david_r_lewis

Francois,

Well done.  The presentation, tonal values, balance of light, & body positioning are all handled very nicely.  This is a wonderful image.  I only wish I had thought of it and executed it first.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Nice hi-key, good exposure.  Just a couple of things to keep in mind for the next one.  I try to never crop at a joint ( elbow, knee, wrist, etc ).  On this one, if the left arm were bent at the same angle as the right arm creating a small " hole ",  the waist line will appear slimmer than what we now see.  Next time try these and see if you notice an improvement.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis 

John,

I really like this series.  Each image stands on it's own and the three go well together.   I like the small black line separating each image better than the one where the images melted together.  I have worked in a very similar setting, and you have held the verticals nicely.  As far as the light being difficult, if you don't mind telling, which direction is the window facing ?  I think you have controlled the light very well, detail in the shadows and the extreme in the highlights are on the window frame, the spot on the background and a bit on the forearm, all acceptable to me.  The ragged edge on the background adds a nice touch to the curves of the body.  Terrific image, deserving of a 7/7.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Kendra and Kaya,

Thank you both for your comments.

To Kendra: The dogs are sisters. They are both very old. The owner didn't specifically mention cataracts. The fact is, their eyes are green ! Regarding the catch lights, ( no, I did not remove the second catch light - in too big of a hurry to get this posted ) I light animals in the studio using parabolic light modifiers, getting the main light in as close as possible. I position the main light a lot lower than the traditional 10:00 / 2:00 spot so I make sure I can see the color in the eyes. The traditional 10:00 / 2:00 position for catchlights was strongly suggested before color film was invented.

To Kaya: Regarding adding saturation: On my calibrated monitor, the tongue is the correct color of that dog's tongue. Since I have been photographing professionally for over 40 years now, a lot of what I do remains unchanged even with the integration of Photoshop. To me, Photoshop is merely one of the tools I can use if it is needed, and believe me, I don't need it that often, since my exposure is nailed down so that it is repeatable time and time again. I had to do this when I was doing all my own printing. Many photographers used to say, " I never worry about exposure, let the lab take care of it." When you are the lab, it sure helps the bottom line to waste as little paper and chemistry as possible.

Once again, thank you both for your comments. I always listen to what others have to say, because I do not know it all and I am learning every day.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Derek,

Congratulations. Obviously a number of very talented people have created a terrific image. Well thought out, well executed, I am impressed.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Hi Kevin,

Welcome to PN. Before I thought about critiquing this image I did take a look at your portfolio and of the three images shown, this one is the best of the three. Now for the bad news. First of all, very few photographers started out with exceptional images and I am no different. This image needs help. Any image, no matter how great the concept or how stunning the model, needs proper exposure. The only area of proper exposure seems to be the bed covering in the foreground. This image is what I call "muddy," there are no defined blacks. A good composition needs a point of interest. I fail to find one here. You cannot get to the face because of a lot of distracting elements. I think your subject is too crowded within the image. The thigh region appears to be larger than what it probably is due to what is called " foreshortening, " caused by a lens with a short focal length. From my portrait background I always use as long of a lens as is possible. There is something out of focus in the lower right corner that is very distracting. Do not get get discouraged. Keep on working. You will get better. Always ask for comments. You may not always agree with us, but I think most of us here want others to succeed.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

David,

This is a very nice image. I rated it a 6/6. Very nice leading lines and repeating lines. For an image that could have been more contrasty, you have held the tones wonderfully. All in all, great job.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Gerhard,

Wonderful image. Very captivating. I love the expression.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Eldor,

Terrific image, with some thought behind it and well executed. Maybe a little hot on the shoulder area, but I am not complaining. Absolutely love the dead center placement. Remember, " almost"

getting caught never counts.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

John,

Thank you. I regard any positive comment from you as an honour. The window was built straight and level, but after fourty years of trying to make sure every line is straight and level, there are times when that might not be so important. I still try to place major emphasis on the basics of good portraiture: proper exposure, natural body position, composition, and most important of all, expression. It works every time.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Rob,

Thank you for visiting my portfolio and for taking your time to comment on this one. Cropping and angle - maybe, maybe not. After perusing the random image generator for a while, I kept seeing very nice examples of negative space and thought, why not ? There is really a lot more image on the original than what I chose to use. I really do appreciate your viewpoint and plan on doing more with negative space. I am trying to break my 40 year-old style of only composing in the viewfinder.

I have taken a look at your portfolio and admire many of your fabulous images.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Linda,

The concept, composition, tonality, mood, body position on the model are all in the right place. This is a fabulous image. I tend to agree with those on the cropping.The next time you create something like this one, consider a less traditional final composition, possibly a very long and thin composition. Too many of us, myself included, get into this traditional composition of exactly what we see in the viewfinder and what commercial printing places want us to do.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

Absolutely stunning !

Warmest regards.

David R. Lewis

Please enjoy and comment.

Thanks,

David R. Lewis

Thank you Mark,

I hold your images in high regard, and comments from someone of your caliber are appreciated. The arm is actually not strained, it was just something the model did on her own. I have several variations of this one and may post one of them.

Warmest regards,

David R. Lewis

This image was from the first session with this model. I had previously photographed

her with her two year-old daughter. We plan on getting together soon for another

session.

Good day to all,

This image was created for the client, but as I was setting it up, I knew this would be a

great choice for one of my Bromoils.

Thank you for any comments.

David R. Lewis