portrait of me by scraggles

[angelkat007]

This is a portrait of me taken by scraggles, but I did the post processing work.. its my first time so I want some comments/criticism! Thanks.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c199/syntheticocean/Kathleen001copy.jpg

[steveroberts]

Hi

Nice start, there are a couple things i would like to comment on in this pic... firstly you are certainly photogenic, what lets this image down is the lighting it is quite flat.... also the eyes arent sharp, that is a major rule in people photography.. eyes sharp dont worry about anything else..

if it were me i would get this image into photoshop and play with curves a little, add some contrast to it.... perhaps a crop just below the pockets too would help the composition... these are just my opinion and of course may well not be to everyones taste..

hope that helps

[chell]

Yes, I agree with all of the above but you could also try turning your models body slightly so that she's not facing flat on to the camera, it tends to be a bit more flattering. Not that she's not pretty anyway.

[scraggles]

Thanks. I was using my 17-40mm f/4L but every picture i set up for came out blurry. When I took a spontaneous shot, it was perfectly in focus, but these turned out horrid. I liked a few, however they would be much better if they weren't as OOF.

As for the lighting, that's my fault. I just got my first flash (580EX) and I'm getting used to it. The backdrop is only a 10$ piece of fabric from the craft store.

[steveroberts]

10 dollars fabric is great for a background, in fact anything at all, doesnt matter how cheap or expensive it is.. this background looks ok to me, if i was being a purist i would ps out a couple of creases but its no biggy...

the 580 is a great flash... try perhaps bouncing it off a white card to the side of your subject maybe, another good thing to get is a sto fen omni bounce when using flashguns, or a light sphere...

keep at it look forward to seeing more soon

[scraggles]

Yeah, I didn't take the time to iron the fabric out, I think for straight out of the bag it looked great. I do want to get an omni bounce soon. Probably this coming payday.

[wardie]

As all have said before this is good shot but it has the potential to be better. I would have liked you to be further away from the back drop to minimise the shadows from your arms even more. The shadows are slight but because of how your arms are they gives that area a round look that detracts from the shape of your waist. I also think that the loose hairs on your right would be better PSed out.

All in all a good start. :)

Wardie

[wagonwheel]

As others have said, you need to move away from the backdrop. You should place the model at least six feet away from the backdrop; this will separate it from the model which will give the image depth. Now for my standard advice when photographing a lady: Do not face straight into the camera. Face at an angle to the camera, then turn at the hips so the upper body is pointing back at the camera (this will make the model look slimmer, you are already slim but looking straight into the camera will make you look larger than you are), stand up straight, hold your shoulders back. When the model does these things, if she looks “goofy” you have to direct her a little more. Here is an image to try and show what I mean.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL18/596446/920348/22656956.jpg

[Rubberhead]

You broke a few photography rules - shame on you.

Personally, I think it makes the photograph unique and a stand out. There's a certain air of confidence when facing straight into the camera - I like that. The rule about standing close to the backdrop is probably more about avoiding shadows, but there are no shadows that I can see.

The only improvement I can even think of is to brighten the colors a little bit.

[jngo]

ok, scraggles is a person. i thought it was some sort landmark i didn't know about and you were standing next to it!:)
i like the pose, it works with the look. just work on the lighting and focus and you're set.

[scraggles]

thanks for the comments everyone!!! He and I are new at this so they are more than welcome. Its hard with the size of the room we were working in (my little living room) to stand far away from the backdrop, he even kept saying i should be!!! One thing I personally need to work on is "posing"... I always look too posed, like I'm trying too hard. If he tells me to smile, it looks forced.. And I just don't know what to do with my body!! Maybe I'm just not meant to be a model hahaa. Anyways thanks a lot.. I agree with the colors and shadows, I don't know how to do the shadows well yet, I'm just following from a book and photoshop seems so complex! I also desperately need a tan so I look pasty.

[scraggles]

Oops I posted on his name not mine, I'm on his computer.. this is angelkat007

[angelkat007]

thanks for the comments everyone!!! He and I are new at this so they are more than welcome. Its hard with the size of the room we were working in (my little living room) to stand far away from the backdrop, he even kept saying i should be!!! One thing I personally need to work on is "posing"... I always look too posed, like I'm trying too hard. If he tells me to smile, it looks forced.. And I just don't know what to do with my body!! Maybe I'm just not meant to be a model hahaa. Anyways thanks a lot.. I agree with the colors and shadows, I don't know how to do the shadows well yet, I'm just following from a book and photoshop seems so complex! I also desperately need a tan so I look pasty.

[angelkat007]

I've had a few messages asking if its okay to edit this pic.. its more than okay, I encourage it!!!

[dwterry]

I asked angelkat007 if I could post this picture... I'll describe the post processing steps below.

http://www.dterryphotography.com/photos/61860395-L.jpg

Earlier a comment was made about the flat lighting in the picture. So my first goal was to give the picture a little more of a dynamic 3D look. These are the steps I took using Photoshop CS:

1. Duplicated the layer

2. Applied a Diffuse Glow filter - this is the KEY step. Diffuse Glow tends to highlight things that are already light - which helps accentuate curves via light and shadow enhancements. The thing I like most here is the way it gave her face a 3D effect.

3. Then I applied a Gaussian Blur to the layer so that it would be a little more like a "dreamy effect". (EDIT: forgot to mention - I set the Layer mode to OVERLAY on this layer)

4. While her torso was already bright, the Diffuse Layer blew it out completely. So I used a Layer Mask to remove some of the glow from her chest down.

5. I wanted to give her a little more of a background, without having to spend a lot of time on it. So I used the magic wand to select the background. Then I created a new Gradient adjustment layer and set the style to diamond. I also modified the color of the diamond by clicking on her blue eyes to pick up the color.

6. I found the wrinkles in her shirt distracting so I cloned them out (except for the one that gives her "chest" some definition).

7. Then I used a little dodge and burn ... basically burning the background a little (making the blue go a little darker) as well as burning her arms and stomach to make it look as if a shadow had been cast on them (again, looking for a 3D affect). I also applied some highlights to her hair and lightened her eyes and teeth just a *tiny* bit.

8. Finally, to give the picture a little more dynamic - I recropped it and rotated it at the same time. This put the diamond at an angle (which gives the background a little more dynamic) plus, I found that it left her head upright (before it was tilted downward) while moving her body into a diagonal position (again, greater dynamic).

(EDIT: oops, left out a step)
9. Finished by applying a Local Contrast USM - basically, running the Unsharp Mask at strength of about 10 with a width of about 50 pixels. And then I used USM one more time with something like strenth 60 and 0.8 pixels to sharpen up the picture. These last two USM runs took away some of the "dreamy look" I had originally wanted - but I decided I actually liked it better this way.

I'm not real happy with the skin color at the top of her chest, nor am I really happy with the quick masking job I did to get the background (you can see some bleed over onto her skin -- but just to rationalize a bit - if it were made by a real blue background you *would* in fact see some tinting so I guess it's not too bad). But all in all, it seemed to turn out pretty good with only about 5 minutes worth of work.

So... whatdya think?

[angelkat007]

I like your edit for the background and the colors/shadows.. looks great!! however I look like i'm tilting sideways! I know the pose is akward already, which is something I want to ask some portrait photographers about... the photographer is newish at portraits, and I sure as hell don't know how to model.. so I always look very akward!! any suggestions? I'm not crazy about the way i look at an angle, I feel it actually makes my hips look wider. I dunno! I'll look for another shot from the same day and post it if I can.

[jbkalla]

I like your edit for the background and the colors/shadows.. looks great!! however I look like i'm tilting sideways!

I dunno... I really like the tilted picture! It adds character to the shot.

PS... We should all be lucky enough to have such models! :-)

[dwterry]

Ah... I'm saddened that you didn't like the tilt. :-) I thought it made the image a little more dynamic. That's okay. Everyone has their own opinions and I'll defer to you for what you think makes "you" look the best.

To slim your hips down a bit, turn your body so that it is at an angle to the camera. Someone else mentioned that you were facing straight into the camera - same problem. Turning your body at a 30-45 degree angle will help you look a little thinner. Then turn your head back towards the camera. And sometimes the eyes will look really cool if you don't turn your head back all the way, but *do* look into the camera. That way we see more of the whites of your eyes.

[angelkat007]

Dwterry- I DO like the tilt, but looking realistically at the picture, I'd have to be standing on one leg for it to work. I appreciate the advise for posing!! Anyone else feel free to add advice, I could use as much as I can, I have a huge problem with making good faces too, I always look so forced unless the photographer makes me laugh!
I tried doign something similar to dwterry, But it didnt come out great, probably because I'm new with photoshop, I should buy a book to help me! I'm not sure why theres a black mark on my chest?!

[dwterry]

Dwterry- I DO like the tilt, but looking realistically at the picture, I'd have to be standing on one leg for it to work.

Could you try that for me please? And hold the pose for about 5 minutes while I set the camera up. :lol:

I'm not sure why theres a black mark on my chest?!

I probably glossed over a little of nitty gritty details in my explanation - but what I think is wrong here is that when you applied the Diffuse Glow filter, the background color was probably set to black. Try reversing it.

[angelkat007]

Could you try that for me please? And hold the pose for about 5 minutes while I set the camera up. :lol:



I probably glossed over a little of nitty gritty details in my explanation - but what I think is wrong here is that when you applied the Diffuse Glow filter, the background color was probably set to black. Try reversing it.

Haha, that would be hard in a skirt and heels! Thanks for the advise, I'll try reversing it, I think I did have it on black!

[jngo]

holy crap dwterry! that is just amazing. nicely done.

[JMHPhotography]

Angel... a good place to start would be the posing. If you're doing full body or 3/4 body shots like this, you want to turn to one side slightly and place one leg forward to the camera. Also, do a google on S curve posing. This is the most flattering pose for the female form. I can tell from this that you have a nice figure and this pose would accentuate and show how nice it is. The problem with photography is that it's only two dimensional... so the pose you're in now gives a flat and unflattering appearance. I did some Photoshop to your original image to try and correct a few things. You did have a color cast in your image and I faked some shadow to give you a bit more volume... Hope you like it. :) I did some other stuff too if you want to know how, let me know and I'll tell you.

Scraggles... I know you have a gorgeous girlfriend and you want to find the best way to show her off in photos... I don't blame you. As far as lighting goes, you can do some really great stuff with the one 580EX. Take a look at this posting... http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=150586 I used one light, in fact I used a light that is somewhat inferior to yours. The Sigma EF-500 DG Super. I used what's called a broad lighting technique which puts the light off to my right and exposes the side closest to me. This is one of a few techniques used to create the illusion of volume and depth. Broad lighting works great for subjects with thin faces, and short lighting works well for someone with a bit rounder face and does the opposite. If I wanted to use short lighting in my photo, I would have turned my daughter in the other direction and that would have created a sweeping shadow across the broad side of her face. I also used a reflector to help fill in the shadows or the shadow areas would have been so much darker. I had my light mounted on a lightstand shooting through an umbrella. I had it connected to the camera with a modified off camera shoe cord though. Just like a regular strobe... but the setup cost me less than $100.00 (not including the flash of course, and the off camera shoe cord... but the modification I did myself for $5.00 in parts).


http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/9100/kathleen001copy3wq.jpg

[scraggles]

Well, so far, I'm doing all this with no education outside of what i have taught myself, and learned from people on the forums here. I'm trying and learning as I go! I think I'm doing well, and I can't express how much I appreciate all the help you guys are giving me!!!

[angelkat007]

thanks for the modeling tips forkball!!

[ajbalazic]

I can't add much to what's already been said- just wanted to give you credit for being brave enough to get on the 'other' side of the lens. Nice portrait.

[goatee]

Pretty much everything has been said - I tried keeping the shot natural still, just used a high pass sharpening layer (2.5 pixels radius, 70% opacity), but didn't sharpen any of the skin. That was pretty much it, aside from cloning out a couple of small shadows.

[angelkat007]

goatee, i really like your edit, It looks good because I still look real, not photoshopped! thanks.

[goatee]

Thanks angelkat - I like the natural look - and try to make sure that the Photoshopping I do looks real. The trick is to do lots of very small adjustments, and to do as much with adjustment layers as possible - makes it a lot easier to try different things. Personally, I thought that the colours could possibly do with being a little more saturated - but that's a personal thing.

To give you some ideas, I also converted my edit to black and white (channel mixer adjustment layer - settings 35, 55, 15, -5), and adjusted the levels (just pulled in the right and left sides to give better contrast) - and that's it :)

[angelkat007]

OOoo I like the black and white!! Looks great. Makes my smile pop. This is a rare picture where my face doesnt look weird because I get all awkward when its time for the picture!! I'd like to post another one where I'm posing sideways like I'm supposed to and see what people can do with it if anyones interested.

[goatee]

Sure - remember - have your hips at about 45 degrees, facing the camera. Drop your rear hip (which drops your rear shoulder), and gently tilt your head towards your front shoulder - this is the classic feminine pose, and works a treat :).

[wardie]

My try with PS. Changed levels, curves, some shadow/highlight, USM. Cloned out some stray hairs and wrinkles in the background. Dodged and healed the shadows around the lower arms/hips.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f67/wardie_j/PhotoTemp/Image00001.jpg

Wardie

[angelkat007]

I like but you didn't get rid of my muscular arms like i did hahaa

[wardie]

I don't see musclular arms. I see a slim, trim lady not an "Arnie".:lol:

[angelkat007]

Heres one from the same day.. is this pose better? I tried doing a bit of editing but I got frustrated.. I'm going to buy a photoshop book this weekend. I also want to get a good camera so I can post pictures I TOOK too! haha. Probably wont be able to afford that for a while though... unless my boyfriend decides to upgrade his camera and give me his current one :-) hint hint sweety (kidding)

[goatee]

That pose is a lot more feminine. The goal for this kind of pose, is to show the subject off to their best potential without looking too. . . posed - well too forced, or unnatural. The only thing I'd say about the composition of this shot, is that either you shouldn't see your tummy at all, or you should see more - as it is now, there's just a distracting band of skin at the bottom of the shot. Otherwise, lighting is good, pose is good, and from the small picture, focus appears good as well.

[Lorek]

well I agree with the very first comment you got. When it comes to the different suggestions you got (photoshop work), some are good some are not to my taste but I think you have now all the info to improve your work. Best regards

[angelkat007]

That pose is a lot more feminine. The goal for this kind of pose, is to show the subject off to their best potential without looking too. . . posed - well too forced, or unnatural. The only thing I'd say about the composition of this shot, is that either you shouldn't see your tummy at all, or you should see more - as it is now, there's just a distracting band of skin at the bottom of the shot. Otherwise, lighting is good, pose is good, and from the small picture, focus appears good as well.

Thats my fault with the cropping work. I'll learn :-)

[dwterry]

Here's an edit of your latest picture... a little different in the processing this time. (and sorry, I forgot to write down the steps as I went along)

http://www.dterryphotography.com/photos/62032262-L-1.jpg

[scraggles]

Heres one from the same day.. is this pose better? I tried doing a bit of editing but I got frustrated.. I'm going to buy a photoshop book this weekend. I also want to get a good camera so I can post pictures I TOOK too! haha. Probably wont be able to afford that for a while though... unless my boyfriend decides to upgrade his camera and give me his current one :-) hint hint sweety (kidding)

Well, depends... my birthday is rolling around soon ;-)

As for photoshop books... You know I have some!!!

[angelkat007]

Well, depends... my birthday is rolling around soon ;-)

As for photoshop books... You know I have some!!!

I want my own! ANd ones that tell me how to pose so I can become a famous supermodel! hahaha jk

[killer4605]

I was bored so here you go:
http://mattbadr.com/images/kathleenedited.jpg

[killer4605]

by the way, you need to increase the exposure when shooting on that white backdrop or you'll get the washed out images every time

[angelkat007]

your edit makes me look farther away from the backdrop. Good job!

[killer4605]

your edit makes me look farther away from the backdrop. Good job!

Thanks, I try ;).

Got any others for me to mess around with?

[kharr]

Here's my go at it. Thanks for letting me try.

http://johng.smugmug.com/photos/62154075-L.jpg

[Homer]

Angelkat, you're very photogenic..
here's my two cents

[scraggles]

Guys... Isn't she beautiful?

[angelkat007]

Thanks, I try ;).

Got any others for me to mess around with?

theres another one of me in this thread you can mess around with, just look a few posts up! haha

[goatee]

The other one really doesn't need messing with - possibly a tiny bit of contrast enhancement, and crop tighter at the bottom, but it's a fine shot, and looks good.

[killer4605]

theres another one of me in this thread you can mess around with, just look a few posts up! haha

The other one is too small for editing. If you post some bigger ones i'll see what I can do.

[angelkat007]

i tried it said the file is too large

[kharr]

Guys... Isn't she beautiful?

very - and she'll pose for you -- bonus!

[killer4605]

i tried it said the file is too large

If you want, you can email me the picture and I can host it for you.

[angelkat007]

If you want, you can email me the picture and I can host it for you.

ok just message me your email

[see<(o)>Alvin]

angelkat007, I think you did an EXCELLENT job with the skin tones in the original photo. I really don't care for the orange-glow that appears to be so popular with many on this site. Great job!

Alvin

[angelkat007]

haha yeah I think everyone wants to give me a fake tan!

[PEACHMAN]

Well, I think that no matter who posts what edition of PP of your photo, you are still a very lovely lady!

[Desert Dweller]

WOW I GOTTA learn some PS Skillz!!!

[xoxJoaniexox8687]

I think its beautiful! ;)

[killer4605]

i might be just a tad bit biased but i like my edit the best :-P. too bad my lcd isn't calibrated

[bigbird4681]

well i must say you have always been very photogenic. between your eyes and smile one cannot just look away. well hope you are well and that we see more of your photos blessing our screens. take care.