A Few Bridals...CC Please!

[AMeyer]

Other than the blown spots in the first two....please let me know what I can improve on. Shot with an XT with either a 17-50 2.8 or 50 1.8 - noted.

#1 17-50 2.8
http://ameyerphoto.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/brooke1.jpg

#2 50 1.8

http://ameyerphoto.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/brooke7.jpg

#3 17-50 2.8

http://ameyerphoto.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/brooke4.jpg

#4 50 1.8

http://ameyerphoto.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/brooke2.jpg

#5 17-50 2.8

http://ameyerphoto.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/brooke3.jpg

#6 50 1.8

http://ameyerphoto.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/brooke6.jpg

[sblais]

I don't like the backgrounds in #1 and #2. My attention is actually drawn to the back of the room. And I'm not fond the the model's expression in #1. But it's a good use of available light!

#3 is nice, but I'm usually not fond of tilts. This one doesn't bother me as much tough. I would just brighten up your model's face in PP.

#4. Good shot. I would've tried to eliminate the curtains from the shot to keep it less clustered as possible.

#5. Either do a full silhouette (the bride being completely dark or almost) or not. I would've used fill flash to make the bride come out more in this shot.

#6. The vertical lines of the columns being non-vertical bothers me.

Beautiful model and you did a good job!

[Nan08]

i like the composition on #3. should have had fill flash on 3,5 and 6 though. good job, model has a great smile.

[Kai]

I like 2, 4 and 6.
1- too much in the picture. That looks like a really nice chair I would of loved to see that turned more.
2-nice conversion
3- I wonder if moving her more toward the door and getting less of the outdoors would of been better. The outside is just really bright. I do like her pose and smile.
4-I like this one.
5- too much stuff. Dont be scared to kick rugs out of the way.
6- I like it. could be cropped in more.

Beautiful bride. She will like these.

[AMeyer]

#3 is nice, but I'm usually not fond of tilts. This one doesn't bother me as much tough. I would just brighten up your model's face in PP.



sblais - can you suggest how to do this? I adjusted exposure in CS2 on each image - when her face was how I wanted it, her gown was horribly blown. Layers, maybe?

thanks for your input!

[bcap]

In general - I think that they would look a lot better with much tighter crops. They also seem a little flat to me, I'd probably add some PP to them.

[sblais]

sblais - can you suggest how to do this? I adjusted exposure in CS2 on each image - when her face was how I wanted it, her gown was horribly blown. Layers, maybe?

thanks for your input!

I had a quick try at it:

208962

I boosted the contrast a bit, sharpened the image a bit, did a USM to boost the saturation of colors, recovered the shadows a bit, set the black and white points with "levels" and played a bit with curves. I didn't do any masking (of her face, etc) as I hate doing that! Clear as mud? ;)

[jamiewexler]

This bride is a little heavier (but beautiful) so extra care is needed to make sure she looks her best.

Having said that, #1 and #2 are not flattering poses for her - they actually add weight rather than take it away. In both of those poses her shoulders are too square to the camera, adding weight. Additionally, in #1 your lower angle from the side adds weight to her face. #2 her smile is beautiful and shooting her face straight on slimmed it down a bit, but her shoulders are still square to the shoulder, and the way that her left arm is positioned across her body gives the illusion that her body is much heavier. Her bust is large, but her lower body isn't that heavy, but by draping her arm across her body, just below the bust, you hid her lower body, leading to the illusion that the rest of her body is larger.

I say all that because we have #3 to compare it to. In #3 you posed her perfectly. I'm not a fan of the tilt either, but her pose is perfect. By shooting her from the side, you make her look more slender but also curvey and feminine. You also captured her best feature - that gorgeous smile! You used her arms and bouquet to draw attention away from her midsection and her right leg angled forward gives a nice, sexy curve.

#4 is nice, but could be improved by having her turn a little more profile to you (less square), and tilt her chin up a little bit.

And #5 and #6 are the same pose, and again, she's a little too square to the camera.

With a curvy model like that I would have posed her on the ground or on furniture on her side to really emphasize the curves of her hips, would have shot her from a high angle and got her to look up into the camera more, to stretch out her neck and draw the skin tight on her face, and would have shot some nice close ups of her face.

[stathunter]

sblais----great job!

[sblais]

Thanks!

[AMeyer]

sblais - sorry to ask so many questions, but I have 2 quick ones. first, what were your values on the USM for saturation boost? and second, can you give me an idea of what your curve looked like when you adjusted? I'm struggling to learn curves and just can't seem to get it right. thanks in advance!

[sblais]

To boost the saturation using USM, you want to use a large radius and low amount percentage. Typically, I use 15% with 100 pixels radius to achieve this on large files.

For curves, I added a single point above the 45 degree line, around midsection. Something like this:

(* I don't remember the exact value of the point, but I usually play it by ear *)

209190

[AMeyer]

thank you so much....this helps me out a lot!

[AMeyer]

Jamie - thanks for the advice. Looking back at them, I see exactly what you mean. :)

[jamiewexler]

Amanda - I hope I didn't come across as harsh...

[AMeyer]

Amanda - I hope I didn't come across as harsh...

Not at all! :lol: That's why I ask for CC on here.... sometimes it takes a different set of eyes before you see what could be changed or done better. And you have an eye for posing that helps enhance/minimize. I appreciate it!

[p3photogal]

use your histogram to check your exposure it will save you a lot of the time.

[cccp145]

overall they are good