Gaenor.. critique please.

[xerubus]

Hi all... still trying to get this people photography thing right. Have taken on advice from some of you in the past, so here's my next try.

I was trying to get that magazine stereotypical shot.. blown out highlights, b&w, film grain etc... would love to hear how i can improve the shot.

http://www.nikonaustralia.com/gallery/People/gaenor_bw

[sirhc55]

Nice shot but for one thing - the reflections in the sunnies are distracting IMO - these can be taken out with a linear blend in PS after selecting the glass area - but nice shot and nice looking lady

Chris

[Onyx]

Have you discovered Virtual Photographer?

http://www.optikvervelabs.com/default.asp

It's the best thing since black bodied cameras (300D excluded).

[xerubus]

Thankyou for the comments...

sirhc55... i'll have a go at getting rid of the reflections... yeh.. that's my wife... for me the shot says 'get away from me'... but that's because i know her

onyx... no... haven't... but shall look.... ta

[Matt. K]

Very nice image. It could be strengthened by removing the reflections in the glasses....they are a tad distracting and draw the eye.

[mudder]

G'day,
Really liked the style and mood of the shot. The feeling of what you're after worked for me, looks like a fashion magazine shot to me... As mentioned the reflections in the sunnies are distracting to me too, but that may have been just what you were after???

Cheers,
Mudder

[xerubus]

thanks matt and mudder....

i wasn't after the reflection at all.... after all the things i thought about i forgot about reflection

[xerubus]

here is another version of the shot... i actually wasn't too happy with the black and white conversion of the first... and after sitting back decided it needed a crop.

would love to hear whether people like the first shot or the second...

http://www.nikonaustralia.com/gallery/P ... aenor_bw_2

[Greg B]

I agree about the reflections, which I notice you have left in for v2.

But I do like #2 more than #1. #1 is good, and the high key thing is effective, but I just reckon #2 is better.

Gaenor has a bit of a Posh Beckham thing going on, excellent subject.

Nice work xerubus.

[Killakoala]

Yeah, sensational pic. Well done and no doubt exactly what you were after, that professional magazine style. Love it.

[mudder]

G'day,
I like the darker image of #2 a lot more, seems to "push" the effect more... Also, while the reflections are still there, they don't seem to be as distracting to me anymore and seem to suit the mood... Or is it just me???

Cheers,
Mudder

[xerubus]

thanks guys... i appreciate your comments...

posh beckham hey... hmmm... better get my kids dna testing to make sure they are mine then

not sure if i'll bother with the reflection.... it doesn't seem to bother me in #2 as mudder has said... plus i'd have no idea how to get rid of it...

cheers and take care.

[gstark]

Bugger the reflections - I'd prefer to see the sunnies removed altogether; let's see her eyes, and through them, her personality.

I'd reckon about 2/3 - one stop less exposure. That should kill the burnout on her chest, and hopefully the burnout on her cheek, while still keepng the high key effect in the background.

If you need more light on the closer side, either fill flash or a reflector would do the trick to balance the contrast range.

While you have good rich blacks in the second image, I think you've lost a little detail (contrast range) in her hair.

For me, with B&W, the goal is to get as wide a range of greys as possible, from a full rich black to a pure white. But one of the tricks is that blown highlights (or reflections) should not be counted as your pure white. Look for a genuine white in your image - teeth or eyes perhaps - and use that for setting your curves/contrast range.

[Matt. K]

To kill reflections get the model to look towards something that is very dark. Though I agree that in some images the reflections can be very interesting.

[bago100]

Xerubus

The second shot has more contrast definition and mystery that the first in my opinion.

Both photographs are great. Looking at them, one cannot help but wonder what is going through Gaenor's mind.

Well done

Graham

[xerubus]

thanks graham...

i can tell you exactly what was going through her mind

we were on a tram, me... the kids... my parents... my grandparents... i think she'd had enough for one day

[Greg B]

In that case, you are a brave man for taking the shot, and it is easy to understand why the sunnies stayed on

[sirhc55]

I agree both shots are great but I will go against the main stream and say that I actually prefer shot one.

Chris