Wayang

Beautiful image, the diagonal line are very energetis even while the subject is still. Nice toning and lighting. Very solid work.

You are becoming subtle in your work. The photoshopping done to this image, as seen in the other posting, is very subtle, and quite effective. Great studio work

I like the composition, tones, and mystery and I prefer this less manipulated version.

This is a tough call to pick between the two versions of this shot. I love them both. Great work Marc.

I much prefer this version, Marc, but the reflective fabric draws my eye away from the beautifully posed model. Perhaps blurring just the reflective fabric would enhance the overall image.

Yet another striking piece of work, Marc. The smooth lines of the model work very harmoniously with the soft tonal transitions on the headwear and the legs. Shadow play indeed. The lighting gives this a feel you get when looking at some of those extraordinary fashion photos of the 1940s and 1950s from Vogue. Wonderful work.

Marc, I like this very dynamic composition and unusual viewpoint. The diagonal elements work very well here and the sepia toning adds a timeless quality to the photo. I prefer this version from the blurred one.

This one is so far my favorite in your portfolio. Fantastic work (and lovely subject).

I've come into this thread late, and others have already written what I'd say, which is that the diagonal composition, lighting, orientation, model, clothes and props all work well to create a very effective image. I prefer this to the more blurred version. Great work!

Nicely balanced composition and strong diagonal. Not sure about the model's left arm, somewhat blurred as result of PS?

Yes, it's all very well-done, and yet...it leaves me cold. I admire the composition, the creamy sepia tones and the glimpse of her mouth from under the hat, but it all appears too staged and artificial. If this was genuinely taken in some Singapore nightclub, fair enough, but studio-manufactured facsimiles of reality never carry the emotional weight of images from the 'real world'. Any studio image that aims to create the illusion of being shot on location has to be exceptionally well-executed to avoid looking fake. This photo does a pretty good job at creating that illusion, and yet the overwhelming likelihood of a studio set-up lessens its emotional impact in my mind.

 

I'm sure others have said all this before, and for many people the beauty of the end product justifies the means, but to me studio-manufactured images are little different from digitally-created illusions - pretty to look at, but emotionally vapid. (Images that make no pretence at being natural can make exceptions to this rule.) Still, this is a beautiful image, and anyone who can hand-hold an RB67 deserves some credit! A good effort, Marc, but I just think you should get out more...

Just a few comments about what Trevor wrote...

"Studio-manufactured facsimiles of reality never carry the emotional weight of images from the 'real world'.

I see what you mean, and more or less, I agree - though I can think of some exceptions.

"Any studio image that aims to create the illusion of being shot on location has to be exceptionally well-executed to avoid looking fake."

I agree. BUT... Studio shots are not NECESSARILY meant to "avoid looking fake". Especially not this one. This is OBVIOUSLY staged, and I had absolutely no intention of this to look as if it would be shot in a real world. All the contrary. If I wanted this to look real, would I have chosen a silver cloth for her to sit on ? Wouldn't I have created some shadows in the highlighted spot ? Would I have used a paper background - it isn't all that difficult after all to go near by and take some earth back to the studio to fake an earth ground...? Fashion is not always about looking real. Fashion is often about the ideal(ized) woman, not about the real woman.

"This photo does a pretty good job at creating that illusion and yet the overwhelming likelihood of a studio set-up lessens its emotional impact in my mind."

I may agree here. With a realistic set-up, earth, wooden boxes, etc, this may inded have been stronger EMOTIONALLY. But on another hand, it would also be "less of an abstract" - not too sure how to say that in English. Basically, more real, more touching, means less idealized, less purified of all other elements...

I find very interesting that there is, for you, such a clear added value to a studio shot if it is dealt with realistically. You may be right, I'm not sure, but clearly the world of fashion is divided in the 2 opposed approaches. Chanel for example is all about idealizing women. Escada is about real women. Etc.

"To me studio-manufactured images are little different from digitally-created illusions - pretty to look at, but emotionally vapid."

I respect this opinion. I would just say that, to me, many images are not meant to touch the heart by priority, but just to be beautiful, and sometimes - not always - to send a message.

"(Images that make no pretence at being natural can make exceptions to this rule.)"

Well, that's certainly one of these images that makes no such pretence. I'm surprised you assumed otherwise, and wonder where this assumption came from.

Thanks for the post, as it will have me thinking about what you said, believe it. Best regards.

You are right about the hand. PS, yes. I just wanted to soften it, but maybe it was a bit too much. Thanks for this observation.

interesting..

Me again. In response to Marc's post, I'd like to just say that even if no pretence at reality was in your mind when you took this shot, to my eyes it does look as though the intention was to re-create the view of a performer on stage at a theatre / nightclub. And your skillful execution of this shot does create the illusion of a stage performer illuminated by a spotlight. So if you intended it to look fake, I'm afraid you failed!

And for me, that's the only problem with this image: it accurately mirrors reality but like all reflections its true nature is as insubstantial as mist.

 

By contrast, many of the excellent studio portraits by Emil Schildt, for instance, are very clearly shot in a studio with no attempt to create the illusion of a 'natural' location, and they work extremely well on that basis. And while it's true that not all images are intended to convey a message, I do believe they are all intended to reach the heart - even an abstract image that has to be filtered through the mind before its beauty shines through. And while studio facsimiles of reality can possess charm and beauty (as this one does), such beauty invariably has a slightly tarnished, second-hand quality - divorced from the mint of authenticity.

 

Oh dear, I appear to have been infected with your penchant for navel-gazing, Marc! Enough said. Congratulations for posting a great image that's made me put my thinking cap on. Regards.

"To my eyes it does look as though the intention was to re-create the view of a performer on stage at a theatre / nightclub." you said...

The title, "Wayang", actually refers directly to theaters. So you are perfectly right, Trevor, in a way... But the theatrical light isn't exactly what I would call an attempt to make anything look natural. A show is a show, basically...

But anyway, I get your point, and thanks for droping by to clarify - with your hat on ! :-)

Dear Marc a great photo again. I find amazing the elegance of this composition, the lighting, the pose of the model and the creamy tones of the print; my only critic is on the right hand where the thumb is not visible and therefore makes that detail a bit unnatural.

Classy and classic looking creation Marc.

I was looking at this image for the longest time, and I couldn't figure out what I was looking for. I finally got it.

 

I know that I couldn't achieve something like this if I tried for the next year, but there is one thing that bothers me slightly: the shoes. They're very "night-on-the-town", Bukit Bintang (since you live in Malaysia, I'll add a KL reference here), and it just doesn't seem right. If I recall correctly, these seem to be the same shoes worn by the "Barbie doll".

 

This might just be my biased view. I myself am Malay, and although I do appreciate that this was not meant to be a documentary portrayal of the rural Malaysian girl, but I do feel that maybe a pair of wooden clogs might have been more suited to finish it off. Even better, a pair of embroidered slippers like the Chinese and the Nyonya in old Malacca used to wear; ooh, that would be perfect! But then again, it doesn't look like you were going for the authentic rustic charm thing :) Forget everything I just said, the picture is great.

 

In any case, this is a fantastic photograph. Full of mystique, and full of texture. I also really enjoyed the picture of the handicraft and gong, it makes me appreciate how rich the Malay culture is.

Good point somehow, this story about the shoes. I see exactly what you mean. This gown, though, is an evening gown, and not purely a traditional costume, and the butik I shot this for proposed shoes like this - which they are selling... So, good bye traditional Malaysia...:-)) Are you from KL by the way...?

Born and raised! Well, almost: I lived in Petaling Jaya, right up till it was time to go to college. I packed up and flew across the planet to Nashville. And I just know too well what "Bukit Bintang" shoes look like, as I have many, many pairs myself... ;)

 

Well looking at it now, I can tell it is an evening gown; sort of a modern, urbanized cheongsam? Not quite something you'd want to wear to your family's annual Chinese New Year gathering. I suppose the Bukit Bintang shoes are appropriate after all...

 

Are you based in KL? Perhaps I could look you up the next time I'm in town.

This here is very appealing image,has a great mood to it.the toning,the mistery and the light are wonderful.

I love this photo--her poise, with her hip pushed outward in a very feminine expression, somewhat sassy, and how her skirt reveals her silky legs...wow! If there's anything to be improved, I would try different angles of her face, maybe showing more in the way of lips (it seems like only her lower lip is visible, which can add a pouty appeal, although something seems to be lost in the way of symmetry. Perhaps reveal her nose slightly.

great job

Just perfect!

Congratulations on POW! I think it is a beautifully executed photograph, and I like the overall shape - as if she were 'written in italics'. It would look very elegant on the wall of an art deco restaurant, although I must admit it dosen't really move me.