First portrait attempt - how'd I do?

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

06/24/2005 03:54:52 PM · #1

Hi. Went to the park the other day. Captured this image of my wife and really liked it. Did some post-processing that is out of the norm for me. How is it? Thanks for any feedback.

DanSig

06/24/2005 04:00:45 PM · #2

left a comment :)

yeoua

Canon PowerShot G2

06/24/2005 04:02:59 PM · #3

I think the reason why a lot of people see soft focus as out of focus... is because of the color. The picture has sharp color, which would imply a need for sharp focus. Maybe if you softened the color (desaturate it a bit), or soften the contrasts (brightness/contrast), and then add the soft focus it might work better and look like a deliberate decision to have it look as it is, rather than an accident.

nborton

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

06/24/2005 04:13:16 PM · #4

There's nothing wrong with soft focus. There's a huge difference in soft and out of focus. (Out of focus isn't always bad either. Check out Xion's shots.)

The main thing I see that could use improvement isn't the focus, it's that the background is much lighter than the face. Which makes the face seem too dark. It might just be me, but when I look at the shot a while my eyes tend to wander into the upper right corner where the green background is almost white. Basically I guess I'm saying that the subject is a little too much on the dark side compared to the whole shot.

cools98

Canon EOS R5 Mark II

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM

06/24/2005 04:22:46 PM · #5

Originally posted by nborton:

The main thing I see that could use improvement isn't the focus, it's that the background is much lighter than the face. Which makes the face seem too dark. It might just be me, but when I look at the shot a while my eyes tend to wander into the upper right corner where the green background is almost white. Basically I guess I'm saying that the subject is a little too much on the dark side compared to the whole shot.

I agree with that. The light background has a negative effect on the subject in the photo.

Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.4 Jena/Flektogon MC

06/24/2005 04:24:44 PM · #6

Ok...the backgrounds gotta go. ;^) I was so caught up in working on the face details I hadn't gone there yet, but I can see I need to. I figured I would do a little burning of the top right where it's very bright. Maybe some gaussian blur?

Uusilehto

Canon EOS-1D

06/24/2005 04:33:54 PM · #7

Hey. Try creating a new layer with the same image. Blur it as if you were blurring for the soft focus effect. Then create a mask for the layer and paint the spots you want softened.

Hard to explain. Anyone know what the technique is called?

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Canon

06/25/2005 10:22:09 AM · #8

Ok - I now have a much greater appreciation for those that can work with various layers, burning, merging, etc...!!!

Tried to diminish the bright background area to be less distracting.

Here's a revision. Any better?

Revised:

First Attempt:

Message edited by author 2005-06-25 10:23:29.

AllgoodPics

Canon EOS-20D

06/25/2005 11:11:59 AM · #9

The touch of light on the tip of her nose makes this photo distracting to me. Maybe if you used a fill flash or a reflector to add more light to her face this wouldn't be as noticeable and would reduce the contrast between the subjuct and the backgroud. I agree with the others that the background is too bright.

Mike