80's style portrait

[jamesw]

going for an 80s style portrait. bright whites and neon. self portrait btw.

[Geoff]

Hi James, not a bad SP. A few suggestions for next time though.

1. I know you want to achieve bright whites but they appear TOO bright in parts, particularly under the LEFT (your own left) side under the rim of the cap.

2. There's a few harsh-ish shadows near your left first, under your left eye, rim of the top of your t-shirt and generally the bottom right (as you look at it) the image. Care to share your lighting setup so we can see how u could improve for next time?

3. I think there's too much dead space in the top of the image, a tighter crop from above and right could help.

4. Glad you clarified you were after an 80's type look, I was just about call the fashion police

[jamesw]

thanks geoff.

appriciate crit as this type of stuff isnt my kettle of fish.

one light to extreme right (3 oclock), hitting wall. one light to left about 7 o'clock

i kind of wanted to have some really hot light (it just really reminds me of new kids on the block) but if you think thats too hot, i can see why.

and yeah the shadows are harsh i needed diffused light i guess!

[Reschsmooth]

James, apart from what Geoff has said, the light on camera right (your left) has meant that your t-shirt has lost definition and blends into the background. Also, the light fall-off at the bottom is probably a bit too much?

Maybe try 1 light to your right at 45 degrees and the other light more directly onto the wall. You could even try some reflected fill light at your left? As you have a few lights, you could even try a rim light (strobe directly behind your head)?

[jamesw]

thks guys,

i'd really like to buy one of those portrait lighting kits sometime so i can get my head around this stuff.

[Onyx]

Missing a pair of big Corey Worthington-style sunglasses.

I don't like how the background light sorta misses the lower right 5%. May if you cropped it off above the point so the background is fully lit?! (but then it'll cop off your arms)