Critique My Image

calengor

Thank you @rx4photo, @spraynpray, @sports, and @msmoto for your input.

I am trying to learn portraiture, but it's not as intuitive to me as other forms of photography. I also am also beholden to when I can convince people to sit for me. I will take all of the advice given under consideration and attempt to implement it next time. Right now I'm working with 50mm, 85mm, and a 35mm DX (in FX mode) lens on my D750, so those are the focal lengths I'm constricted to.

calengor

Another portrait for your review:

D750 | 85mm f/1.8 @ f/11 | 1/60 sec | ISO 100

Sports

@calengor - Nice. Try getting more of the shoulders into the picture.

heartyfisher

http://www.school-of-digital-photography.com/2014/01/portrait-photography-cropping-cheat-sheet.html

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=portrait+cropping&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CC8QsARqFQoTCNDc96vrlccCFeNhpgodLS4GHg&biw=1376&bih=694

WestEndFoto

Here is an image for your review guys.

Rx4Photo

Nice @ WestEndFoto. Love the glow that the soft light is providing over her face and dress. I would like to have seen what it'd look like with a little rim light from behind her left side - just to give a little definition to the hair. In this environment Nikon CLS is perfect because your key light can trigger the rim light and you won't need 3rd party flash triggers. Perhaps even build a DIY snoot with some black construction paper to keep the rim lighting only on her hair. Just my thoughts.

Vipmediastar_JZ

Same as above with a little more light on the face.

I also like how you lit it but the arm touching her head breaks how it is lit. maybe if she put the arm down it would work better.

Msmoto

I think in all shots we present, the reason or meaning of the photo should evoke an emotion. I am somewhat confused as to what the photo is saying in some shots.

So, look at the photos and I think the image will find itself. Ask, what each element in the photo does. Is it a fashion shot, something to communicate a meaning to the observer, or whatever? If we ask ourselves questions, in many cases we will do our own critique and improve our images.

WestEndFoto

Nice @ WestEndFoto. Love the glow that the soft light is providing over her face and dress. I would like to have seen what it'd look like with a little rim light from behind her left side - just to give a little definition to the hair. In this environment Nikon CLS is perfect because your key light can trigger the rim light and you won't need 3rd party flash triggers. Perhaps even build a DIY snoot with some black construction paper to keep the rim lighting only on her hair. Just my thoughts.

A rim light was not what I was trying to do with this shoot, but I do think it would look great. I will try some of these ideas. Regarding CLS, though I am fully invested in PocketWizard (enough to fire all of my SB-910s plus I have the zone controller), I do want to practice with CLS more as this situation is ideal for that.

WestEndFoto

Same as above with a little more light on the face.

I also like how you lit it but the arm touching her head breaks how it is lit. maybe if she put the arm down it would work better.

I do have some poses like that from this shoot. I will process some of them and try - it will take a while as I am just starting to become efficient in my Photoshop workflow. The image I posted took two hours.

donaldejose

WestEndFoto

Donaldjose, this model has beautiful eyes. Are they really that white?

Nice beauty lighting.

I get the feeling that here skin is less than perfect and you cleaned it up, but need to spend a little more time under the nose, around the lips and the lower edge of the face. I would also get rid of the stray hairs and burn out the light spots on her blouse. The bright spot under her chin and the hair catching the highlight around the middle of her chest come to mind.

Also, but this is my preference/artistic decision, I would add some eye liner on her lower eyes using the burn tool. I think that would frame those wonderful eyes really nicely. I might also burn the iris completely black (if you have not already) and dodge the catchlights a little more just to add a subtle punch to the eyes.

I feel like I am being really picky though. I would not think to critique it, even privately, if I just came across it. I am only critiquing it because you have invited it. I think that it is a great portrait.

donaldejose

WestEndPhoto: very good suggestions, especially the winkles above the mouth and the lower eye liner. I think her forehead is too long and there are too many freckles on her exposed shoulder.

This is a friend of my wife who wanted a facebook profile picture, which is how she is using this. At that small size it just is not worth more work in my opinion which wouldn't be visible on facebook so I have not done any more. But it is very helpful to see what other people see as to improvements which could be made to the image.

donaldejose

Another friend of my wife who wanted a facebook profile pic. What improvements could be made to this one?

spraynpray

At the size it is to be used, I would only tidy the loose hair curl on camera right. Apart from that, she is a lovely woman and you caught that well Don.

Msmoto

@donaldejose

Your glamour light is split and result is a split highlight in the eye. My suggestion, have the two lights touching so they appear as one in the highlights. The idea is to have the shadow as simple as possible, and avoid a multiple shadow. Please understand this is only my opinion, but I find the little shadow created under the point of the nose disturbing.

This is very subtle, but, when an art director is looking at a shot, one wants it essentially perfect. A single light source end result is what we like to see, even if multiple lights were used.

Here is a shot one member may recognize.....but it appears as a single light source, yet I think there were four or five strobe heads used....

donaldejose

Yes, Good comments. I understand the preference for one highlight in the eye and I could have easily removed one post process or by moving my fill light. The idea of bringing my softboxes together and shooting under them or between them is an interesting idea I will try. However, I do look at the eyes of lots of photos and often see more than one highlight so I don't think most art directors find that to be a defect anymore. I was shooting lots of people that day (like 30 in 3 hours), didn't have time to fool around with lighting and I had set up my lighting to emulate this photo of Taylor Swift below which doesn't seem to use hairlight or rimlight. But now I see Taylor doesn't have that shadow under the nose. Perhaps lower my softboxes (or raise the model's face) or use a reflector below the face to bounce more light up from below. Looking at Taylor's eyes I seem to see a third weaker highlight caused by a reflector under her face. I also see the good hairlight and rim lights in your photo. I didn't set those up. Perhaps next time.

WestEndFoto

I don't have an issue with the double highlights. You are going to have multiple in lots of shots where you are going to surround your model with light, like I have done below. I would be interested in anybody's critique.

donaldejose

WestEndPhoto: Very nice and interesting lighting set-up as seen in the catchlights in the eyes. Quite striking.

Just a personal preference of mine comment now and something to think about for another shoot: I think the face is sort of flat and I would like to see more shadow on the side creating more sculpting or shaping of the face. When I was shooting those photos I posted above I found I could darken the sides of the face a bit by placing two black circular "reflectors" or sheets of foam board close to each side of the face just outside of the frame. I had mine about 2 or 3 feet away from the face on each side and didn't get them as close to the side of the face as I would have liked because there were lots of people moving in and out of the subject posing area and changing positions. Some wanted head shots and some wanted torso shots and some even wanted full body shots. Thus, I had to keep my black side light absorbers farther out of the frame than I would have used if I was just working with one person and had more time with them to adjust those black light absorbers. Notice the Taylor Swift photo above has a greater tonal range from front to side of the face than does either yours or mine. I think that was done with black sheets on each side of the face just outside of the frame. We always think of adding light and don't think of taking some light away by absorbing it with a black surface.

WestEndFoto

I agree with you Donaldjose. Personally, I am not crazy about this result. It is not something that I can not get excited about. I was experimenting with a different lighting technique. She was basically in a box with a white scrim above her head with a beauty dish shining through. There was then a large white card in front of her face below the frame, angled towards her reflecting the same beauty dish. The background is lit with a strobe.

However, I know some people that really like this style, so I have to concede that it is really an artistic preference.

Rx4Photo

I like 'em both. I think both clamshell setups are appropriate for their uses. @donaldejose, yours works well for a headshot look and @WestEndFoto, yours works well for that fashion flair look. I agree, it's artistic preference. Model turned photographer Peter Hurley has fashioned his photographic career out of signature lighting setups and posing his clients. His lighting rarely involves only 1 light. Often 3 or more - and depending on the position there's usually more than one catchlight in the eyes. For this to work, though, the catch lights have to be somewhat uniform and purposefully placed and I think you both have achieved that.

donaldejose

It is very good to discuss different techniques and effects. Other people see things I don't and have thoughts or preferences which are new to me. All good stuff and head and shoulders above what we can learn from PAD.

How about this one? Same lighting set up except darker shadows on the sides of the face. I see a spot above her eye and some lines under that same eye I should have taken out in post processing. Anyone see anything else which could be improved either in camera or post processing?

Msmoto

Same nose shadow

donaldejose

Msmoto: Good point!

donaldejose

This was shot with available light. I am thinking I should have gotten more light past the mask into the eyes. Perhaps using a reflector? I don't have an assistant to hold the reflector. Perhaps pop-up fill flash? Any ideas how to illuminate eyes behind a mask when shooting in available light?