Quick Candid Photo with my new flash

This was just a quick candid photo with my new Speedlite 430EX. Course I didn't realize just how dirty my windows are until this photo Taking photos and trying to convince my wife that I need to move up to an even better Canon and use my current G6 as a backup

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I see two things you could have done a little better. #1 ... a low angle like this is looking up his nostrils.... not too attractive #2 I can see a bit of his far eye. Properly done profiles show nothing of the far eye.

I like the natural hairlight and modeling on the face ... nice job on lighting.

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Cool. Thanks for the tip! Good point about being up the nose. Your touchup job looks awesome!

D. Craig Flory
assume you blurred the background in phototshop? Can you share how you did it.
thanks

azpix wrote in post #2165547
D. Craig Flory
assume you blurred the background in phototshop? Can you share how you did it.
thanks

when I do it I just make a duplicate layer, blur it, then erase the unwanted blurred areas. just make sure you're erasing the correct layer. I decrease the opacity on the blurred layer and then just trace the subject with the eraser.soem use a soft brush, but I like to use a harder one. personal preference.

The revised shot looks tons better without the crud on the window.

First of all ... never erase, with the eraser tool, unless absolutely necessary. I first fixed the dirty areas using the Healing Brush in Photoshop.

I then added a dupe layer and ran the Motion Blur filter. I added a layer mask in hide all. I painted in the blur where I wanted it. I merged the layers and added another dupe layer. I now added gaussian blur and again a layer mask in hide all and painted in the additional blur I wanted.

Finally, I made it into a step-mount. The accent line around the subject layer is a color I selected from the image.

D. Craig Flory PPA Certified, Cr.Photog., ASP
loryphotog@mindspring.​com