nearly sweet sixteen

chickadee · 20-03-2007, 05:36

Trashcan · 20-03-2007, 07:05

Cute, very cute

And close to my age

chickadee · 20-03-2007, 14:13

thanks .think we have fixed our monitor problems .....AND goog thing you live half way around the other side of the world

**Markulous** · 20-03-2007, 14:38

Light's a little harsh, giving deep shadows, but you've captured that "I still know everything" look very well!

Victoria · 20-03-2007, 23:31

Nice shot. The only thing missing is that sparkle in the eyes that using fill-in flash adds. Using the flash would also help remove some of the shadows from the face.

chickadee · 21-03-2007, 01:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victoria

Nice shot. The only thing missing is that sparkle in the eyes that using fill-in flash adds. Using the flash would also help remove some of the shadows from the face.

thanks for comment ,didnt know the bit about fill in flash adds sparkle ....so much appreciated .cheers

skipper954 · 22-03-2007, 02:28

Good expression.

But the contrast is a bit harsh, and every single blemish is there.

This image would have benefited by lowering the contrast a bit and using one on the skin smoothing methods.

Also agree with chickadee about fill flash and shadows.

skip

chickadee · 22-03-2007, 07:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipper954

Good expression.

But the contrast is a bit harsh, and every single blemish is there.

This image would have benefited by lowering the contrast a bit and using one on the skin smoothing methods.

Also agree with chickadee about fill flash and shadows.

skip

thanks ,will be trying this again whne my model is up to posing again...however the only thing iam not to fond of is altering Becs freckles as to me it wouldnt be who Becs is if I removed them .But thanks for your comments

skipper954 · 22-03-2007, 14:38

Right, Chick. One doesn't want to change the person.

In this case, I don't think I would remove Bec's freckles, but would make them a bit less prominent and/or remove some of them. Really a case of experimentation to see what works best.

skip

Rob Barron · 22-03-2007, 18:29

I like this picture a lot but, and please forgive me, this is just my opinion, it doesn't at all speak to me of 'Sweet Sixteen'. Don't get me wrong, she is a lovely lass and maybe she is sweet in real life, but the image as portrayed here is a strong image of a teenager with attitude! 'Sweet' doesn't fit for me but 'sassy' yup, for sure.

Definitely wouldn't want you to change the skin here, leave the girl as she is. We can be too quick to change things like that and thus tell the subject 'You don't look right, I have tried to improve you!'

The camera angle here is a 'right up the nose' shot and so we have to strong black nostrils that are not usually a highlight for anyone so I think I would soften them down a bit with a reflector to put a bit of soft light back in without taking away the sassy pose. Not sure where you took this but the lass has a shadow of something across the left of her face (right as we look) which I think could have been avoided. Could be this was taken near a window and that is the window frame, not sure. Again, a reflector would help that a bit.

Good shot, I like the attitude it portrays. I am a bit shocked that someone said she knows it all at 16.... must have been a late developer: my daughter knew it all when she was 13! Funnily enough she seems to have forgotten a lot in recent years as suddenly advice from dad is a bit more welcome. Well, sometimes anyway

Cheers,
Rob

chickadee · 22-03-2007, 21:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Barron

I like this picture a lot but, and please forgive me, this is just my opinion, it doesn't at all speak to me of 'Sweet Sixteen'. Don't get me wrong, she is a lovely lass and maybe she is sweet in real life, but the image as portrayed here is a strong image of a teenager with attitude! 'Sweet' doesn't fit for me but 'sassy' yup, for sure.

Definitely wouldn't want you to change the skin here, leave the girl as she is. We can be too quick to change things like that and thus tell the subject 'You don't look right, I have tried to improve you!'

The camera angle here is a 'right up the nose' shot and so we have to strong black nostrils that are not usually a highlight for anyone so I think I would soften them down a bit with a reflector to put a bit of soft light back in without taking away the sassy pose. Not sure where you took this but the lass has a shadow of something across the left of her face (right as we look) which I think could have been avoided. Could be this was taken near a window and that is the window frame, not sure. Again, a reflector would help that a bit.

Cheers,
Rob

it funny in a sense how we interperate a pic.
But thanks Rob , as i stated with my pic i definately need reflector, and yes Bec was next to a window on her left (our right) Totally agree with not changing the skin , I definately against that as why would I want to turn a person into someone they are not .To me its sending a wrong message to the person.Always believe the art of photography is to use lighting ,right poses , different set ups etc to create the look, not manipulate the whole thing in a photoshop to me thats not a good photographer thats a good manipulator .
To me the two are different ,but in some cases the 2 can work compatitable providing its not overdone and abused.Hope this doesnt offend to many. just my thoughts.

Rob Barron · 22-03-2007, 22:37

Perfectly reasonable thoughts Sue. I am an Adobe-credited Photoshop tutor so I am not about to tell people off for manipulating photos but I also believe that photography starts with a camera and doing as much as you can to get the picture as close as possible at that stage. There is no excuse for ignoring all the fundamentals of good photography on the basis that you can just change it later, that is just being lazy.

On the other side of this coin, I am perfectly happy with people getting an image in their mind that cannot be created with a camera alone but is in itself a good piece of artwork. For that they take the photo they want and then use their skills to do whatever they feel appropriate to get them to their desired image. The problems arise, in my opinion, when people use Photoshop to disguise badly taken photographs and try to cover up the results with heavy post processing that shouldn't have been necessary. That also extends to making a person look like somebody they are not. Of course there can be very good reasons for that and every cover girl in the land has been airbrushed to make her look her best but I think we all know what kind of thing we are talking about here. I definitely don't hold with changing someone who is perfectly happy with the way they look simply because we as the photographer happen to think we can make them look better!

I believe you can be a good photographer AND a good manipulator and the twain really can meet. We have some people on this forum who are really excellent at post-processing and the results are an absolute joy to behold. Take a look at Dave's stunning mono work or Markulous's beautiful colour work. We are seeing some lovely HDR stuff, hand-toning, selective toning, you name it. I am all for that and am always happy to admit openly when I have worked on an image. But if I start doing it because I couldn't be bothered to get it right in the first place as much as possible or because I am taking a mediocre picture and trying to pretend it is better than it really is, I will give up this hobby for good.

But give me a good photographer who is also a good post-processor and I will enjoy looking at their pictures for hours

Cheers,
Rob