Need input on some portraits - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

07/13/2005 04:37:45 AM · #1

Nothing fancy - just shot at a local park where we could find some uniform light under the midday sun (around 2pm?). These are of my girlfriend, but feel free to be critical constructive ways possible. This includes anything to do with facial expressions, exposure, background, lighting, processing, colors, etc, etc.. I've had trouble removing some of the stray hairs also, if anybody has some tips there.

All shots were with the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX Macro, handheld - I would have used a tripod, but she was a bit shy about having me set up a tripod in front of her at the park. EXIF info is on each of the shots.

Left image is fully unprocessed - only converted from RAW. Second is after some processing (don't worry - this is the one time she wants them ala 'headshot' style, and therefore fixed up.. I won't be upsetting her by changing them!). This is just to give you an idea of where I'm starting from. Editing includes: Healing brush under eyes, sharpening, further sharpening only at the eyes, slight saturation at the lips.

RAW processed, nothing else. Wanted your input on the first one before I move on to processing this one further.

Same as above. I know the hand looks awkward, but I wanted to ask if anyone had any ideas why this looked so much sharper (actually, I sharpened these so I guess this is a bad comparison - but trust me that it was much sharper out of cam) than the others went it was shot at f/5.0 and a slower shutter speed. I did use MF for this and AF for the above two - but the AF looked sharp when I was using it.

ANY input would truly be appreciated. Portraits are something I've never delved into before and could benefit a lot from your knowledge.

Message edited by author 2005-07-13 04:48:20.

samtrundle

Canon EOS-50D

07/13/2005 04:57:22 AM · #2

I think these definately make for a nice starting point. On the one hand the 'natural' facial expressions are a refreshing change from the standard cheesy grins many people see fit to induce before shooting, but you may have even gone a little too far - I'm not sure whether to interpret the expression on her face as 'relaxed' or 'hurry up and get this over with.'

The slightly cocked head position in the first shot works well, and I quite like the third one too - seems quite candid, though you may be right about the hand.

My other concern is with the contrast level - try bumping it a little, as it stands they all appear a little flat, almost overexposed. A little tweaking with curves might do the trick.

Anyway, you've managed to get her to let you point your camera in her direction, which, speaking from experience, can take some doing - so now the hardest part is done :) you can concentrate on getting the lighting completely right. As I said these are a solid starting point, and with a couple of minor improvements your future efforts will likely be terrific.

07/13/2005 05:24:53 AM · #3

First of all, thank you for taking the time to look and write a detailed response - I appreciate it.

I had the same thoughts about the expressions, but wasn't able to get her quite comfortable - I'll need to work on that, as I'm sure it'll be handy in the future. I did manage to get some shots of her laughing and smiling, but they weren't all too flattering in our opinion. I took your suggestions and did a remake (plus a couple others).

Simply exaggerated the S in curves a little more.

Noticing how this emphasized the yellows more, I took the above version and then desaturated the yellows about -50 or so.

Took the above (2nd) photo and tried to bring down the highlights a little, since you mentioned an overexposed look.

Does the contrast here seem enough? I don't want to blow the highlights on her face (and am still new to curves, so I'm having trouble selectively bringing them down), so I stopped at the levels you can see above.

Also, thank you for the nice comments about the shots - I do like them to some extent, but am glad that I can turn to the community here for some opinions/advice in order to help improve as much as possible.

Message edited by author 2005-07-13 05:26:50.

07/13/2005 07:14:12 AM · #4

How about this one:

- Diffuse Glow layer at about 30%
- Soft focus layer
- Color balance layer (to reduce red, add some yellow)
- Levels to set black point
- Curves to adjust contrast
- USM for both sharpness and local contrast

Edit: Hmmm... upon posting, it appears her right cheek may have gone a little too bright and, on the web, it appears more yellow than what I had seen in the editor. I can reduce both later, but gotta run for now.

Message edited by author 2005-07-13 07:15:58.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

07/13/2005 12:41:28 PM · #5

I like what you've done, but I agree about the cheek - and it may be a little soft for my taste. Thank you very much for trying some things out - it's definitely helpful to visualize what other directions thees can be taken. I'll make sure to give it a try later on (gotta run off right now).

sabphoto

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

07/13/2005 12:50:52 PM · #6

can't help with the processing while at work, but have a question...

Brianlh I was noticing how dull and bland the colors in the first picture look. Is this a normal RAW image from your camera? I may be wrong, but that doesn't seem right. I shoot raw all the time and don't think I've ever seen dull colors like this but it could just be an olympus way of processing it. Most of the time I just adjust color temperature and maybe brightness. Do you have to adjust like crazy to fix them?

Just wondering because I'm hopeing next year to go DSLR and am trying to keep in touch with each and their abilities.

I do think you've got great images here, with perfect DOF and subject placement. Good job.

bledford

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

07/13/2005 12:55:28 PM · #7

I don't know what all the fuss is about. Those are damn fine portraits that appear to have taken minimal processing to get right. Good job, Brian.

07/13/2005 05:15:06 PM · #8

Thanks Brad and Scott for the kinds words :).

Scott - as for the RAW file, not necessarily all of them look like that.. but I would say that, in general, I do have to add contrast and saturation to each of my images. The degree of such modifications always varies though. I'm not too educated on light and whatnot, but perhaps being under the shade of a tree here caused the colors to be more dull? Maybe it's the Los Angeles pollution ;)

With RawShooter Essentials or Capture One raw processing, I can just adjust one image and then copy the settings over to all the images that were taken in the same lighting and it really expedites my post-processing.

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

07/13/2005 05:23:13 PM · #9

Originally posted by brianlh:

Scott - as for the RAW file, not necessarily all of them look like that.. but I would say that, in general, I do have to add contrast and saturation to each of my images. The degree of such modifications always varies though.

For Canon this seems pretty normal. My raw files, both with the 20D and the 300D, look flat straight out of the camera. But then again... doesn't that make sense? No processing has yet been applied to the files. (your in-camera settings only apply to jpegs, not to raw files)

What might be kind of nice (in terms of quickly getting something useful out of a raw file) is if there were a button to press which would say "process this raw file using my in-camera default settings". And then you could tweak the settings from there.

I agree 100% with your conclusion... the "degree" of the modifications you make varies with the image. And that is precisely why it's better to shoot in raw. If you shoot jpeg, you have locked in the settings the moment you press the shutter.

pawdrix

Nikon D700

07/13/2005 06:03:48 PM · #10

Where will I find Diffuse Glow or whatever in PS CS?

pawdrix

Nikon D700

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

07/13/2005 06:07:09 PM · #11

Found it....finally?

07/13/2005 06:15:14 PM · #12

Did my own little version.
PP is written under the photo in the comments (to lazy to copy/paste)

07/13/2005 06:25:04 PM · #13

And I did the other one too.
Same process just a bit more color corection.

07/13/2005 06:26:00 PM · #14

Originally posted by Philos31:

Did my own little version.
PP is written under the photo in the comments (to lazy to copy/paste)

Comparing your edit to mine...

I think I like the skin tones better in yours... and it looks like I was a little more aggressive at softening the skin than you were, so I should probably reduce the softening a bit.

I can't decide if I prefer the background darker or lighter. The darker colors look nicer. But for me, they also reveal more background detail and tend to distract me. So I like it ... and I don't. Maybe if the background contrast was reduced even while darkening it a bit.

The one thing that kinda bugs me in yours is the "halo" around her head ... especially where the halo turns funny colors around the middle section.

07/13/2005 06:28:06 PM · #15

@Philos31:

By the way, thanks for jumping in here. I greatly admire your work and so it's good to watch and learn.

07/13/2005 06:31:04 PM · #16

Originally posted by Philos31:

And I did the other one too.
Same process just a bit more color corection.

Very nice! I like that one a lot!

I noticed you cropped her ear out. I was wondering about that. As I was looking at the original image that partial ear kept bothering me.

Thanks for sharing!

07/13/2005 06:32:59 PM · #17

Originally posted by dwterry:

The one thing that kinda bugs me in yours is the "halo" around her head ... especially where the halo turns funny colors around the middle section.

You are 100% right.
This was a quick edit, and could have been better.
The halo is because of the layer mask and then getting her face back to normal color again.
On a full size photo this would be mutch more easy, and with some time to spare you can create something realy beautifull..

If you see too much detail in the bacjkground, just copy the layer, add some gausian blur, layer mask, fill with black.
Now get a white brush and just brush away the detail in the background. Not everything but just the things that you want to get blurred. Realy nice effects can be made like this.

Edit:
@DWterry Thanx for the compliment.
@Brian, very nice job on your portraits, as far as my humble opinion counts ;)

Message edited by author 2005-07-13 18:34:54.

fauxreal

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

07/13/2005 06:47:22 PM · #18

i dont know much about post processing, but heres my shot at it.( i just took the converted raw image and messed with it in PS.

//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bellus78/detail?.dir=/fcb0&.dnm=8855.jpg&.src=ph

07/13/2005 07:28:46 PM · #19

- Peter: Thanks very much for the two attempts - I do generally like what you've done (except for what David has mentioned and you have acknowledged). The quick edits have given me a good general idea of where I can take these photos. I'm glad that you took an attempt at the second one - I guess this one may have more potential than I thought (although I still don't care much for the position of the hand). I thought the ear was kind of nice, but now that it's cropped out I can see the benefit of removing it. I'll definitely try some of the tips you've done myself in order to see what I can get with the effects. Also, thanks for the compliment about the portraits :).

- David: Thanks for continuing to help here with your edits & insights. I perhaps wonder if I should try a different background? I guess the one is okay the way it is - I just may need to reduce it's attention a bit. I'll most likely try what Peter mentioned, and perhaps try reducing the saturation while darkening it slightly.

- Chris: Definitely a more natural looking edit. The skin tones in yours (and most of these) look more natural, so I guess I need to do a rehash on mine as well. I thought I had given it a golden-like glow, but looking at it now, my shot just appears a bit off as far as color goes.

I appreciate all of the help/efforts you guys have given me. It'll be awhile before I can get around to editing, as I have a couple other things I need to take care of and then class until almost 9pm. I hope I can give it another go tonight and just test out all the tips/tricks you guys have posted. Thanks :)

Message edited by author 2005-07-13 19:50:10.