studio portrait for C&C

PaulieC

taken yesterday for relations. Setup was a large white background, two 430ex flashes shooting into white umbrellas, controlled by ST-E2 (which is fantastic BTW, no mis-fires at all)

helios

The composition is really nice, and I like the poses, but the shot seems terribly over-exposed :S It seems to be a bit too much contrast as well...

Dragan

As said the set up is lovely, the flow of the three kids in the pic looks great but the colour looks somewhat insipid.

rymus

helios wrote: »

The composition is really nice, and I like the poses, but the shot seems terribly over-exposed :S It seems to be a bit too much contrast as well...

+1 to that. You've lost about 40 acres of highlight detail.

Dades

I agree too - great setup - but too much bright hurt my eyes.

Nothing that couldn't be (re)fixed in PP no doubt.

rymus

Wouldnt it be better to get it right in camera rather than spending time fixing your mistakes in photoshop?

City-Exile

I think the little girl on the left is too low in the shot.

Sebzy

Well Paul have a good long look at the portrait and decided feck the comments about over exposing it's a very good portrait.

It has a unique style and the over exposing and composition gives it that.

PaulieC

thanks for the comments..

the idea was to actually get a very high key image, with spotless white background. I got eh technique in Practical Photographer magazine. The parents like it like this - I gave them a choice of 3 differently processed versions (will post the out of camera version tomorrow) and this is what they picked.

any tips on how to get the backgound high key while keeping somemore detail in the faces? I'm using Lightroom and PS elements

thanks

rymus

cambo_gueno wrote: »

any tips on how to get the backgound high key while keeping somemore detail in the faces?

a slightly different light setup

YogiBear

I think it would look really well printed out & framed.. Really lovely pose & natural expressions! Personally I'm all for high key & contrast.

PaulieC

rymus wrote: »

a slightly different light setup

hyuk hyuk...the jokes just keep coming .

i'll post the original tomorrow, which is more normally exposed

rymus

I wasnt actually joking.. Instead of trying to completely modify a shot in post, why not just move the lights to a configuration that will give the desired results?

Apologies if you thought I was being a smartass. I've got a fairly good lighting tutorial DVD around here somewhere if you fancy a look

AnCatDubh

Paul, I like it loads. I wonder because the young lady on the right has a white top which melts into the spotless white background, does this confuse the eye a little i.e. no distinction between the background and the young lady herself.

City-Exile wrote: »

I think the little girl on the left is too low in the shot.

What exile says is probably true - in fact going for a classic image would suggest that you arrange the group in 'pyramid' formation, which in theory would give a most aesthetically pleasing shot. Again, i think what you've managed to capture is very good in any event and as you didn't actually form them in 'pyramid' style this advice is probably dross (ok - maybe something to try again sometime).

You've gone for a square crop - perhaps this is what exile is referring to also i.e. the height ratio between the older and younger would be improved should you crop to a 6 x 4 or 8 x 10 perhaps. Again this (the square crop) may be the style that you were trying to reflect - if so perhaps organising the young lady on the left slightly lower (perhaps seated at an appropriate height whilst still holding the youngest) would have enabled you to take in more of the girl on the left.

Anyhow. Basically - a very nice shot. I'm not surprised that the young 'uns folks really like it. Well done.

isadub

Composition is good and I can see why the parents would like it.

Your biggest problem is the tallest girl. There's no separation between her (back) and the background. Also, the boy's jeans stick out behind her back (bottom right of pic) and it's bit distracting. Show me his foot (!) or photoshop it out.

Look at the shadows on the faces of the little girl and boy. That's good. Maybe next time, just use one flash?

Roen

Highlight issues aside the infants left leg is sticking out from the older girls ass toward the bottom right and is a little on the distracting side.

I know it was 'one of those moments' type shots but the eldest girl is twisted slightly too much and she looks jowly/chinny. The angle also makes her left arm look a bit on the meaty side, there's too much of an expanse of flesh.

Her mammy may love it but girls pick up on things like that and they're their own worst image critics.

Fireman

cambo_gueno wrote: »

taken yesterday for relations. Setup was a large white background, two 430ex flashes shooting into white umbrellas, controlled by ST-E2 (which is fantastic BTW, no mis-fires at all)

You will have to light up the background and keep you're subject a few feet out from the background. which you may need another light for the subject and try to avoid overspill from the background lights, I love the pose for the shot !!!

Tarakiwa

Same comment as most above me - seems over exposed.

PaulieC

rymus wrote: »

I wasnt actually joking.. Instead of trying to completely modify a shot in post, why not just move the lights to a configuration that will give the desired results?

Apologies if you thought I was being a smartass. I've got a fairly good lighting tutorial DVD around here somewhere if you fancy a look

I know Rymus - I was joking myself. What's the name of that DVD ? I might buy it myself

All - thanks for all the comments and critique - I was reading up on posing techniques last week, bt I think I'd need plenty of time and willing models to practice because as soon as I got set up to do these shots, all concept of good posing guidelines went out of my head completely!

rymus

jaysus.. I cant even remember the name of it. I'll have a dig around when I get home and see if I can find it. If I can put my hand on it you're welcome to a copy.

PaulieC

here's what it looks like straight out of camera...


and here, with a quick edit in PSE to brighten the background

Mellor

I like that much better, very nice

m_stan

I like the pose, composition etc but agree 100% on the over-exposure comments. the edit is much better

rymus wrote: »

I wasnt actually joking.. Instead of trying to completely modify a shot in post, why not just move the lights to a configuration that will give the desired results?

Apologies if you thought I was being a smartass. I've got a fairly good lighting tutorial DVD around here somewhere if you fancy a look

I'd LOVE a look (ahem) at that DVD if you can loan it to me after anyone else is done with it ? Send me a PM if thats ok. Will pay for shipping back and forth - you're in Cork right ?

rymus

I'm in Cork alright.. if I can find the DVD over the next day or so I'll pm you and we'll sort something out.

YogiBear

The edit one the leg woks really well!
Unedited is excellent imo too. Bravo! :cool:

Fionn

nice photograph i like the composition well done!

i think if they were all blond it might have looked better in high key, the darker hair sort of was a little bit distracting or unbalancing or something.

I tend to rather black & white high key, did you try it in B&W?

PaulieC

Again, thanks all for the advice and comments, they've all been really helpful. I'm kinda thinking about 'getting into' family portraits and this session was as much about practice for me as it was portraits for the family involved. I need to look some more at posing and lighting, but I guess one that is clear is that there are many different opinions about what works and what doesn't. I guess the important thing is that the clients are very happy with the work done.
Here's a B&W high key version of the above:


And the rest of the set are here if anyone wants to take a look...
http://pix.ie/cambogueno/album/320144

PopeBuckfastXVI

cambo_gueno wrote: »

and here, with a quick edit in PSE to brighten the background

I think this looks the best Paul, but as you said the client rules!!

Have you set up your own studio or did you rent one out?

Oriel

Why didn't you shoot the original in portrait?

PaulieC

Oriel wrote: »

Why didn't you shoot the original in portrait?

that would certainly have made sense, but I don't really know why...

PaulieC

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

I think this looks the best Paul, but as you said the client rules!!

Have you set up your own studio or did you rent one out?

I wish Hugh! I have one of these things in white and one in black with two 430EX flashes bounced into umbrellas. Basic, but very portable

PopeBuckfastXVI

Ah very good!

I've been asked to photograph a friends brothers furniture for his website, I could use something like that sheet, as he just has a workshop himself, and they won't look too good there. I just have a single sb600 and silver umbrella though, so I'm not sure how I'll get on.

I basically said I'll do it for free, so if he doesn't like the results he's lost nothing but a bit of time.

PopeBuckfastXVI

By the way, what technique did you use to get the background washed out while keeping the foreground?

PaulieC

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

By the way, what technique did you use to get the background washed out while keeping the foreground?

hehe some would say that I didn't! the original out-of-camera shout is posted above. In Lightroom I upped the exposure to +1 to whiten the backgound. I think I probably upped the blacks, clarity and vibrance too...

in the other version, I just (badly) erased the backgound in PSE