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A Wintry Portrait
Lens: DA 70mm Camera: K-30 Photo Location: South Carolina ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/250s Aperture: F2.4 
Posted By: K McCall, 03-01-2017, 09:09 AM

I shot some portraits of my cousin's kids on their farm in South Carolina last week. I thought this one was a great example of how well the DA 70 could perform wide-open.

Processed in Lightroom


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03-01-2017, 09:31 AM   #2
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As young the girls are beautiful . . . good shot!
03-01-2017, 06:58 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by ManuP Quote
As young the girls are beautiful . . . good shot!
Thank you!
03-01-2017, 08:10 PM   #4
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Really a beautiful portrait. I am just now beginning to learn portrait photography. I wonder if it is customary to crop so low on the subject.

Thanks so much for sharing. Well executed.

Tony

03-01-2017, 08:38 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Tonytee Quote
Really a beautiful portrait. I am just now beginning to learn portrait photography. I wonder if it is customary to crop so low on the subject.

Thanks so much for sharing. Well executed.

Tony
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Tony! The crop was definitely an aesthetic choice; the original shot was much more what you'd expect (although shot too high for a "classic" portrait - I was only doing a test shot for the light and background and didn't line up the shot at all). The expression to me is kind of guarded but strong, almost resolute. The roundness of the top of her head softened all of that in a way I didn't like, so I chose the crop you see above. This kept the very strong angle of the hair to match that expression.

Or so I think I'm curious to hear what you think!

Here is the shot without the head chopped off (rotated a bit from the original):
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03-02-2017, 01:30 AM   #6
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I think the full uncropped version is better, I agree the expression is guarded, I don't think the roundness of the top of the head softens the expression at all, to me the eyes look a little too strong.

Kind regards.
03-02-2017, 03:30 AM   #7
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Lovely young lady....I like the expression!

I agree with penpusher that the eyes are a little over pp'd. Have you thought about a 4x5 crop?

Good shot though - thanks for sharing

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03-02-2017, 08:57 PM   #8
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nice work
03-02-2017, 10:01 PM   #9
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I like all your work, but I agree with
QuoteOriginally posted by PenPusher Quote
I think the full uncropped version is better,
. If anything, I'd just take a little of the negative space off the top, maybe even to the top of her hair, and cut from either the left or right to keep the aspect ratio the same, but with some flexibility on how she ended up positioned within the frame. But it is a great shot as is.
03-02-2017, 10:32 PM   #10
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I feel like your choice of cropping is a good one. There's not much space for the viewer's eyes to rest other than the young girl's bold gaze. The original framing is too "relaxed" compared to your choice of cropping.
03-03-2017, 02:48 AM   #11
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I like the third one best. She is a lovely young lady and I like the way you have managed to maintain the softness of her skin, while not taking away from how nice her hair falls down on her right side. I cannot say I agree that she appears guarded. What I get is that she is a very nice person with pure innocence. Did you suggest this pose for her? An all around wonderful job and again, many thanks for sharing.

Tony
03-03-2017, 08:23 AM   #12
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Thanks for all the feedback! I went back and looked at the original processing, and I realized the "Aqua" slider was pushed all the way - oops! Her eyes aren't glowing so much now

And Tonytee, there was no posing involved - she was standing in as my "model" while I found the best background/lighting combo for her and her two siblings (imagine three kids, smiling, etc - a typical family portrait). So this one was snapped off the cuff while she helping me.

I have 5 different versions, all with different crops, so it's interesting to hear all these different perspectives!
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