My first commercial shoot of 2008!
01-19-2008, 02:05 PM
#11
Registered User
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Fresno, CA
Posts: 671
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by iLuveketchup,Jan 19 2008, 02:09 PM
I dont see any blown out areas, 'cept the background. My monitor is calibrated BTW.
01-19-2008, 02:10 PM
#12
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,478
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looks pretty good. I'm far from an expert and I've seen a lot of your photos (much better than mine) so I feel like I'm being an arrogant ass giving you advice on this stuff..
As I take more and more photos of people, I'm realizing that with lighting them there's a balance of smoothness vs. depth/complexity that has to be juggled. The most flattering light for a woman's skin is very soft (big source) but overusing it mutes a lot of the depth of the image. The other day I was forcing my girlfriend to model for me, but due to tight space in the place I was shooting, I had to take the umbrella off my second flash -- I was sure that the hard light would break the 'illusion', but it turned out that these photos were the best. The contrast created by filling in the face and skin surfaces with a soft light and then highlighting the edges of shapes with a hard light was very pleasing to the eye.
But to me these pictures look like you're smothered her with too much soft light and the contours of her face have lost their 'pop'. I'd try experimenting with lighting flat-ish skin surfaces with a soft light and bringing out the shapes of the edges with a harder light at an oblique angle. I'll try to post my before/after pictures of me removing the umbrella when I can.
As I take more and more photos of people, I'm realizing that with lighting them there's a balance of smoothness vs. depth/complexity that has to be juggled. The most flattering light for a woman's skin is very soft (big source) but overusing it mutes a lot of the depth of the image. The other day I was forcing my girlfriend to model for me, but due to tight space in the place I was shooting, I had to take the umbrella off my second flash -- I was sure that the hard light would break the 'illusion', but it turned out that these photos were the best. The contrast created by filling in the face and skin surfaces with a soft light and then highlighting the edges of shapes with a hard light was very pleasing to the eye.
But to me these pictures look like you're smothered her with too much soft light and the contours of her face have lost their 'pop'. I'd try experimenting with lighting flat-ish skin surfaces with a soft light and bringing out the shapes of the edges with a harder light at an oblique angle. I'll try to post my before/after pictures of me removing the umbrella when I can.
01-19-2008, 02:28 PM
#14
Former Moderator
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by e3opian,Jan 19 2008, 06:02 PM
Good shots, Dave. Any more lighting setup info?
01-19-2008, 02:52 PM
#16
Former Moderator
Thread Starter
He he....
I honestly...well....I don't regret posting them, but I wish you guys could either see the print...or the full size TIFF file on a good, calibrated screen. The quality from jpg, shrinking, anf flickr processing really has gone down. I will post more pics tomorrow after I edit them...I have a lot.
As for the lighting. I agree, it is harsh, but, for what she wanted, it worked the best. Everything was done (makeup, posing, etc) for the style of shots she wanted. These will be used for her acting (headshots, body shots, etc) and she wanted to "pop" her features, which were her eyes. IMHO, I successfully brought them out to the front. He skin is very pale, and IMHO, doesn't look good "naturally." I still appreciate all the feedback though. Keep it comin!
I honestly...well....I don't regret posting them, but I wish you guys could either see the print...or the full size TIFF file on a good, calibrated screen. The quality from jpg, shrinking, anf flickr processing really has gone down. I will post more pics tomorrow after I edit them...I have a lot.
As for the lighting. I agree, it is harsh, but, for what she wanted, it worked the best. Everything was done (makeup, posing, etc) for the style of shots she wanted. These will be used for her acting (headshots, body shots, etc) and she wanted to "pop" her features, which were her eyes. IMHO, I successfully brought them out to the front. He skin is very pale, and IMHO, doesn't look good "naturally." I still appreciate all the feedback though. Keep it comin!
01-19-2008, 02:55 PM
#17
Former Moderator
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by artificeexks,Jan 19 2008, 06:05 PM
my monitor is calibrated as well and i don't see any hotspots either. it's a little overexposed, but overexposure is actually needed for print media. what type of prints will you be doing?
01-19-2008, 03:30 PM
#19
Former Moderator
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by djdorifto,Jan 19 2008, 07:11 PM
still awesome shots though! but still bright haha
Thanks bud.High key is like pinhole photography....love it or hate it.
