P O R T R A I T S : need your opinions

[flipfrog]

i want to pick a few of these to display...
any of them stand out more than others?
thanks in advance for your input...

1.



2.



3.



4.



5.



6.



7.



8.



9.



10.



11.



12.



13.



14.



15.

[MHD]

WOW WOW..

I am mightly humbled...

My choices: 1 & 6

wow wow

[cyanide]

My favourite shot is #15, but I also like 1 and 9 - lovely portraits... IMHO.

Edit: Have to add that I would have said 3 except I find the bright highlight on her nose a bit distracting.... but another lovely shot.

[bwhinnen]

1, 6, 8, 9, 12 and 14

Hmm doesn't help narrow it down does it.

Out of those in order my comments;

9. I really like the pose, the lighting is subtle enough to lose a lot to shadow, but defined enough to make out her nose (even with the shadow).

6. The look is saying something, it's almost "You want me to what?" Or is that the lighting over the brow line? The hair gives her that "here I am in my glorious beauty" look. It's a shame the left shoulder is so high up and got lost in the hair.

1. A classic really. I know it's really good. The slight parting of the lips with a hint of smile.

12. Black and white But this is a thought provocing potrait, she is standing contemplating something, the concrete with exposed reo bar to the right speaks of a devastation she could be thinking of.

8. I like black and white portraits, ok so her shoulder is too high and the left eye a little too closed, but I like the pose.

14. I don't know what it is, I think it's the blue sky leading down to pale blue and the models blue jeans leading up to the pale blue that drew me in with the angular lines of the architecture.

On the other hand;

7. would have got a big look in but for the hair over the face, other than that distraction I think this one would have it hands down, it's different, yet shows that she is definately a she and is very striking.

4. I would have liked to see a little more definition on her face, it's a beautiful shot as it is and that may have added, but it may have detracted as well.

Sorry for a lengthy post, but I really think they are wonderful and you've done some great shots with the blonde model.

Cheers
Brett

[johndec]

No 1 for sure. Tweak the highlights on #3 and it's a winner too

[xorl]

I'm not a big fan of selective desaturation, but thats just personal preference.
I like the stark contrast between the black/red on 4,7,9. The frame on 11 is cool (the pic is good too ).
Wow.

[redline]

Hi Flipfrog,
I like the poses in your studio shots.
however you have to becarful not to blow out your highlights in a couple of your shots. unless that was the intendtion.
3.
5.
10.
shot 2. has is a little dark in the left corner prehaps a white reflector? to lighten up the skin tones.
the desaturation in 13. is pretty weak and looks uneven iam afraid.

[Onyx]

1 person's opinion - feel free to ignore:

#1 looks good. However I'd like to see a little more separation between the brown hair and black top.

There seems to be something wrong with the skin tones in #2.

I don't feel 8 works - overexposure in B&W stuck out.

11 I like the simplicity of it.

13 the colour elements have too much saturation contrasted to the B&W bits.

14 I like. Although I'm not sure if the un-straight verticals were meant to be straight or on a trendy slope.

15 is great. Needs more OOF front grass strands to enhance the 'mood' of it IMHO.

[NetMagi]

3,7,15 are my favs. some have some technical issues with exposure, etc. but the composure is dead on. They're soo eye-friendly I could stare all day

-Rich

[dooda]

1 is the winner but the hair needs a little more detail is all. The rest are great, although I really don't like BW with Colour subjects.

Also I can see where you're going with the shadows on the face, but IMO I'd rather see a little bit of detail, while retaining the drama of it (easier said than done I know).

[flipfrog]

thanks guys....

i had big problem with blown out highlights....
im not sure i can do much to pic 3's nose, but it was one of my favs too

any suggestions for PP?

and my other question, do u guys think number 8 would have worked better in colour? or is it DONE either way... ?

p.s. not many people mentioned it, but one of my favs is still #12

[Nicole]

1 and 11 are my favourites. You've definitely got some great ones there. If you've got the most recent version of photoshop you could use the shadow/highlights tool to try and reduce the blown out highlights. If not, there is another which i can explain later if you want to know (have to get ready for work now!).

[flipfrog]

Nicole:
yes! please share!

...and i have 7.0 not CS and cannot find the shadow highlights tool u r talking about... ?

[Oneputt]

Like them very much, but simply do not feel qualified to make any comments.

[Nicole]

Dee,

The shadow/highlight tool is only available in CS. Definitely a handy tool to have and does a much better job. You can do a similar thing (but not as good) in 7.0 as follows:

1. Select the areas you want to darken. I usually use the magic wand.
2. Copy and paste the selection. A new layer will be created.
3. Set the blending mode of the layer to Multiply
4. Adjust the opacity until it looks more blended/normal

If the highlights are too blown then it's probably not going to do much. Can't remember where I read it but probably in a book somewhere.

[SoCal Steve]

IMO #4 is the strongest. #'s 5,6,10 and 15 are also appealing, but not quite as strong as #4.

Always enjoy getting to see your work, Dee.