[fionaB]

well i gave into pressure and shot my friend, she wanted some shots before her bump got much bigger....... she is 3 1/2 months pregnant.......

im completely out my depth here so gimme as many pointers as you can! lol

[Dabhand16]

The mono image appears to have suffered in the upload. There is something about her face that makes me think 'artificial'. Almost like there is a load of make-up. Or is it the surface of the mirror? If it is noise, I think it is too much.

I like the colour ones better, especially the close-up, but there is a shadow on her right eye. The other one seems a bit strange with the stool not having anything to support it - unless it is the first anti-gravity stool in the world!

Very different for you Fi, and a good first attempt.

[fionaB]

thanx Graham......... not sure why the mono is as noisey cos it isnt as noisy in the high res, but i did like the grainyness.
in my defence her house is even smaller than mine so no room to move and very limited lighting.......... will do better next time.......... i hope! lol

Fi

[j sotelo]

yeah the mono doesn't look that good quality wise. composition wise, maybe if you didnt crop her off and if you cant step back a little then push the mirror a little forward, (i'm guessing that is a mirror, right)

The color ones, looks like you went a little overboard fixing her skin,
what ever plug in you used, try using it on a separate layer and then lower the opacity to your liking, add a mask and mask out things like eyes, eyebrows, lips, etc.
and for the lighting, well you didnt do too bad, well maybe you could have used a reflector to avoid some shadows in her face.

[fionaB]

excellent stuff.... im soaking it all up many thanx!........ did have the reflectors with me........... just got carried away and forgot about them ......... still it was my first time doing things like this so i wont forget next time.

Fi

[Dave]

Really like the 1st composition

[Summerleft]

I like Like the comp of 1 too, shame about the upload quality but still my fave.

[Les Meehan]

No #1 for me too, I think it is a nice image. One could nit-pick but I don't think it deserves it, I'm enjoying it as is! Well done Fi!

The other two simply show your lack of knowledge/experience of studio work which will improve as you do more (as long as you do what is needed LIKE USE THE FLIPPIN REFLECTORS, DUH! , a case of taking the horse to the water or what? ).

I'm guessing from what you said that your friend didn't want to be seen as preggie but it may have been nice to work on a pose that hinted of her condition as a future mum i.e. hand on tum, face looking toward tum, or something less obvious.

I suggest you take this opportunity to make this into a mini project and suggest to your friend that she models once a month (explore ideas/locations/mood/lighting etc each month, great for you too) throughout her term and then finish off with the birthing and first baby shots (all in mono of course, what say you Dave?). Make a complete album/book of the work and she will love you forever. What a treasure that would be for her.

Cheers

Les

EDIT: Don't forget at least one shot of her talking to the big white telephone one morning and eating coal and marmalade butties too!! Just for fun!

[fionaB]

ah great minds Les, actually i do have a few of her showing her "bump" its just i have not had time to process them........ but what i suggested to her last night was that we do it every couple of months and then at the end of the pregnancy create a photo book, most people keep baby books but she will have a "pregnancy" book as well.........and yep it will give me loads more chance to practice! lol

thanx again everyone.

Fi

[Gary Bagshawe]

I actually really like the 1st image, the 2nd one needs the eyes to be pin sharp imo. Mask them off before doing any skin changes.
Great work.

[JMitchell]

Like the idea in the first one, not sure what happened with the quality.
The second one is just not sharp enough for a portrait, perhaps due to processing as said.
The third one is ok, but you've cut off her feet at the bottom, and her expression is a little bit leer-y.
Good work for a first shoot though!
We want more!

[simpbow]

#1&2 for me Fiona, a happy model there.

[cpd23]

Fi everyone covered the image stuff so well I have nothing more to add. I would like to see your model more relaxed and having fun. She seems to be a bit nervous or stressed and the smile seems to be forced. It is possible she was feeding off your nervousness. If I am reading it right the more time you spend together the better it will get.

[fionaB]

thanx all......CP, she certainly wasnt nervous and we have been best of friends for years so she knows me very well,....... i actually looked again at the pics after i read your comment, and i cant see her any different from her normal self to be perfectly honest, maybe of course she was trying too hard to get it "right"...........she wasnt worried about me cos for some unknown reason she has complete confidence in my ability! lol she is happy with the shots so far, but i have a load more that i havent had time to process yet....
however we will be doing another shoot as her "bump" grows so there will be more and hopefully i will have absorbed some of the advice given here! lol
thanx again

Fi

[cpd23]

Looks like I miss read it. Best of luck with the rest of the shots