"School of Portraiture" - Lesson 03 - "Positioning - Lighting - Taking the Shot"

[Colin Southern]

My head is on vacation. Colin, sorry, I posted my shots under Lesson 2.

Shaking my head...

Myra

All fixed

[Colin Southern]

Hi Folks,

Some good efforts there

Unfortunately, I've been a little bit too busy today to be able to offer any individual critique - so - what I'd like you all to do is first of all, have a go a critiquing your OWN work.

In lessons 1, 2, and 3 we've covered a number of areas & techniques including background selection (something shaded - sun close by - and some kind of "pattern") - we've covered using a reflector to get a bit of direction into the lighting - and we've covered a few things relating to posing ... what I'd like you to do is pass some comments on your own work (and that of others if you're game!) to say why you've selected the backgrounds & poses that you did - and how well you think they and the lighting worked out - where you think your choices were weak - where you think they were strong - and one or two things you feel that you could of or can do to improve your results next time.

Sorry to "throw it back at you" but if I can get you identifying and correcting your own work then I'll have truely have "taught you how to fish, and feed you for a lifetime" -v- "giving you a fish and feeding you for a day"

[Maritimer1]

That's fair enough, Colin. You've put a great deal of time and thought into this thread. All your teacher friends will happy with you for using best practices, too

Thank you for moving my post, as well. I'm going to go back and add to my critique.

Myra

[Maritimer1]

I'm going to critique this photo that I took yesterday.




F5.6 1/90 ISO 200 @ 170m

1. The background is too irregular in that there are light sources that detract from the image. In particular, the upper left corner. No wall/solid fence was available so I should have found a space that would provide denser foilage.
2. The composition is too front on. I remember positioning him at a slight angle with one shoulder dropped, but that went out the window before the shot was taken. I need to slow down and keep checking and repositioning. The arms need to either be gone completely or I need to take a 3/4 shot that includes the arms in a comfortable pose. (Hold something, have him seated with arms resing on lap etc etc) His eyes needs to relax. He does that squint when he's concentrating. I had him open them wide a few times to make him laugh and relax. That helped a bit, but need to work on rapport with the subject. (Animals are so much easier as you can click and cluck and bribe them with treats )
3. Light. Hmmm... I had a silver, homemade reflector held up on his left side to catch and bounce back some sun. Tried the white side (bristol board) but it did not seem to have any effect. Looking at the photo now, there is too much shadow on the right side of his neck. A white reflector held at his waist to reflect up into that area would have been nice but impossible at the time. There must have been a way to reposition us all to avoid that shadow. I did manage to get some light in both eyes, although that's hard to see!
4. Post processing- Except for some exposure adjustment, contrast and clarity in ACR and a tiny bit of sharpening in PS, I didn't do anything. His complexion issues need attention, the skin tones are too red, cropping needs to be done...

Anyone else is welcome to have a go!


Myra

[Sam Smith]

Well the model was finally agreeable to pose. Of course today is a typical day in Florida, rain, sun, rain, sun and drizzle. It was hard to use the reflector as a breeze was starting and blowing it over. The only PP is teeth whiting and removing a little injury below the left eye. Other than those is as shot. I need to work on my model direction skills. Maybe someone other than the wife next time.

Well here goes. Things wrong: The neck area on the right side seems a little washed out. The head is tilted a little back instead of forward. The left side of the jaw lacks defintion. The model is not framed correctly, there is no room on the top for adjustment. The whole thing looks too static.
Things liked: Overall the lighting. The defintion of the eyes. The background

[Sam Smith]

Myra,

The only thing I am able to add is the shirt is too busy. My eyes were drawn to it quickly.

[Maritimer1]

Myra,

The only thing I am able to add is the shirt is too busy. My eyes were drawn to it quickly.

<LOL> The sad thing is, I picked it out. Most of his others are bright or white. It is very busy; you're right!

I don't think your photo looks too washed out. Do you think it might be the lack of contrast between the subject and the light background?

Myra

[Sam Smith]

<LOL> The sad thing is, I picked it out. Most of his others are bright or white. It is very busy; you're right!

I don't think your photo looks too washed out. Do you think it might be the lack of contrast between the subject and the light background?

Myra

Yes. Thanks I never thought of that. I will find a different background and do over. I have to say it is nice to have other people look at you work and offer advice. It will makes us all better photographers.

[Loose Canon]

Well, I’m not real sure I could do much personal C&C on my shot because I’m not real sure I know enough. I would be hugely pleased and grateful if maybe some of my classmates might have a go at it.

But I can say that somehow I missed the boat on the patterned background condition. I did try for a dark one. I have a diagonally laid cedar plank wall the same color that I probably should have used. It is available with the proper conditions later in the day, but I wouldn’t be able to get my subject very far away from it without getting into direct sunlight and the conditions don’t last long. I should give it a shot, though. Since I am off to the “Wild” (back to work), I won’t be able to re-shoot for three weeks or so.

I also think I may have needed to shoot at a larger aperture value (higher f-stop) to have my subject a little more fully in focus. I shot it using Av at f/4 with 1/125 shutter speed. ISO 100, so I had plenty of wiggle room to pinch down on the aperture.

Some things I tried to watch for while shooting. I wanted to have her head positioned so that when she looked into the camera, I could see whites in her eyes on each side of her iris’. I had her drop her chin slightly. I had her sitting on a drum throne and tried to shoot slightly down on her. It doesn’t look like it much to me and I don’t know if it was enough. I tried to get her to drop her leading shoulder, which she did, but I also gave the camera a bit of a list and it looks to me that her following shoulder is dropped.

I held my bounce card/reflector over my head to try to get the catchlights @ 10:00 or so. I think I got that one. I took out some of the additional/random reflections from her eyes. She had a double catch in her right eye that I didn’t like. One thing I wonder is if I might remove some more of those additional reflections. If portraiture is all about the eyes, I wanted to make sure I paid special attention to that point. I also did some local sharpening on her eyeballs in PP. I tried a silver reflector (cardboard and aluminum foil) some with this effort, but it was just too harsh. I gave it up after I almost burner her off the throne a time or two!

I did some local skin softening as per Colin’s procedure, adjusted for Elements, to try to soften her character lines a bit. Not a lot, and she warned me to not remove them entirely. Smart girl! They are part of her beauty!

She has a little bit of her hair peeking out on her camera right cheek at her mouth line that looks a little like it shouldn’t be there. Could clone that off and it wouldn’t be too hard to do. In fact I could maybe clone off the few stray hairs on her head and neck.

I tried to watch for putting the camera right side of her face in too deep shadow. There was some dappled lighting available at this location and I toyed with the idea of trying to give her a little hair light. I went with just trying to complete the assignment according to the lesson plan as best I could.

And she dressed in a pink top to complement her lip color. Plus I think she looks good in pink.

That’s probably the only thing I got right!

[wilgk]

hope I am gaining more of an understanding of not only what this will require on the technical end, but also how to relate and have a rapport with my model. I can see this is a huge aspect of success at this endeavor.

Hi Terry
I think you have raised a very important point for all of us to remember here - I found it tricky enough getting a reflector etc all organised with a family member - I can only imagine how hard it it to get all the gear organised AND get the subject to relax enough for the 'natural' look we want - if we hardly know them.
So that is something else I plan to practice - offering to practice on friend's of friends or family members.

But I also think this is a great shot
Cheers from your classmate!

[wilgk]

Anyone else is welcome to have a go! Myra

Hi Myra
I chose our daughter as my subject because our son does 'the squint thing' as well even if he is nowhere near the sun - so I know how tricky it is with a young man as the subject.
Also on the clothing - the last time we went for a professional family photograph - we were sent reams of information about what to wear ....including no patterned or 'logo'd clothing.....
however it was a very hot day, the family would rather have been anywhere else then where we were, to the point that in the end, I just said "wear whatever you want" to get them in the car.

I can offer no advice of course, just sharing that this point again is another 1, that we don't think too much about, but is another piece to remember about this HUGE portrait puzzle!

And I agree animals are easier, as are sports teams - they're all in uniforms

[Sam Smith]

I will have to agree about instructing the model, but remember if we are going to do it with someone we don't really know shouldn't we be at the location and setup waiting on them. I had a hard time telling my model what I really wanted because this is the first one of these I have done other than family reuions. If we practice it should come easier to us later. My model made the suggestion that I pose in a mirror to see what I really wanted.
Terry your picture is great as far I can tell. My son pointed out that the joint line in the background and the Lovely models mouth are on the same plane. I did not notice but I did once he said it. People see different things in the same picture. The only other thing to me is below the eyes looks a little washed out.

[Ricko]

[QUOTE=Ricko;56118]
1


1. Too much angle on the shot.
2. Wind is blowing the hair allover the place.
3. Model is squinting, due to light from the refelector, so you cant really see the whites of the eyes.
4. Skin tones look very pale.
5. Subjects hair is too much like the background colour.
6. Pos, shoulders should have be 45 but ended up 90 to camera.

2


Same as above.

3


1. Still squinting a bit, no light on the eyes.
2. Over cropped I think looking at it now.
3. Front shoulder looks too big in the frame taking your eye away from the face.


Well the list goes on really. What have I learnt from this so far.....

I need to set aside more time to practice technique, as it looks easy on paper but tends to go pear shaped then I get behind the camera.

I need to get a model that really does want to have thier photo taken Instead of a bribed one.

See what the weather is doing for the day, as this had a impact on the shooting time.

When I get some more time I'll have another go on some other unsuspecting victim.

[Ollokot]

Hi to all,
The bravery show by all class members is highly commendable,as for myself nerves and being unsure of myself almost got the better of me. As for my attempt, image 1 seems a bit flat and,I think would have benefited from a reflected light ( i dident have one) also she is not fully in the frame. Image 2 also lacks light and the horizontal black line on the background is too prominent. Saying that with my lack of experience it is only with this school that i am learning what to look for.

Best Wishes to all,

Pat

[Colin Southern]

Hi folks,

Just a couple of things ...

1. I think you're all doing really well - I suspect that you're all learning a lot by critiquing yours and others work; by the way, feel free to shoot more portraiture (hopefully learning from previous work) and post it here.

2. Sorry I've been "somewhat distant" the last couple of days -- I definately haven't abandoned you all -- just a wee bit busy for lengthy replies for a few days. Normal transmission will resume shortly (but in the meantime, keep shooting, and don't be afraid to develop your own style -- do a "Google" for portraits - pickout some you like - and have a go at copying them).

[pixel pete]

Greetings Colin,
It's been a while. I have this habit of popping in then disappearing for long periods. I just poked around and saw your excellent tutorial. I thought my latest post might be a worthwhile contribution.

More details are on the blog post
http://peterphun.com/blog/2010/08/23...or-a-portrait/

Regards,
Peter

[Loose Canon]

Well, I can't reshoot, but I can rework for what its worth! Besides, I'm trying to get used to some new software anyway.

Original and second try:


If any of my fellow classmates, or anyone else for that matter would like to have a go, I'm always open and appreciative. Not exactly sure of everything I did differently, I was kind of pfutzing with the new program and didn't record what I done very accurately. I can see that was a mistake.

[Sam Smith]

Terry, I like it better. What program are you working in?

[Loose Canon]

Thank you for commenting, Sam! As usual, I'm a little unsure, but that doesn't seem to stop me from jumping right into the Big Middle of it!

I made the leap from Elements 8 to CS5 with "The Deal". I'm digging it, but man, there sure is a lot there! I had never even seen a CSx before! I've had it on board for three days so far.

[Dave Humphries]

Thank you for commenting, Sam! As usual, I'm a little unsure, but that doesn't seem to stop me from jumping right into the Big Middle of it!

I made the leap from Elements 8 to CS5 with "The Deal". I'm digging it, but man, there sure is a lot there! I had never even seen a CSx before! I've had it on board for three days so far.

Hi Terry,

Interesting; I am very tempted by 'The Deal' myself this time, love to know how you get on.
Looking forward to being able to do more in ACR and remaining 16 bit while cloning and using layers.
I have 2 weeks to decide.

Your 'Take 2' (with CS5) has more contrast and waaay more (possibly too much) saturation - unless her tan really is that deep, the original skin tone looks a little more natural to me.

HTH,