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clark · 06-30-2010, 01:27 PM

Had a friend who wanted to get into modeling, so I shot her with the kit lens (all I had at the time) and a desk lamp for fill light
pretty ghetto studio and the shots were terrible, but i've just dug the shots out again and worked on them (alot) in photoshop, I think the shots came out pretty nicely all things considered, this is the first one i've managed to finish PP on

some opinions would be very helpful
the full size version is here http://i45.tinypic.com/99jcc3.jpg

and if you'd like to compare to the original
http://i50.tinypic.com/2qvctmo.jpg

Last edited by clark; 06-30-2010 at 01:36 PM.

Ansel · 06-30-2010, 02:12 PM

The model looks very nice and shot from a good angle imo. I'm not crazy about the split head, I'd prefer more of her head to be in the photo. Otherwise it's good I believe.

Jodokast96 · 06-30-2010, 04:27 PM

The composition looks good to me. The whole thing looks a bit washed though; if that's the look you're going for, great, just not my cup of tea. All in all, I like it.

clark · 06-30-2010, 05:06 PM

Originally posted by Ansel

The model looks very nice and shot from a good angle imo. I'm not crazy about the split head, I'd prefer more of her head to be in the photo. Otherwise it's good I believe.

thanks, I tried some which had the full head in, but i thought a closer crop of her face/eyes worked better for this type of shot

when I get round to posting them there's a few more from the shoot which are full body shots, head and shoulders, and some NSFW...

Originally posted by Jodokast96

The composition looks good to me. The whole thing looks a bit washed though; if that's the look you're going for, great, just not my cup of tea. All in all, I like it.

thank you
to be honest the lighting was so bad (and at the time I had no idea how to light a scene) that the scene had a extremely orange colour cast from the desk lamps I was using, so once i'd neutralized this there wasn't much form shadow left, so I tried to colour balance it in a way which made it look quite stark and maybe lifeless- something which would have immediate impact as a picture, not just 'another portrait'

The original image was pretty bad though, the one I posted as the original had already been colour corrected, but if you overlay the 2 images the entire structure of the face has been changed
so I guess i'm asking for critique on the PP more than the photo, and seeing as no one's mentioned it so far it must be pretty good

thanks

Class A · 07-22-2010, 05:52 AM

I like the crop in the upper part but I suggest that you try to either

cut off a bit from the bottom and/or
darken the bottom area.

The bright part at the bottom distracts from the face and I'm convinced that the overall look would be better if you darkened the bright parts outside the face quite considerably. A vignette effect will probably work well.

Looking forward to seeing more shots of her!

Rupert · 07-22-2010, 06:48 AM

This is one of those shots that you could do a hundred ways and get a hundred opinions on each version....and they would all be as different as the versions.

For what it appears you were trying to accomplish, it looks good to me. I'm not sure you could "improve" it......you might "change it" but it looks good as it is now. I think you did a good job, although it is not my "stlye" of shooting or processing.
Best Regards!

ramair455 · 07-22-2010, 01:44 PM - **1 Like**

PP critique - her skin needs more work. The dark area on the bridge of her nose and nostrils are bothersome along with the uneven lip color.

I took the liberty to do a 5 minute cleanup

Last edited by ramair455; 07-22-2010 at 02:06 PM.

**Ash** · 07-22-2010, 02:22 PM

A fine effort.
Attitude, boldness and apt lighting.
ramair's right about the uneven skin tones, so I'd retouch the areas slightly just to smoothen them out a little less obviously than ramair's quick job.
But composition and pose - two thumbs up.

Class A · 07-22-2010, 04:53 PM

Originally posted by ramair455

I took the liberty to do a 5 minute cleanup

BIG improvement!

**rparmar** · 07-22-2010, 06:23 PM

The PP might be a bit OTT, especially in the eyes. But that little proviso aside I think it works very well. The "fixup" version really helps.

clark · 07-24-2010, 04:06 PM

Originally posted by ramair455

PP critique - her skin needs more work. The dark area on the bridge of her nose and nostrils are bothersome along with the uneven lip color.

I took the liberty to do a 5 minute cleanup

wow, that does look good- your smoothing technique is good

I did do a version that was heavily smoothed but I felt the lighting and the setup was soo obviously 'cheap', that if I retouched to perfection the image looked unbelievable, when I get my tablet back i'll have another go

i'll also post up some other looks we shot

06-30-2010, 01:27 PM	#1
clark Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 301	Is this portrait any good? Lens: pentax 18-55mm @ 40mm Camera: Pentax ist DL Photo Location: my bedroom, england ISO: 800 Shutter Speed: 1/90s Aperture: F4.5 Had a friend who wanted to get into modeling, so I shot her with the kit lens (all I had at the time) and a desk lamp for fill light pretty ghetto studio and the shots were terrible, but i've just dug the shots out again and worked on them (alot) in photoshop, I think the shots came out pretty nicely all things considered, this is the first one i've managed to finish PP on some opinions would be very helpful the full size version is here http://i45.tinypic.com/99jcc3.jpg and if you'd like to compare to the original http://i50.tinypic.com/2qvctmo.jpg Last edited by clark; 06-30-2010 at 01:36 PM.

07-22-2010, 05:52 AM	#5
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	I like the crop in the upper part but I suggest that you try to either cut off a bit from the bottom and/or darken the bottom area. The bright part at the bottom distracts from the face and I'm convinced that the overall look would be better if you darkened the bright parts outside the face quite considerably. A vignette effect will probably work well. Looking forward to seeing more shots of her!

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06-30-2010, 02:12 PM	#2
Ansel New Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Photos: Albums Posts: 21	The model looks very nice and shot from a good angle imo. I'm not crazy about the split head, I'd prefer more of her head to be in the photo. Otherwise it's good I believe.

06-30-2010, 04:27 PM	#3
Jodokast96 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Erial, NJ USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,134	The composition looks good to me. The whole thing looks a bit washed though; if that's the look you're going for, great, just not my cup of tea. All in all, I like it.

06-30-2010, 05:06 PM	#4
clark Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 301 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ansel The model looks very nice and shot from a good angle imo. I'm not crazy about the split head, I'd prefer more of her head to be in the photo. Otherwise it's good I believe. thanks, I tried some which had the full head in, but i thought a closer crop of her face/eyes worked better for this type of shot when I get round to posting them there's a few more from the shoot which are full body shots, head and shoulders, and some NSFW... Originally posted by Jodokast96 The composition looks good to me. The whole thing looks a bit washed though; if that's the look you're going for, great, just not my cup of tea. All in all, I like it. thank you to be honest the lighting was so bad (and at the time I had no idea how to light a scene) that the scene had a extremely orange colour cast from the desk lamps I was using, so once i'd neutralized this there wasn't much form shadow left, so I tried to colour balance it in a way which made it look quite stark and maybe lifeless- something which would have immediate impact as a picture, not just 'another portrait' The original image was pretty bad though, the one I posted as the original had already been colour corrected, but if you overlay the 2 images the entire structure of the face has been changed so I guess i'm asking for critique on the PP more than the photo, and seeing as no one's mentioned it so far it must be pretty good thanks

07-22-2010, 06:48 AM	#6
Rupert Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 25,123	This is one of those shots that you could do a hundred ways and get a hundred opinions on each version....and they would all be as different as the versions. For what it appears you were trying to accomplish, it looks good to me. I'm not sure you could "improve" it......you might "change it" but it looks good as it is now. I think you did a good job, although it is not my "stlye" of shooting or processing. Best Regards!

07-22-2010, 01:44 PM - 1 Like	#7
ramair455 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Okc Photos: Gallery Posts: 284	PP critique - her skin needs more work. The dark area on the bridge of her nose and nostrils are bothersome along with the uneven lip color. I took the liberty to do a 5 minute cleanup Last edited by ramair455; 07-22-2010 at 02:06 PM.

07-22-2010, 02:22 PM	#8
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	A fine effort. Attitude, boldness and apt lighting. ramair's right about the uneven skin tones, so I'd retouch the areas slightly just to smoothen them out a little less obviously than ramair's quick job. But composition and pose - two thumbs up.

07-22-2010, 04:53 PM	#9
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Originally posted by ramair455 I took the liberty to do a 5 minute cleanup BIG improvement!

07-22-2010, 06:23 PM	#10
rparmar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,823	The PP might be a bit OTT, especially in the eyes. But that little proviso aside I think it works very well. The "fixup" version really helps.

07-24-2010, 04:06 PM	#11
clark Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 301 Original Poster	Originally posted by ramair455 PP critique - her skin needs more work. The dark area on the bridge of her nose and nostrils are bothersome along with the uneven lip color. I took the liberty to do a 5 minute cleanup wow, that does look good- your smoothing technique is good I did do a version that was heavily smoothed but I felt the lighting and the setup was soo obviously 'cheap', that if I retouched to perfection the image looked unbelievable, when I get my tablet back i'll have another go i'll also post up some other looks we shot

People Is this portrait any good?

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