Attempt to feather

[Equilibrium8]

This was my first shoot with a largish softbox (60cm). I've been using umbrellas and small (20cm) softboxes until now.

I attempted to use Colin's advice about feathering the light, and I was pleased from the results in general; there seemed to be far less specular highlights than I get with an umbrella. I'm not sure if this was a result of the softbox or the feathering. The last lighting book I was reading said softboxes give MORE specular highlights.

Canon 50D with Canon 70-200 f2.8 USM
Exposure Time = 1/250"
F Number = F4
Exposure Program = Manual
ISO Speed Ratings = 400

I was using a hair light for this shoot, but it doesn't look it made it into this shot.

Any suggestions or commentary would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Kenny,

I'm no expert, but I'll 'hold the fort' until Colin sees this

My thoughts;
I'd PP dodge around her right eye to get a bit more detail there
I find the 'disconnected' knee a distraction, might be worth cloning out, or cropping/framing a bit lower so the arm and leg are joined in shot (if you know what I mean)
You haven't said what focal length was used, possibly a little longer (and shot from further away) would have given a less 'chunky' right arm and hand
I did notice a lack of hair rim light, but with this background and the pool of light on wall, it isn't too much of an issue for me

I do like the shot though, it has a lot 'right' about it; composition, focus, DoF and general exposure/tonal range.
The arm and hand do focus your attention on her eyes and they are sharp and have nice catchlights.

Wouldn't mind seeing it bigger though.

Let's see what the expert thinks

Cheers,

[Equilibrium8]

Hi Dave, thanks for the input.

I'd PP dodge around her right eye to get a bit more detail there

I've never tried dodging around the eyes, always thought dodging and burning was for the eye itself. I'll experiment with that.

I find the 'disconnected' knee a distraction, might be worth cloning out, or cropping/framing a bit lower so the arm and leg are joined in shot (if you know what I mean)

Funny, it didn't bother me until I uploaded the photo. I didn't think about cloning it out, good idea! I didn't want to crop it more because it would need to go through the elbow.

You haven't said what focal length was used, possibly a little longer (and shot from further away) would have given a less 'chunky' right arm and hand

The focal length is 110mm. If I remember correctly I was stuck with a pile of bricks behind me at this angle. I see what you mean.

I do like the shot though, it has a lot 'right' about it; composition, focus, DoF and general exposure/tonal range.
The arm and hand do focus your attention on her eyes and they are sharp and have nice catchlights.

Thanks

Wouldn't mind seeing it bigger though.

I'll start making more file sizes. Some sites have size restrictions for uploads, so I generally stick to 700 for my final exports to keep them "safe" to upload.

Thanks!

[Dave Humphries]

I'll start making more file sizes. Some sites have size restrictions for uploads, so I generally stick to 700 for my final exports to keep them "safe" to upload.

If you host here at CiC as you have with this one, that will be a problem (700px is maximum length), the alternative is TinyPic or a bit of web space of your own, like Flickr. Just been looking at Weezo, you could link that here at say the Large (1024) size.

Cheers,

[speedneeder]

Looks pretty good to me. I like Dave's comments. Lots of good things going on here.

What do you think of this edit?

[Equilibrium8]

If you host here at CiC as you have with this one, that will be a problem (700px is maximum length), the alternative is TinyPic or a bit of web space of your own, like Flickr. Just been looking at Weezo, you could link that here at say the Large (1024) size.

Cheers,

I'm still having trouble with them. Tinypic seems to regards everything from Hinet servers as spam. Flickr wasn't working for me; I'll try going through the tut page again.

[Equilibrium8]

Looks pretty good to me. I like Dave's comments. Lots of good things going on here.

What do you think of this edit?

I like it. It brings out the eyes a lot.