Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
As mentioned; background and feet. The right foot is not tanned and for me, looks a little odd conmpared to the tone of the leg. I think the crop is too tight either side. However, the dark area to the left of the head would be too prominent.
A crop to the knees would be too much and would leave viewers asking ‘why’.
Not knowing the lenght of the wall makes it difficult but a slight change in location to get that dark tree on the left out of the way would be better, and also to blur the background.Firstly, I would crop the right side and leave a small area of grass between the arm and the edge of the frame. I don’t know much about Lightroom but you can select small areas with the brush and adjust the exposure locally. I know you haven’t got Photoshop, but if you had it or can use the image on a friend’s computer that has PS, you could sample the skin tone near the shine and paint it with a low opacity, just to dull it down.
On my screen, the tones look very good. Bear in mind that all face skin shines, due to the oil in the skin. It just shows up more on skin of this colour.
I think that to dull it down altogether would spoil the image. She is not a ‘model’ but a young girl, full of charm. Crop it and leave it at that.I’m not a portrait photographer but those that I have taken in a friend’s studio have all had backgrounds that compliment the model. It all depends on what you want to get from the image. I know that seems like a cop-out but it’s true.
The girl looks nervous and tense. Talk to her all the time and make her feel at ease. I guess this is new to her.
I feel that any background that gives the impression of something coming out of the model’s head is a no-no. It’s not the case with your picture as the background is blurred. Try different poses with the girl using the same background.
Have her standing facing the wall and up close. Remove the spectacles. Have her look over her shoulder at you and take a side shot, but the lighting needs to be right. No matter what the subject, if the light is wrong then so the image will be as well.
A book I recommend is; Light Science and Magic by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver and Paul Fuqua.One of the easist ways of overcoming problems like you have, is to bracket the shot and then merge the images.
For me, the frog is too central in the shot. I would crop just above the rust spot and also right on the large Y section to the right of the upper foot.
For what it’s worth, here’s my take. The shadows are too harsh on the face, especilly the left side, (right as we see it). There is not enough light on the neck. The eye sockets are too dark. The shoulders are hunched up.
The background is unflattering and has too many similar colour tones to the model. The skin tone is too red (on my monitor).
You could edit but a re-shoot would be easier and probably quicker.
I think the light above was too high and the reflector was not near enough to the model to be of real use.I prefer the second. It is a shame though that the flowers in the background are distracting.
The only thing I would do is crop the base and get rid of the fence.
Try chopping off some of the sky as it there is no real interest in it and it would raise the horizon a little bit.
Maybe just a small adjustment in levels – curves, or shadows/highlights. I agree with the crop
When shooting a dark subject (the bird) against a bright background (the sky) dial in a stop or so of over exposure. This will bring out the detail in the bird instead of it being a silhouette. of course, this can’t always be done in a ‘grab shot’.
The tree gives a sense of distance but a crop on the right, just left of the trunk, would help the image.
Always shoot in raw if possible as more detail can be retrieved than in a jpeg. Plus, it is usually better to slighty over expose than under as it is easier to bring back detail from the right of the histogram (light) than from the left (shadows).Trying new things is always a good challenge. The question you should ask yourself is, does the flare add to the image? If you feel that is does, then that’s fine.
For me, the flare dominates the image and has the effect of cutting the image in half, diagonally.
There are times when a dreamy soft image works, but I don’t think this does because of the flare, and, I think the mouth is wrong for a dreamy look. A hint of a smile would have been better.
The eyes would benefit from being sharper and brighter. Dodge the whites a little to bring some emphasis to the eyes.
Cropping has been mentioned and I agree with that.To me, it looks as though the post has been the centre of focus, throwing the bird just off focus. Depending on the distance from the car, f5.6 at 360mm would give a narrow dof.
If you want the snipe to be the main subject, I would suggest cropping just above the hole. There would then be nothing to distract the eyes from the subject.
