Girl with a Strand of Hair # 0753199

Color was a big issue, but I think I got that fixed. Also, for some

reason, the image needed a lot of twisting and distorting to get the axis

of her face perpendicular to the frame. Any thoughts on the result?

The skin looks over-processed to me- unnatural. Good lighting and pretty model.

Sometime camera tilts work. But not for this type of close-up portrait. Good work, here. A very natural performed image. The lighting and posing bring it to life. The strand of hair works. I also like that the model didn't offer and open-mouth smile.Congrats............

Richard, thank you. I tend to agree with you. I think I went a little too far with the retouching. Not too, too far, but just far enough that it looks a little too good.

 

Thanks Pearce.

Hmmmm... Must be the worst in this series imho. After seeing in the other pictures how beautiful and clever-looking she can be, I'll go as far as to say that this one is almost an offense to her - very unflattering. Her chin (lawest jaw) jumps out to the front with this pose. This pose also seems to give the impression she has big cheeks - which I've seen on other photos was not the case. Then, eyes are staing, but not in a very interesting way. Finally, I generally like hair coming on the eyes, but not a thick bunch right in front of the iris like this. A cm to the side and it was ok. Here, it affects my understanding of her personality.

 

(Lastly, but that's a small matter and easy to correct, you might have burned the forearms a little, didn't you ? Or at least there's an aera there that's much bluer (less red) than the skin is elsewhere.)

 

So all this is not very positive, but I'm just being sincere here, and I'm sure you know that. Cheers.

Although your comments make this sound like the worst picture in the world, I thank you anyway, and welcome your comments because I know where your heart is. Likewise, I am too invested in these images to be quite so objective, so I especially appreciate your point of view, and your willingness to share it.

 

Regarding the forearms, I didn't like them so much in the shot because they were so bright, so yes, I burned them a little. Actually, it's a gradient burn, and since you're saying their color is a problem, maybe that can be easily fixed.

 

Regarding her cheek and chin, I don't really see them as prominent as you do, but then again, as I said, you are more objective here. I am more drawn by her clear steady gaze, so whatever is going on with her cheeks and chin don't distract me. On the other hand, if you compare this to the blue cleverness shot, I can see how they look almost like two different people. I will confess that the blue cleverness shot is her favorite. I dont' think she likes this one all that much.

 

Regarding the strand of hair, you make a good point about its size and placement, so I will watch out for that in the future.

"since you're saying their color is a problem, maybe that can be easily fixed."

 

Most certainly, yes. And here again, the answer to the question "how...?" is "selective color". Just sharing an opinion: at this point of my "photoshoppy evolution" - sounds like Darwin talking about dinosaurs, doesn't it ? :-) -, I no longer use the burn tool at all except on areas that are already quite dark. For highlights, I've found that the following works great: go to "selective color", select white at the top, then add 5 to 15 points of magenta and 5 to 15 points of yellow + 3 to 7 points of black in the whites of a skin. If needed, add also 3 points or so of cyan to balance a possible exagerate warmth. What you'll achieve this way is to include some colors in an area which has almost none, and by adding black you'll slightly intensify these colors. Whereas using the burn tool equates adding black alone in the whites, which looks quite dirty. Regards.

cool. I'll try that and get back to you.