May I present Giovanni..... - DPChallenge Forums

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon

01/14/2005 06:24:50 PM · #1

Finally....I have been nearly 4 years with my boyfriend and he never lets me take photos of him.... but tonight he let me take some :)

...and here is the result...my first Portrait Trial..critique needed

scottwilson

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 28mm f/2.8

01/14/2005 06:32:30 PM · #2

Well, the first and last one are pretty far underexposed. This can be fixed pretty easily with a photo editing program, using levels.

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon

01/14/2005 06:35:58 PM · #3

Thank you Scott, I shall give that a go :)

JPR

Sony Alpha a55

Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Super Wide Angle Zoom

01/14/2005 06:36:52 PM · #4

my critique is lose the boyfriend. took 4 years to get him to let you take his photograph? that's crazy!

just-married

Canon EOS-10D

01/14/2005 06:39:10 PM · #5

He has absolutely stunning eyes, especially against all that dark hair. I think the black shirt really helps bring that out as well.

I agree with Scott that the b/W versions are too dark - I think because they were taken in the same session that the exposures are probably correct but that you darkened them in converting to B/W. I think if you played with curves a bit you could get a better result. They're feeling to gray to me, which is making them seem flat.

As far as pose, the third is the best, though I wish the fabric of his shirt weren't brushing against his cheek. He seems a tad uncomfortable in front of the camera, as if he doesn't quite know how to act, so I think I would just continue to shoot without mentioning pose. I think once he gets so used to you having the camera in his face that he forgets it's a camera, you'll get some more relaxed shots.

Also, I think the couch he's on is a little busy; might wanna throw a blanket or something over it so it doesn't pull us away from him.

:-), Dawn

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon

01/14/2005 06:43:54 PM · #6

Thank you Dawn, yes I would actually like some advise how to get his eyes come out even better...I know the couch...but I was so stunned that he actually let me take some photos that I didn't want to spoil the moment by adjusting the field around him.

And yes, he is very uncomfortable in front of the camera, that is why it took me so long to convince him I could take some shots, but now that I have taken some I hope he will let me take some more often :)

just-married

Canon EOS-10D

01/14/2005 06:48:11 PM · #7

Originally posted by JPR:

my critique is lose the boyfriend. took 4 years to get him to let you take his photograph? that's crazy!

Are you kidding? He's sexy as all getout. Keep the boyfriend! ;)

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon

01/14/2005 06:55:58 PM · #8

Originally posted by just-married:

Originally posted by JPR:
my critique is lose the boyfriend. took 4 years to get him to let you take his photograph? that's crazy!

Are you kidding? He's sexy as all getout. Keep the boyfriend! ;)

I am planning to! LOL

dartompkins

Nikon D70s

Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF for Nikon

01/15/2005 01:19:30 AM · #9

I played with this a bit trying to get some light just on those eyes. Unfortunately I am a novice when it comes to editing and have been unable to illuminate the eyes without highlighting the forehead. I hope maybe you can see where I was going with it. Maybe someone else could make a better example of what I was trying to do. By the way, what a QT.

totaldis

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

01/15/2005 01:56:14 AM · #10

remember, you were just married....

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon

01/15/2005 03:31:44 AM · #11

Originally posted by dartompkins:

I like it! Thank you Darlene :)

bdobe

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

01/15/2005 04:04:19 AM · #12

All right, I had to take a pass at the image, too.

Here's my attempt:

Clearly I think that the third shot is the best of the bunch. And, as was mentioned earlier, because of his eyes, your boyfriend should ONLY be shot in color -- of course, am kidding... with good tonal range his eyes would look great in B & W.

Like your boyfriend, my girlfriend was shy in front of the camera at first; however, after seeing some pics that she was happy with, she's less reluctant to my trailing her every move -- with my camera in hand. Here's a pic of my girlfriend: //www.pbase.com/bedobe/image/36986076

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon

01/15/2005 04:27:25 AM · #13

Originally posted by bdobe:

All right, I had to take a pass at the image, too.

Here's my attempt:

Clearly I think that the third shot is the best of the bunch. And, as was mentioned earlier, because of his eyes, your boyfriend should ONLY be shot in color -- of course, am kidding... with good tonal range his eyes would look great in B & W.

Like your boyfriend, my girlfriend was shy in front of the camera at first; however, after seeing some pics that she was happy with, she's less reluctant to my trailing her every move -- with my camera in hand. Here's a pic of my girlfriend: //www.pbase.com/bedobe/image/36986076

Your girlfriend is gorgeous, she does not need to be shy in front of the camera, she is very photogenic.

To my photo...

Wow, how did you do it? Did you use photoshop? Would you be able to tell me the steps you have taken, please?

Thank you

bdobe

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

01/15/2005 04:40:08 AM · #14

Originally posted by Sandymaya:

Wow, how did you do it? Did you use photoshop? Would you be able to tell me the steps you have taken, please?
Thank you

Yes, I did it in PhotoShop. I can send you the file for you to deconstruct -- it's about 3 Megs, zipped. PM me with your email address, and I'll email it to you.

Here, however, is basically what I did.

New layer -> set new layer to Softlight -> Apply High Pass filter to new layer -> Create new layer, set to normal, apply Gaussian Filter, Mask to blur out desired area of the background -> Do the last step several times until the background is satisfactorily blurred -> With Lasso tool select the eyes and apply Levels to lighten and make the eyes pop -> and, finally, because I like simple white borders, I created a 15px border.

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon

01/15/2005 05:06:03 AM · #15

Originally posted by bdobe:

Originally posted by Sandymaya:
Wow, how did you do it? Did you use photoshop? Would you be able to tell me the steps you have taken, please?
Thank you

Yes, I did it in PhotoShop. I can send you the file for you to deconstruct -- it's about 3 Megs, zipped. PM me with your email address, and I'll email it to you.

Here, however, is basically what I did.

New layer -> set new layer to Softlight -> Apply High Pass filter to new layer -> Create new layer, set to normal, apply Gaussian Filter, Mask to blur out desired area of the background -> Do the last step several times until the background is satisfactorily blurred -> With Lasso tool select the eyes and apply Levels to lighten and make the eyes pop -> and, finally, because I like simple white borders, I created a 15px border.

Thank you, sent you a PM
Sandy

Ooops, somehow my text ended up somewhere in the middle first time...edited :)

Message edited by author 2005-01-15 05:06:58.

bdobe

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

01/15/2005 05:17:00 AM · #16

Originally posted by Sandymaya:

Thank you, sent you a PM

Sandy

Ooops, somehow my text ended up somewhere in the middle first time...edited :)

Just emailed you the file -- I hope you find it useful.

Jinjit

01/15/2005 09:22:37 AM · #17

Am I happy to hear that others have the same modelling problem I have!!!
Seeing all the portraits in this site made me think I was probably the only person in the world, whos friends and family wouldn't pose for.
Sandy, you just made me the happiest person in the world! Thank you so!

The portraits are really nice. You can add some simple PS work on the b&w ones, which will probably make them perfect. I left you comments on them and was left heart-broken indeed... :-)
Cute guy. Keep'im!

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon

01/15/2005 09:39:58 AM · #18

Thank you Adi! :)

just-married

Canon EOS-10D