IMG_0342_pp

Hi Pete,

This is a nice image of a pretty young lady. I like the fact that your camera/lens settings are well selected, too.

For myself, I like a bit less competition on the background color with her facial tones, although , this might be the actual color of the wall behind her.

I made another presentation , setting the background to a whiter level.

Best Regards, Mike

Mike, Thanks... The wall color is the original wall color. That was my struggle trying to balance the tones. I never even considering altering the background but now wish I had...nice work and thanks! Pete.

Mike Palermiti and I are of a similar idea!  I think the red frame works if the red color-cast is tamed, the background has a neutral color, and some of the yellow-red is removed from her face color.  I am uploading my suggestion for your image.

Show off's! I love both of your ideas and the final image looks exactly like her skin tone. Appreciate your comments tremendously! Thanks, Pete.

I'll just comment on the original. I like the consistency of tone from the wall to her face and think that offers a unique opportunity for portraiture, which might typically go for contrast. It sets her up as being, to some extent, at one or at least at home in her surroundings and makes for all kinds of visual connectedness. In this case, it looks a little too much like filtration and I think a more subtle way of accomplishing the consistent redishness, especially given that her clothes are red as well, would be a nice way to go, which seems to be what you were originally after. There could be a way to get it to look like the wall was actually influencing the color of her skin, and you might be subtle about it or more blatant about it.

HERE'S an example where Nan Goldin does it somewhat blatantly but very effectively, although a totally different kind of photo. Note how readily the color is accepted, not appearing as a filter but rather as an organic matter coming about through lighting and environmental influence. Of course, she is using much heavier-duty contrast mechanisms, such as are in her narrative and the harsh and effective lighting, etc. Yours might likely be a quieter, more peaceful, pleasing consistency of color, assuming you continued in the way you started, but could feel just as organic and could be quite effective.

The possibilities are endless, from having her look like what you remember her looking like at the time to creating your own look for the photo that expresses something significant though perhaps other than what you specifically remember having seen at the moment of snapping the shutter. Either way, your natural instincts with the presentation of this photo have a lot of merit.

Another, quieter though still somewhat edgy, EXAMPLE. Note how the green from the bath water seems to bleed into her skin tones. If the red of your wall and the woman's skin seemed in a similar relationship, that could make for a very nice color portrait.

Fred, Thanks so much for your insight and examples. I appreciate your time and opinions! Regards, Pete.