My first photo shoot (ever)

<p>So, my first shoot was with a friend's old Nikon D50, and a homemade ring light from a shop light at work that was on its way to the dumpster (we thought it didn't work).<br /><br />Anyway, I re-wired it, and made a ring light that I held around the lens. My friend that I was shooting has a pretty larger-than-life personality and insisted on wearing sunglasses in the shoot, though I was fearing how to handle the reflections in post.<br /><br />When I left the ring lights in, they looked strange. When I edited them out (as seen), they still look strange.. What would you do in post to make a happy medium? </p>

<p><img src="http://dustland.us/gallery/ADAM_PORTRAIT2_SMALL_EDIT2.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I agree with you.<br>

You need some sort of specular highlights in the glasses.<br>

Looks undead as is.</p>

<p>I have seem some LED ring light catchlights that worked in eyes but maybe not on glasses.</p>

<p>Looks like you have some image editing software so get creative and try some different approachs.</p>

<p>I would do nothing. Leave it like that. It looks sort of alternative. Strange can be good, because all the hobbyists on photo.net avoid it like the plague.</p>

<p>I agree with Pierre -- Although it looks a bit odd not having any reflections, it goes with the overall look. </p>

<p>If you do want to try something even further "out", steal some reflections from other pix that include sunglasses. The reflections in those will have absolutely nothing to do with your ringlight, but may contribute to the overall effect.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>Thank you guys! After staring at it for a while, I realized it may not be the lenses in the glasses I need to mess with, I may dull the light bouncing off the plastic around them, which is the entire reason your eye expects to see some sort of reflection in the lenses themselves.<br>

<br />however, the rebel in me is leaning towards Pierre's suggestion.<br /><br />anyway, thanks for taking a look ! </p>

<p>I think you can be a rebel without losing touch with the organic and reflective integrity of an image. There's a difference between looking alternative and looking off. Only you can decide for yourself which this is. Others will decide for themselves. But you seem to have some sense of the organic nature of even a heavily manipulated photo, as you've mentioned what the eye might expect reflection-wise. I think that sort of inner voice is well worth paying attention to, not necessarily because I think it's right or wrong but because I think it's genuinely yours. [i happen to agree with where your inner voice is coming from.]</p>

<p>manipulated? whatever so do you mean? ;)<br /><br />Thank you guys, I really really appreciate the feedback.</p>

<p>I agree with Pierre, I think sometimes people get wrapped up in "this is the new thing that Photographers are doing now" and lose that creativity inside of us. I say leave it, post it and tell everyone how you came up with this shot.<br>

Doug</p>