Both Barrels Please, (and a bit of sugar too?)

Okay... Let me have it... Give me the bad, and what I did correctly (which may not be obvious to me)....... Here, I'll start off - : The left sleeve and dress is wrinkled or not laying smoothly. The white pants (left leg) are blown out a tad (Reflective white satin works better as a reflector than the subject clothing!)...

If you have something that is fixable in PP, I have editing on (or just give me some tips, I have LR3 & CS5)

Thanks in Advance !! F/3.5 1/100 ISO 160 105mm 580EXII Camera LFT-through umbrella 0 EV

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Wow, 24 hours later....86 Views and not a single comment or critique??


Well, I should rest easy knowing that this photo is soooooo perfect and flawless that it has left people totally speechless... Okay, Okay, I'm being a bit sarcastic. I'm bumping this to the top of the thread again and see if I can have some better luck this time...

The dark background merges with the dark hair in these areas, pretty much losing the edge that separates subject from background.

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The photo is sharp. You've used several rules of composition. But for some reason, it's just not working for me. I didn't want to just comment with that without leaving you any feedback as to how to improve it. So I've been staring at it for a bit. And this is all I could come up with:

Lack of connection with the viewer and the model. She's looking away and her expression doesn't seem genuine. It's more like she's ignoring us.
The lines in the background aren't working for me, they seem to lead the eye to and then past the model. I find myself looking over her right shoulder wondering what's behind her.
The texture of her dress blends with the texture of the rock she is sitting on. Which makes her blend with all the other texture. With all that roughness I feel like, why is she trying to appear so serene? There's nothing soft about this photo, she should be staring at the viewer with some sort of striking emotion. Maybe that's it, the whole feel of the photo is off. If she were sitting on a rock with some water behind her, maybe the disconnect would work.

Wow...thanks !!

Unfortunately I can't change her expression at this point, but valuable info for further shoots !! I had a double problem with the background: I tried both dodging and burning the rock beams and some clutter from behind her. I burn too much and the hairline loses separation from the background (like Peano indicated), and if I dodge too much the eyes are drawn away from the subject (as Lettie indicated).... I tried to find a balance between the two, and was hoping that the rock beans would produce a triangle frame around the subject, and would give some leading lines INTO the subject. It is quite interesting how different people can react and "see" things so differently! This is why feedback is SO importnant, and big thanks to both of you!


As far as this photo goes, do you think any PP changes would help at this point, or would make things worse?

Any lighting or posing suggestions (other than the eye contact you mentioned).....

PS: Lettie, she was ignoring me, long day of shooting and she was getting bored! At least I succeeded in capturing her TRUE mood, haha !


Appreciate the Help !

DanangMonkey wrote in post #11557798
As far as this photo goes, do you think any PP changes would help at this point, or would make things worse?

One possibility is to mask around the hairline, paint out the stones across the top, and brighten the
highlights of the hair enough to define the edge. This is a bit quick and dirty, but it illustrates the idea ...

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Peano wrote in post #11558734
One possibility is to mask around the hairline, paint out the stones across the top, and brighten the
highlights of the hair enough to define the edge. This is a bit quick and dirty, but it illustrates the idea ...

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Peano, you are amazing at using software to enhance and edit photos.

Lonestarlady61 wrote in post #11559109
Peano, you are amazing at using software to enhance and edit photos.

Thank you! After visiting your website, I can see that you know exactly what you're talking about. Very fine work there.

Peano, great suggestion. Absolutely brilliant!!

Danang, I am still a newbie at this and I feel I am not in a position to provide you with any substantial feedback at this time. For what it's worth, I thought the picture was great. After reading some of the comments, I can now see how a little bit of processing and creativity help improve the look of a picture. Cheers

+1 to above
the one thing that also puts me off is her pose. Her posture seems forced and uncomfortable. If you asked her to stay in that position for a short while, she would get a cramp.
You want your model to be in a more natural pose

First of all, hats off to Peano... Not only a solution, but animated before/after results! Way to go buddy !

Pelooyen, could you provide some ideas of a more relaxed pose? I didn't actually pose the model as she did this herself, and she was quite relaxed more or less (although it may appear forced). Lettie suggested more eye contact which makes sense since she appears to be staring off camera at something which isn't visible. Facial expression may appear a bit forced, but it was more of a thoughtful type pose and was going for a more serious facial expression (which I may have overdone). Again, please a bit more detail in what needs to be relaxed in the pose?

Also, for everyone, what was done correctly in this photo. I want to re-enforce and repeat things I got right !

Her hand appears to be leaning on something which is lower than the wood she is sitting. As a result, her right shoulder is lower than her left. Now if her R shoulder APPEARED lower due to her twisting a bit, that would be ok, but that's not the case here.
I cant comment too much on better poses (I am no pro here), but I suggest that she has her shoulders at least level.
I agree with above that her eyes do not engage, so if she does look away, make it so that she looks pensive, thoughtful. Here she seems to be looking intently at something and the viewer is left to as "at what?"

Hope that helps.

Thanks Pelo....that does make sense and yes she is placing weight on that right arm and sinking that shoulder....thanks !!

on the flip side, can anyone point out anything I did correctly in this shot?? Just as the negatives may not be obvious, the positives may not be obvious either