people you've probably never met Tina

Technical note: This was shot with a Tiffen FX3 softening filter, a

wonderful toy that keeps the eyes sharp but diffuses quite nicely.

 

I appreciate any comments or critiques. Thank you.

David, I hope you don't mind my personal opinion - you've taken such amazing B&W portraits with the same lens which is so beautifully crisp and clear... this softening filter just takes that away and creates sort of a cast or haze or whatever you want to call it that just doesn't work for me, especially on B&W. I think her other portrait in your folder (next to yours) is far better that way. But that's just my opinion and you can totally disregard it and delete it. Jamila

Thanks again for your critiques, they are always welcome. We are all here to offer our images for viewing and critiquing, and I would never expect you or anyone else to be less than forthright and honest about their opinions of my work. It is how we learn!

 

For this image I was intentionally going for a "glow" in the finished image ... my intent was not a sharp, sharp image with lots of contrast. This is why I deliberately shot with a diffusing filter. For me, I find this glow suits Tina quite nicely, as she has soft features that are quite feminine and beautiful.

 

Softness like this in an image is, of course, not everyone's preference; the human eye and human brain are *wired* to seeing sharpness. For some, it's not only unsettling, but displeasing. Personally, I also prefer sharpness, but occasionally a soft image such as this I find equally pleasing. To each his own.

 

But your point is well taken ... and you may wonder, why use such a sharp lens as my L lens when all I want is a diffuse glow? Well, for me, capturing as much detail is always my goal, even if I plan on diffusing it later.

 

Thanks again. -David

My favourite out of the series of three. The effect using the Tiffen FX3 is great. Well done.

- About diffuse glow , who knows ? Sometime is better sometime , possibly not. I remember , few time ago I use , for many times, this option and many people don't like it ... In my opinion , the artist decide why , when , use this option , according to his momentary feeling . This is art style. Thank you for your patience . Kind regards . Dan

Dan, I agree. It is really a matter of one's taste; there is no wrong or right. Sometimes I prefer the glow of diffusion, other times I don't. For this, I felt it worked well, but again, that's just my opinion. Thanks for writing. -David

"People You've Probably Never Met" - well I did meet Tina on photo.net and it's a tribute to your portrait that I immediately recognised her from having browsed your portfolio a while before. It's a great shot and I think the softening works well to give a kind of "Hollywood star" look to it.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan