[KenCo]

Again shot a couple of months ago, I was asked to photograph a family for Grandmas birthday and got permission to shoot individual shots for my website.
I will reprocess these as I should have masked the sleeves and brought some detail back (a bit blown in places) but other than that I am quite happy with these. I didn't want to bother the kids after sitting for grandmas pics so just took these as they were playing about. The background is just a big creamy (certainly off white) sheet and the lighting was non existent. All shot with the 70-200 @ F2.8 handheld and some only getting 1/30th used fill flash (580 above camera) bounced (no diffuser). I never intended for highkey but went that way (ish) in processing.

I would really like to improve my portrait photography so would appreciate your comments.

1

2

3

4

I do have many others but only processed these as like I say I thought they looked okay.
TFL.
C&C Welcome.
Ken.

[Markulous]

I'm liking that #1
#2/#3 maybe a touch shallow DOF
Think it'd be worth removing the 2nd catchlight - for some reason can't get passed that in #4

[Dabhand16]

I think 1,2 and 3 are great. Good compositions, caught the right expressions and the hi key works well.

#4 is technically good, but I find it odd somehow - maybe because of the catchlights as Mark said.

#2 and #3 are my favourites. For some reason the multiple catchlights in #3 don't bother me. Maybe in #4 it's a combination of the pose and the catchlights.

[Dave]

Wonderful processing as ever Ken & for me #2 as such an innocent look captured prefectly.

What processing did you find worked best for getting natural skin tones in Mono Ken ?

[fionaB]

these are lovely and the catch lights dont bother me that much., i woudl say that #2 and 3 look very washed out looking, have u checked the levels as they seem a tad flat on my screen

Fi

[Dave]

I reckon on those Fi, Ken was going for the eyes as prominent feature, which on my monitor are spot on in terms of levels/tones ..... how are they on yours ?

[fionaB]

yeah the eyes are fine, its the rest of the image that bothers me, cos its flat im instantly distracted by it, if thats the right word. and if there wasnt as much of the resto fht image i wouldnt have noticed in all honesty but the eyes are kinda lost amongst the rest.......... dont really know if im explaining this right!

Fi

[BeanPod]

Sorry this comment is not terribly helpful photography-wise, but what beautiful children! The expression on the little one in the first shot makes me smile!

Lovely shots too! 1 is my fave, not just cuz of the little one but your older girl's hair really gives it nice contrast. I prefer the broader range of tones I guess.

[KenCo]

Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated

Originally Posted by Dave

Wonderful processing as ever Ken & for me #2 as such an innocent look captured prefectly.

What processing did you find worked best for getting natural skin tones in Mono Ken ?

I processed these sometime ago Dave but iirc I used channel mixer 40 - 20 - 20 and +5 then just played with level and curves, with a litle shadow & highlight. No burning or dodging just basic stuff.

Originally Posted by fionaB

these are lovely and the catch lights dont bother me that much., i woudl say that #2 and 3 look very washed out looking, have u checked the levels as they seem a tad flat on my screen

Fi

You could very well be right, the baby has a birth mark or something on her forehead and I used the levels to lighten up as much as I dared to make that less noticeable. I then masked the eyes and gave a contrast usm. But I don't think they look to bad really...but i've still much to learn.

Thanks again for all the comments.
Ken.

[Les Meehan]

Originally Posted by fionaB

yeah the eyes are fine, its the rest of the image that bothers me, cos its flat im instantly distracted by it, if thats the right word. and if there wasnt as much of the resto fht image i wouldnt have noticed in all honesty but the eyes are kinda lost amongst the rest.......... dont really know if im explaining this right!

Fi

I may well get slated for what I am about to say but it isn't intended as a personal attack on FionaB but as an observation.

I have seen many posts here relating to mono pics, not just from FionaB (although quite often), stating something like the above with reference to the tonal values of the image (usually saying the image is 'flat', whatever that really means?). I have looked at most of Fi's gallery images and almost without exception her mono images are excessively contrasty! Now, personal style aside, one of the things that shows 'inexperience' in mono is what used to be called 'soot and whitewash' prints. These are prints with excessive contrast made because the photographer 'incorrectly' believes that mono prints are only 'good' if made to have razor-sharp contrast.

However, what usually sets a 'master' printer/mono maker apart is an appreciation of tone and the subtlety of tonal transitions and how they add to the beauty of an image. The tonal values are the 'harmonics' of an image. Excessive contrast, both macro and micro, only provides an immediate 'kapow' effect without offering long lasting interest. Beautiful tones in a print invite further interest and exploration of the image from a viewer. Think about it. Better still try producing beautiful tonal ranges in images.

So, please, when expressing an opinion about the tonal range of an image bear in mind that personal style is only that and not the definitive view.

BTW, Fi, my observation about your mono images being 'inexperience' (yes, my inference was just that) comes not just from your mono images but from the fact that your colour images DO NOT show this contrast issue.

Let the war begin...

Regards

Les

[Dave]

An interesting observation Les and I for one have to take some responsibility for slamming home the use of "full tonal range from pure Black right though to pure white" . As stated it's a personal taste. Here for example I have a 1st shot that falls in to high contrast



2nd shot still reasonably high contrast, but purposely not tipped too much towards getting the dark blacks, as I found I lost the range of tones in processing if I did :-



The a last shot, where I find with portraits / people, I really do calm down the contrast (well, for me anyway ) :-




From above it's clear to see I try to add punch to landscape scenes through contrast , quite often, where as in people photography I tone it down.

Although not easy to provide a generic statement for Mono, for me personally , I'm happy if I can get a shot showing a full set of tones, transitioning smoothly from the deepest black through to the purest white Happy to hear your views on above Les, as it's always good to have constructive feedback

PS> Sorry Ken for taking off track ...may need to split this out in to new thread

[KenCo]

Originally Posted by Dave

PS> Sorry Ken for taking off track ...may need to split this out in to new thread

Not at all, I live to learn.....
To be fair, I did processes these on my old monitor (which was about nackered) and before I purchased a hardware calibration unit. I will, as previously stated, reprocess these at some point.....as I have recently discovered the magic of layer masks (I know, I'm slow). I am quite happy with them still and really, it doesn't matter how anyone processes a pic.......some will like, some won't. At the end of the day, the parents loved them and it ticked a box on the to-do list .

Also.....and I wasn't going to mention this yet BUT, on the basis of these shots, I have an interview Tomorrow at a photography studio as a photographer/designer
I emailed loads of wedding photographers in the hope I could spend some time with them on a shoot or two. I'd really like the opportunity to do that kind of thing if only to see what it's like while learning the art of organising and posing people. I did get quite a few replies.....(don't know if some were sarcastic as they said I should be teaching them) but one company offered me a job and seem very keen, contacting me 7:55am the very next day and several phone calls and emails since......They have my CV. just the interview tomorrow now.

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by KenCo

Also.....and I wasn't going to mention this yet BUT, on the basis of these shots, I have an interview Tomorrow at a photography studio as a photographer/designer

Originally Posted by KenCo

but one company offered me a job and seem very keen, contacting me 7:55am the very next day and several phone calls and emails since......They have my CV. just the interview tomorrow now.

Hey Ken that is great news

Hope everything goes well for you.

[KenCo]

Thanks mate! Feel confident (ish) but will let you know how it goes.