Girl next door - 1

Comments on composition and tonal range will be greatly appreciated.

your girl next door is cute, Michael, and you've captured that. She has a good, well defined and attractive face. The light is flattering, and has produced good, even skin tones. The crop is ok, although it lends itself to experimentation. I know a gifted Australian, for example, who would leap at the chance to crop this square.

 

the leafy plant on the left adds a little environment, but it also creates a strong figure/ground contrast on its own and might be too strong. The Aussie crop would fix that, but so would yanking it out. It would be harder to yank the tree trunk in the center, though. Your DOF works well to minimize the distraction it otherwise would have been.

 

If you could, I would try to burn down her wrist and forearm. I would also recommend you suggest to whoever you shoot to bring a hairbrush. I'm constantly surprised by women who show up for a scheduled portrait with unkempt hair. This girl's hair is not that bad, but it still could've used a sweep or two to smooth it out, in my opinion.

 

The best part of this portrait is how she's communicating with you, and that kind of rapport can go a long way towards a good result.

Thank you for the insightful critique, Doug. Just what I'm looking; we'll be shooting again and your comments will contribute greatly.

 

It was somewhat of an awkward spot - we went down a steep incline to reach the lake with only a very narrow path and overgrown vegetation. She sat on the only clear spot, and I was nearly in the water trying to frame the tree as much to one side as I could. The weed on the left was a bonus, albeit a little too strong, but does (to me) add a little something.

 

I like this picture because of her natural expression and pleasant smile. The entire shoot was meant to produce (exploratory) candid photos so neither of us put great effort into formalizing appearances, but your comment about her hair is noted for an opportunity when we pursue a more formal session.

 

I think what you've done with Nora and others is far more difficult and challenging - a model shoot with high expectations where beauty is the objective and imperfections are less tolerated. We're not quite at that point although hopefully working toward it. The next step will be to make cleaner pictures and a little more formalized, paying attention to wardrobe and accessories, which will present a huge challenge in finding a suitable location.

 

A final point about color. These are B/W because the colors I got frankly suck. The D70's White Balance is touch and go at best and I don't trust my judgment on (post) skin tone correction nor do I trust my monitor. Not sure how to overcome this, but I did take note of what you've done recently.

Another crop

I was thinking of this:

I like your crop. Too bad it eats into resolution but maybe still salvageable as a smaller print.

 

I'm also struggling with lens choice. My primary lens is a 35-135, f3.5-4.5 zoom. Love the results but wish for just a tad more reach, I also like to shoot wide open - why pay for aperture and not use it is the thinking, even though not always theoretically optimal. Then again I never shoot test charts. :-) I noticed you use a 24-70 zoom. Is this your preferred choice for Nora type work?

The 24-70 is ok, but I wish it were a little longer, like to 105, maybe 120. I have a 135mm prime lens, but I find it too long for portrait work because I have to get too far away. I suppose a 24-105 zoom would be perfect for me. I'd probably use it for 80-90 % of what I shoot. 35-135 sounds pretty good, if you ask me. I got the 24-70 because it was f/2.8 at all focal lengths. I'm still paying for it, too. My next lens will be 70-200 f/2.8, but I will have to take a second mortgage to buy it.

Wow, new posts in a long time!! Good to see you back in action!

 

This is my favorite among the three. I'll stay away from the technical stuff but I can tell that they are nice portraits. :)

Thanks, Kay. Slowly getting back into the swing and hope it sustains. This is a first shoot with hopefully more to come. :-)

Nice neighbor, Michael. I think I like this one the best of the three, but I am not sure which crop would be better. I do like the DOF you used on this shot.

 

Good to see you posting again!

 

--Lannie

I'm quite rusty from lack of practice, Lannie, but like bike riding, it comes back quickly. And good to know I can always fall back on the camera to retain my sanity. Thanks for dropping in. :-)

Doug, Kay and Lannie, if you see this, I have another variation uploaded after an attempt at monitor calibration. It was driving me crazy that I can't trust what I'm seeing, and this version is definitely not representative of what it should be.

 

New B/W version here, and color version here. I would greatly appreciate your comments.

monitor calibration: what a nightmare.

 

On my super contrasty Gateway FPD2185 W TFT LCD Monitor here at home, your black and white version looks unacceptable, and the color version looks a tad on the contrasty side, which all means it probably looks really good on your monitor. On my monitor at work, they will both look different, and better.

 

My monitor here at home, which is a fantastic piece of technology, except for the contrast, is calibrated to my printer, and produces excellent results. I think when I work on images at home, and then post them online, they're probably seen by many as too contrasty.

Nightmare is right. I'm still uncertain but slowly getting there. Maybe it's time to invest in a quality monitor that is known to be calibrated (or able to be). I miss my tube monitor; if only it wasn't so large and did'nt weigh 60 lbs. Thanks for the feedback, Doug. I may call on you again for this.