Is this portrait too hard / harsh?

[poke]

Hey, I was taking this about 2hrs before sunset. The natural light was very bright, but just starting to soften. I am not unhappy with the photo, but it seems a little hard / harsh. Can anyone suggest how to get a better effect in this sort of situation when you don't have access to shades / reflectors etc...

Any other comments would be appreciated. I will be doing quite a lot of these in the next few weeks with different people, so the more feedback the better. :cool:

[2112]

Yes, it is a bit too harsh. If you dont have a diffuser or reflector, you have no choice but wait until the sun gets lower or try the shot form another angle. You can get a 22 inch 5 in 1 diffuser/reflector for about $40. If you shoot outdoors alot as I do, you NEED to pick one or two up.

[KevC]

Yes, it seems very harsh. To be brutally honest, there are two things about this picture that disturbs me. I hate being picky, but this is what I saw.... her left breast catches so much attention that it doesn't seem like they're balanced. Also, it doesn't seem like she remembered to shave under her arms today. Eeek.

The latter can be fixed in photoshop I bet. I apologize again, I feel bad for saying those things about the model.

[poke]

hmmm... thanks for the comments. I think the she had shaved... just the shadow making it look that way (probably excentuated by my PS effort). I think I will have to be more involved with the clothing selection next time.

Can't have any wardrobe malfunctions occuring now.. can we :p

[aam1234]

Doesn't seem too harsh for me, I think it's a nice photo.

[TexKen]

still a newbie here.... when you guys say "too harsh," are you referring to the stark contrast of teh shadows? And that the proper use of the diffuser would be to the model's right or slightly behind her to alleviate that?

Thanks.

[Ballen Photo]

Hey, I was taking this about 2hrs before sunset. The natural light was very bright, but just starting to soften. I am not unhappy with the photo, but it seems a little hard / harsh. Can anyone suggest how to get a better effect in this sort of situation when you don't have access to shades / reflectors etc...


Poke, Is that a tree in the background? I think you would have had better results simply by placing Her in the open shade under the tree. Would have helped to soften the light, as well as helped to eliminate the bright light on Her Breast so it wouldn't have stood out so much in a singular fashion, and the underarm "six o'clock shadow" probably woud have gone unnoticed as well. ;) Looks like a good effort. :D
-Bruce