kuma1212 wrote in post #15647076
The split tone edit is awesome! As a critique, composition is good. Exposure is good (although some may argue about this aspect). Hard contrasty light works well for athletes esp in this type of shot. You could try to bring out a little more light in the dark areas on the body (R arm biceps/triceps and L flank/abs), but I think it's fine as is.
I like the small amount of light your 2 R and L lights give to the background next to his head, but
the 4th light (lower) on the background gets a little lost and may be unnecessary. I would have liked to see a little more light on the front part of the R fist--perhaps the background light could have been placed here to achieve that. That is being really nit picky though and over all I love this shot.
Thanks for posting this!
Thanks for the thorough critique.
1 and 2 lights i think it spilled both ways--flared into the lens and onto the bg. The spill was unintentional when i first set it up, but after chimping the on the back of my camera, decided i liked it and kept it in rather than snooting or gobo. It felt like stage lights to me. Which also guided my post production. In my processing i decided to up the shadows to give the room a darker feel (which eliminated the 4th light). I also liked that it also made it appear or simulate it was taken in the ring and the lights like stage lights.
4th light. If you look at the straight out of camera the background is lit and does show up and separates him from the background. And you're right, maybe not enough, or unnecessary but I had the extra speedlite, so I just put it there. I wanted to separate him in the event I made the picture into a composition, but I felt it stood well on its own and didnt go that route. I do see the dark hand, something to consider next time. I appreciate the detail of your comment.
#2 is my favorite
I like the composition of the last one but the background looks faked, it must be cuz of the wrinkles and how you blurred it? And the hard shadow on his chest is distracting.
Thanks. You're right, I might have to tone down that Gaussian blur or just get rid of it. Funny, I used to be really big in PS to make up for my bad pictures, but in the last few of years as my pictures improved and the need for PS decreased, I have been real sloppy with it.
As far as composition, I do like the image, but it is definitely a contrast to the first image. He appears more vulnerable in this pose and not as powerful, light and all. As another commenter said, it does look like a portrait. In this case, because it is a portrait, I should have also tried using some modifiers on the key light. The shadow almost creates wings on his back, which I may just play up and turn into black shadow bat wings...
Still trying to master lighting but I enjoy the complexities and possibilities. Thanks again for all of the comments.
