Time again to give back NEW 7D

Ok I am sure you have all seen me popping in and out throwing my two cents around and it's been a couple of weeks or so since I have manned up and put something of mine up here for C&C.
This was my first shoot with my 7D. I go do my second one tomorrow

Please be gental I am just a hobiest, wanting to learn more like everyone else.
I already see things I missed before but I guess a person can drive them selves mad striving for perfection.


A little blue.

I think she looks really sexy in the 3rd one!

Im not too keen on the processing in 1 and 2. LOVE #3. And love the subtle selective colouring of the eyes in #4 which is probably my fave out of all of them.

Im hoping to get the 7d next year. Do you like it ?

I really like #2! That negative space really works.

#1: great detail in the fabric of the hat. Usually the eyes are where you want the focus.
#2: has a dreamy look from blurring(?). Generally, you want to blur everything but the eyes.
#3: Irises are too bright. They look like neon lights, conferring on her a satanic look, which is why I guess one commenter said it was sexy. The brightness of the irises does not match the overall illumination of the setting in my opinion.
#4: No comment. Selective color.

supernova74 wrote in post #10748565
Im hoping to get the 7d next year. Do you like it ?

Love it, the options for the AF system are WONDERFUL it really brought my lenses to life.

Ricardo222 wrote in post #10748570
I really like #2! That negative space really works.

Thank you, that one is everyone's least favorite but I like it as well. Glad I am not the only one that sees something in that one.

The client is so in love with number one she ordered many prints, her whole family loves that one, it's not even a crop I normally do but she fell in love with it what can ya do .

I like all of them overall, so take this however you'd like -

1 - Eyes seem a little too much. Her chest, forearm and hand are brighter than her face and compete for attention - looking at the values I see a lot of blown whites on the hand and forearm. If you're going for a fantasy look then the blues are fine, otherwise the blues in the pants really don't look like denim to me. Also the shirt doesn't have much detail - looking at the values, LAB mode shows a bunch of 0 L, but values in A and B. I'd open up the Luminance a little. Like the diagonal lines of the hat and arm though.

2 - Love the comp. She looks a little blurry, not digging the dark circles under her eyes, she looks really tired. Me just being picky, would clean up some of those fly away hairs. Eyes, much better than first image. Only thing I would have changed, but this is more nit-picky, is the hair covering her left ear - would have brought it from in front of her shoulder to over here back, hopefully exposing the neckline. Like this one the best.

3 - Like this one too, not too much railroad tracks in it. Overall good photo, would still tone down the bright spots around her.

4 - Not a fan of selective color. Although, I do applaud the choice of selective color choice, at least it's what we're supposed to be looking at instead of some random over-saturated piece of clothing (or flower) with nothing to do with the main subject that people like to do. Background, arm and hand are brighter than her face - besides blown hands and arm. Really like DOF.

As always, ymmv.

Good stuff guys, thank you. On number two I notices how dark the eye are upon posting, that's why I put in my OP that I "already see things I missed before"
I really am taking in the comments thanks.

BTW, yes the blue in the first one was meant to be over board, the Client loves doesn't want me to change it. Ordered prints of it. I agree that it is heavy on the blue. The top hat was gray and black, I turned it blue and red respectfully.

I liked the shots but I felt they were all soft?

merlin2375 wrote in post #10750482
I liked the shots but I felt they were all soft?

+1 I agree.

Did you add Glamour Glow to them Al? They are soft and blurred, something that GG does, and you need to use a light hand when using it..or go all the way and have it super glowy.

I like the first one best without the PP added..the B&W lost alot of detail, cut back the contrast and give the shadows some breathing room?Plus the SC eye..yikes....

I actually think the b&w one would be the best of the lot without the selective color on the eyes. All do seem a little soft, sorry to say. At least you have a stunning model to practice with, and I like your composition in all of them. Shoot some more with her.

merlin2375 wrote in post #10750482
I liked the shots but I felt they were all soft?

Agreed, all look a bit soft.

That soft look is kinda what I have formed into during my PS PP, maybe I need to start sharpening them in stead of softening them.

This is better, and more information then I expected to get. Maybe I should post more often and I can hone my PP better.

Again thanks all, I may re-edit a couple of these from scratch see what I come up with.

Can you mask the eyes so they are still sharp? In fact sharpen the eyes and use a mask to confine the sharpening to them.

I'd kind of like to see that last one with a similar selective color treatment applied to the blue jeans to match the eyes. Sort of a subtle blue.

Great shots though! I thought by the title you were sending the 7D back to the store!