saturation on the face.

[yairh20]

Thank you very much for the comments and I see what you mean about getting in too close there and about the over saturation in the first one, what about this?

[Frog]

The good part is the sharp focus on the eyes. First one is just too chopped with both the chin and eyebrows and ear on left.
You could get away with the top of the head on the second if the chin wasn't chopped too, I think.

[Alison]

I like the first one best. However, it looks like you have smoothed the skin in a blotchy way, maybe with a clone brush? I would prefer to see his skin as it is.

[yairh20]

Wow, a comment from alison! I feel humbled! the first one as is or the less contrasty first one? Unfortunately the post processing i did here accentuates and skin blemish and therefore i had to do extensive work to get rid of all of it...

[polarbeardiggers]

skin blemish, i hear you there, i sent out a picture of my son for a carariature, and when it finally got back, noticed this blemish on his chin, really stood out, so i just cloned it out with the same surround skin color, i'm wondering if you couldn't have done the same thing without creating that blur effect on his face, but i must say i do like the second shot alittle better,as for in focus or clarity, i hope to see your next shots without cut off edges, enjoyed viewing your gallery pictures ,you really have a talent there,.

[yairh20]

Thank you polerbear! the way i smooth skin is make a duplicate layer with a gausian blur add a mask and slowley unhide portions that have blemishes, which is what caused the blurry look. and I definatly will make sure not to cut anything off next time!

[Alison]

I like the post processing to be honest. Kind of like a dragon type effect or diffused glow. It's the skin treatment I'm not so keen on. May we see it without PP please?

[yairh20]

I unfourtionatly don't have anything but the original with absolutly no PP would you like to see that? And when you say dragon do you mean like the mystical creature or Andrzej Dragan?

[Alison]

Yes please. Seeing the original as it was is exactly what I mean. Dragon effect is just an effect some photographers use. Here's a link
draganizer
it has a kind of dark bleach bypass effect on the face. I quite like the dark look, although, I have never used it myself.

[Samyule]

I'd have to agree that chopping some of the faces is not a good thing for photos. The first photo looks pretty bad for the skin. I think the eyes look great, maybe do something similar with a full shot of the face and just really grab the eyes in the photo.

[yairh20]

can you please elaborate on the editing sam? and I will post the unedited version on friday.

[Samyule]

It looks like you attempted to repair a few skin blemishes around the cheeks and upper lip. This caused a really photoshopped looked to it. It looks like to much blur I think if you go a little easier on the editing you would get a lot more natural look to it. Sometimes it's the natural flaws of a person that make a beautiful portrait. If you clean up the editing I think you will have a really good shot. Cropping a photo above and below like that is usually not recommended , but if this is the look you are going for I think it can work.