Very shallow dof portrait

Very shallow dof portrait · 04:46 PM

The only model I have that lets me take pictures. Actually quite enjoys the attention I think.

I was playing around with my M 50mm f1.7 and figured I'd take a few of one of the dogs. It's pretty hard (pretty much impossible) to get him to keep still long enough to get focus right, check the exposure etc., but after a few tries I succeeded.

I'd like some constructive criticism - I think it's pretty hard to do a nice looking portrait with a shallow dof, and I'm not sure if this hits the mark and what could be improved.

Taken with *ist D at 1/90th +1ev F1.7 ISO200. Indoors, no flash - only natural light. Converted from raw in ACR and just had a little curves applied.

vievetrick · 10-20-2008, 04:52 PM

can't decide if I think you need more nose or not. Good work on everything else.

Spongefingers · 10-20-2008, 05:54 PM

Originally posted by vievetrick

can't decide if I think you need more nose or not. Good work on everything else.

The nose is fine, I think.
The focus on the eyes is the most important, as you always look there first, and your eyes keep getting drawn back to them. It seems well balanced. Good stuff.

I do wonder what it would look like if the main light was on the left hand (paw!) side of the face, as the eye there is the one most in focus.

emilf · 10-20-2008, 09:39 PM

Originally posted by vievetrick

can't decide if I think you need more nose or not. Good work on everything else.

Thanks. I have a bad tendency to compose in the viewfinder, so to get more of the nose I would have had to redo the shot. It's probably because I'm afraid to lose too many of my few pixels...

As for having more of the nose I'd worry that it would take too much of the focus away from the eye.

Originally posted by Spongefingers

The nose is fine, I think.
The focus on the eyes is the most important, as you always look there first, and your eyes keep getting drawn back to them. It seems well balanced. Good stuff.

I do wonder what it would look like if the main light was on the left hand (paw!) side of the face, as the eye there is the one most in focus.

Thanks. That might be interesting - my main worry however would be that the area around the eye that is in focus would get too washed out because of the light. I guess I should try to keep the same amount of light on that side, and just reduce it on the other side.

Another thing I was considering was to darken the area above the head in the background. It seems to pull my eye toward it.

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10-20-2008, 04:52 PM	#2
vievetrick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Easthampton - Massachusetts - USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,183	can't decide if I think you need more nose or not. Good work on everything else.

10-20-2008, 05:54 PM	#3
Spongefingers Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 237	Originally posted by vievetrick can't decide if I think you need more nose or not. Good work on everything else. The nose is fine, I think. The focus on the eyes is the most important, as you always look there first, and your eyes keep getting drawn back to them. It seems well balanced. Good stuff. I do wonder what it would look like if the main light was on the left hand (paw!) side of the face, as the eye there is the one most in focus.

10-20-2008, 09:39 PM	#4
emilf Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Atlanta Photos: Albums Posts: 222 Original Poster	Originally posted by vievetrick can't decide if I think you need more nose or not. Good work on everything else. Thanks. I have a bad tendency to compose in the viewfinder, so to get more of the nose I would have had to redo the shot. It's probably because I'm afraid to lose too many of my few pixels... As for having more of the nose I'd worry that it would take too much of the focus away from the eye. Originally posted by Spongefingers The nose is fine, I think. The focus on the eyes is the most important, as you always look there first, and your eyes keep getting drawn back to them. It seems well balanced. Good stuff. I do wonder what it would look like if the main light was on the left hand (paw!) side of the face, as the eye there is the one most in focus. Thanks. That might be interesting - my main worry however would be that the area around the eye that is in focus would get too washed out because of the light. I guess I should try to keep the same amount of light on that side, and just reduce it on the other side. Another thing I was considering was to darken the area above the head in the background. It seems to pull my eye toward it.