[skipper954]

Well, I am back. Did you miss me? There have not been a lot of submissions, so I feel a responsibility to post. Hope you like.



Carina is an 18 year old aspiring model. Her Japanese heritage is very strong, and she wanted to do a shoot that emphasized that.

We did this shoot at her home. She lives with her parents.

I took my shoes off at the door. Their home is decorated in a contemplative, modern Japanese style.

All of her shots here were very intense, introspective in many ways, and very evocative of her culture.

I used the cs2 healing brush then the noise reduction filter to soften her skin, but yet I think the texture is still there.

skip

[Charlotte]

WB Skip Yes, I missed you

This shot of Carina is a little too soft, to me, + the DoF a little too short, as it looks a bit odd with her closest eye in focus but her furthest eye out of focus. Her make-up looks a bit odd too, the red lipstick + eye shadow look as if you added it in PS? (or else she didn't use a mirror ) I also find her hair where it's scraped back hurriedly atop her forehead a bit distracting, + feel that should have been tidied up for the shoot. Those are the neg bits ... yes, I do have some pos ones to add

I like very much the lighting you used + her facial expression. I imagine she's gazing out of the window (which she probably is). I like the crop + also your angle of viewpoint. I also like the colours - subtle shades which blend well together (except the hurried-looking red make-up). I found your explanation helpful + interesting, as I do find the Japanese culture interesting. Did you take some shots of not such a close crop showing the Japanese decor, i.e. Carina in her Japanese styled surroundings? If so, I'd very much like to see those too. She does look very tense in this shot, perhaps she had not relaxed ready for the shoot yet, or perhaps that is her personality coming out?

I like the idea of this shot Skip, but I feel some tidying up would improve it. Hope my observations help + are not too picky

[Bundybear]

Lighting-fantastic
facial expression-fantastic
Saturation-fraction to much on left shoulder
DoF-1-1.6 stop/s too short

Overall very nice but deeper Dof would add to the composition without distracting from the mood.

Just my opinion.

[skipper954]

Hi Charlotte

It is nice to be back.

This was the first shoot I did with my new nifty 50mm lens, at f/1.8 and so the dof was really narrow, and I was still playing with the focus.

I disagree about the softness. Although it wasn't necessarily intended, I think it adds to the feeling of the picture. What do others think? Am I going to be shot down? (again)

The makeup was applied by Carina's mother in what I suppose is the Japanese fashion, very stylized. Her mother was always there and in fact helped with the lighting, reflectors, moving furniture, ideas, etc., so that was very cool.

I also did an outside shoot with Carina last week, and her hair was down and she was in a much more teenage, playful mood. Quite a contrast. Will show some of those as well, but I was still having trouble with focus. However, I solved the problem in subsequent shoots.

Thanks for the input.

Just read your comment, Bundy, thank you. I agree about the dof, but I am sitting here trying to justify it

skip

[chickadee]

(on our monitor )my opinion is there is to much light relecting off Carina's right side of her forehead and neck .Must admit I think it a shame the hair and makeup just doesnt do it for me , looks like the eyebrows are not realistic. However I think Carina's has lovely shape eyes and is very attractive .Would like to see a shoot done that acsentuates (hope thats how you spell it ) her lovely features.You did make me laugh when you said you took your shoes off , I just believe its just politeness any house to remove your shoes.As you know I have a long way to go regarding my photos , however this is just my opinion.

[Rob Barron]

If her right eye is really sharp in the original then I love it. It's a little soft here and I'd like it to be strongly in focus so that the rest can blur away and not be a problem. I don't mind her left eye being blurred, that works fine.

Although my first impression was that I'd like more DoF, I have looked at it a bit longer and I must say I like it more and more and think the softness works really well with this beautiful young lady. The only two bits I feel could do with adjusting: the lips which I feel are not made up as well as they could be, especially the way I know most Japanese women are so meticulous about cosmetics. The other is the colour of the background which is a sort of grey/green/mustard colour that I don't feel works well with her tonal range.

But the image as a whole I really like. Good to see the nifty fifty working well

Cheers,
Rob

[j sotelo]

skip I really like your work even if I dont say it, I'll say it now, "I learn from your work I like what you do", and this girl has a ton of possibilities you can do with her, and that picture in not even close to what you can do. maybe its the fact that its your first shoot with that glass. by the way I have that lens and your going to love it !.

[skipper954]

Thanks Rob and Sue. I think that Carina's mother made her up to emphasize the Imperial Japan, or the shogun era, where I think that makeup like this was the norm. However, I am not at all sure about that.

Unfortunately, I think that the right eye is only slightly sharper than this. I have another shot where both eyes are just a tad soft, but this works better, I think.

I think that I have my focusing problem in hand now. For some reason, the cam wasn't set to focus from the central frame, so I had many images that were woefully out of focus because I didn't realize it.

[water]

I'm not a 'portrait person' but there is so much to like about this one.And a really thought provoking 'pose' from the girl,just what is she thinking about!!!.For me,a very nice shot