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Now i don't want anyone to think this is the best i can do, but with the camera on the back of the recliner, (my tripod broke-hoping santa will bring me a new one) and running back and forth to focus and shoot on a 10 second delay - easier to think about doing then actually doing!!

This is one of 4 shots i took before giving in until i can get a tripod, it was just too hard. I don't like it but its the nicer shot of myself and my hubby. He wasn't too impressed to get his photo taken, i think next time i will angle him a little to make him appear slimmer as this shot has made him look quite large when in fact he isn't!!

Comments most welcome, but yeah this is me and my man! and my first attempt at this type of shot of the two of us!! will attempt again soon once i get another tripod!!

kristen

Nice to see two very pleasant faces. Despite your technical
problems (not having a tripod), this portrait has a lot on its
favour maily the square format, framing, the relaxed pose
of the subjects and no distraction on the background.
Now, allow me to be critical. I would introduce possibly a
little blur (to add glamour) to disguise the lack or sharpness
and I would play with the contrast to see if it adds and
finally I would try some vignetting to ensure the faces become
more prominent. Now, all the above may or may not work but
give it a try and see if it improves the photo.

Thanks for your comment, i will give those suggestions a go and see how it turns out, i loved the asquare crop as the original has to much shoulders and arms in it, and i felt we got a bit lost in the black background.

Thanks again for your comment.

kristen

Just be careful when cropping so you don't make it hard to print without resizing.
I always crop to a print template so i don't need the image resized to fit.

Kristen, This is not a bad portrait as far as expression is concerned.

Technically though, I am yearning for sharpness in the eyes. I would use USM to try and recover this a little.

From a lighting point of view; I would prefer some areas NOT lit so that it helps to shape the faces more into 3D. Perhaps alter the lighting ratio....

I find using bunched up cloth helps to balance the camera when you don't have a tripod handy - although depening on what lens you use you may have to be careful not to get the cloth in the shot (speaking from experience here)..

The portrait itself isn't too bad although as you have pointed out you feel it makes your husband appear a little larger than he is.. when you get your tripod try taking it from a slightly higher vantage point - when the camera is lower than you it can give off the impression that the subject is larger than it is - and when that subject is me its so not nice lol.. As for the posing your idea to not have him so square on is a good one.. so a little to the side and turning his head to face the camera works well with most people.. and even though it sounds weird try to inject a little humour into the shot have a laugh.. (tickle him etc) as that can help with facial expressions making the portrait not just one of the two of you but one of the two of you with personality.. does that make sense? .

kristen

I've taken the liberty to do a couple of alterations to the photo you publish to illustrate what I meant above. I mean no offence. Let me know if you want the picture removed.
Surenj suggested to have the eyes more sharp instead of blurred, so I did just that. I used the Gradient Map, the Unsharp Mask, added a layer and painted black, then cut a square with a feather of 85 pixels and finally I flatten the layers. You can do much better with your original photo.

wow,

i love it, thank you, i have no idea how to do what you've done!! it looks amazing!! all i can say is wow, what program do you use? i use photoshop and i have never been able to do this with my shots. thanks, even my hubby (dave) said he loves it, so much clearer as he said!! i've got other photo's i've recently taken that could do with this sort of treatment, so yeah i'd love to try it once i understand how to do it!

Good work on the rework there zafra52

I would actually say he looks quite comfortable in the shot, no obvious frowns, a tickle of a smile, in most men thats doing pretty good imo.

When you get your tripod it is only gonna get better!

hey, i followed your tips on the original, and this is what i came up with, looks so much better then my first attempt, wow what a difference doing those few things in photoshop did to the shot!! thank you, here is my edited version. Mind you it isn't cropped as much, i think i liked it with the black layer feathered at 85. but i guess i can try crop it a tad more if ppl think it looked better with a tighter crop!

bigsarg7 wrote:hey, i followed your tips on the original, and this is what i came up with, looks so much better then my first attempt, wow what a difference doing those few things in photoshop did to the shot!!

Yes, it does work a lot better, but from where I stand mostly because of the inclusion of your right hand. That makes all the difference, and for a totally new composition and message. I'm not entirely sold on the high-contrast thing - why does everybody around here love high-contrast pics?

Cheers
Steffen.

I am glad you are happier with your second attempt. It is so much better. Just keep working on it till you are satified with the final picture. You know your work is finished when anything else you to do it takes away rather improves it. It is a lovely photograph of you both. You can print it big and hang it on a wall, put in canvas ... and even give it as a gift to your love ones.

Now,

why does everybody around here love high-contrast pics?

I guess it's a matter of taste. I like my blacks to be as black as possible. The important thing, I guess, is not what I like but what you like to do with your own pictures and what you think it suits best in each case. There is a popular Spanish saying that goes something like "...there is not definite writting on taste". But, I would translate as "...taste like beauty is in the eye of the beholder" .

I'm not feeling the black border. It's so obvious and distracting on the bottom.
Maybe try a small vignette.