Two "available light" portraits... comments?

08/30/2004 10:33:13 PM · #1

There are two shots of my girlfriend (ever the willing model :) from this weekend, both made with available natural light... one in the mid-afternoon, one in late afternoon/early evening light.

Comments/critiques?

Thanks!

/Andrew

mocabela

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

08/30/2004 10:46:28 PM · #2

I like the second one.. pretty, warm colours, and the angle is very flattering to her lovely face. She's also taking up an ideal amount of the picture, so it feels very balanced. :)

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

08/30/2004 10:48:34 PM · #3

Originally posted by mocabela:

I like the second one.. pretty, warm colours, and the angle is very flattering to her lovely face. She's also taking up an ideal amount of the picture, so it feels very balanced. :)

Great minds think alike... I was about to say nearly the identical same thing! :o)

dunces

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

08/30/2004 10:53:37 PM · #4

I like the first one best. In a challenge of this nature, maybe a ribbon winner. You shot this with an HP? :)

TooCool

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

08/30/2004 11:05:03 PM · #5

IMHO (and I'm no lighting expert) the ever so slightest amount of fill light on the dark side of either shot would do WONDERS for the shots. It could be as simple as a sheet of white poster board to bounce some light back in and lighten the shadows. Unfortunatly, this requires an assistant or a lot of luck with the timer/remote shutter release...

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

08/30/2004 11:07:43 PM · #6

Getting good light out of a mid-afternoon sun is always hard, but you appear to have done it here. The light is just a tiny bit harsh on her cheek and collar bone. But what I really like is how you managed to get light onto her left eye.

For me, the second image is much better. The warm tones of the evening sun help make her skin look beautiful. The only downside here is that you have a shadow from the boat running across her face.

Good pictures... lovely girlfriend. :-)

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

08/30/2004 11:17:11 PM · #7

Thanks for the comments!

I think the first one might benefit from a tighter crop, taking out some of the empty space from the top and letting her face take up more of the frame.

I really love the second shot too... as a matter of fact, I'm getting a print ready to send to her mother. :)

A little dodging in the shadows can probably pull some detail out, too, so I'm going to play around with them a bit to see if I can take advantage of TooCool's suggestions.

And, yes, indeed, both were shot with my HP PhotoSmart 3.2MP point 'n shoot (though, with a linear polarizer on the first one) in aperture priority.

Eventually, I'll get a 300D... but until then, I still have plenty to learn with the equipment that I have.

/Andrew

RHoldenSr

Canon EOS-5D

08/30/2004 11:19:15 PM · #8

I have to agree the second shot is much better.
The soft warm light from the sunset I think made the shot much better.
The lack of light in the first shot gave it too much of a cold tone.

Nice work.

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/30/2004 11:39:44 PM · #9

I like the 2nd one. Posted a comment on it.

Kev

08/30/2004 11:42:48 PM · #10

I tried warming up the tones in the first one a bit, dodging a bit of the shadow area of the face, and brought the crop in tighter on the top.

Any better?

/Andrew

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

08/30/2004 11:45:35 PM · #11

Originally posted by KevinRiggs:

I like the 2nd one. Posted a comment on it.

Thanks for the great, in-depth comment/critique!

You folks are awesome for this stuff... great ideas and comments across the board. Considering that the second shot was freehanded as we were cruising across the lake, and was candid (Sabrina didn't even know I was snapping away at her), the orange/red sunset light just made the shot happen.

/Andrew

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

08/31/2004 06:22:13 AM · #12

Yes, the tighter cropping and warmer skin tones on your revised first shot definitely helped.