Beauty shoot #1 - Kaila

[Manfred M]

I had an opportunity to participate in a beauty shoot yesterday evening, in downtown Ottawa. There were 9 photographers and four models for about three hours of shooting (6:00PM - 9:00PM). We shot at Ottawa City Hall, at Confederation Park and at the National Arts Centre.

Unfortunately for all concerned, it was a cold day in May, with temperatures around 7° C / 45° F, so all concerned were rather cold. I had also twisted my knee earlier that day, so I was in a lot of pain and hobbling around during the shoot...

It was quite overcast, so all the shots here are natural light, with Mother Nature providing a large soft box.

This model is Kaila:

1.





2.





3.

[Shadowman]

Nice series, hopefully there were a few coffee breaks in between and those locations could have spiced up the scenery.

[KimC]

Hope your knee is feeling better today Manfred. How lucky you were to have an opportunity to photograph models & not a bad ratio of photogs to models.

My favorite of the set is the second one - she a beautiful woman, and the soft background compliments her nicely. Also soft light on her face, with just a tiny bit of shadow, gives her face lovely definition.

I like the 3rd image as well; however the background (in my opinion) competes with her a bit as it's very strong (lots of texture and dark lines). It's still a lovely photo of her and I'm sure she was pleased.

Concerning the first image, I love her seductive look and everything about her face and the pose; however, i feel the bright green line of the grass leads the eye away from her face and to her 'behind" (first thing I noticed). I'm sure that would be pleasing to some, so it's just a matter of personal taste. Might be cool in B&W.

I'm trying to get better at evaluating my thoughts on images, so hope you don't mind I gave my opinion on all 3 :-)

[IzzieK]

I like #3 because she has an even face and very nice and simple looking. The first and the second one needs a bit of working on the shadows of her left eye? Just a thought.

[Cogito]

Nice model, Manfred. Think you could improve #1 and get rid of the glow around her b*m??

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the comments:

I've gone back and did some more dodging and burning around the eyes, Izzie and Kim. Frankly, Kim, the two things I did now love about #1 are the grass colour and the position of the hand. Yes, going B&W is one way to deal with the grass. I also tried ot desaturate it locally, but did not like the way it came out.

Tony - the "glow" on the jeans is the way the light is falling. It is also quite visible on the model's jacket. I looked at removing it / toning it down, but that ended up looking wrong.



Here is the B&W conversion.

[Round Tuit]

Hi Manfred,
I am looking at your revised photos and all three look very good to me. Your model is a beautiful woman and my favorite photo of the three is #2 even though her facial expression is not as warm as in photo #3. Like Kim, the first thing that attracted my eyes in the first is her behind. I don't know if this is cause by the grass or the curve of her back.(or maybe I am a dirty old man!)
I don't find the background distracting in #3 but her right leg/foot seem too big for her body. Maybe you were too close to her.

Hope your knee gets better soon.

André

[Manfred M]

I don't find the background distracting in #3 but her right leg/foot seem too big for her body. Maybe you were too close to her.

Thanks Andre - shot at 92mm on a FF body, so this in the usual range of focal lengths I tend to use on a shot like this (80 - 135mm). Yes, there is a bit of distortion there, but I don't find that it bothers me as much as the softness of the shoe but this is all about the learning experience. This was an existing light shot at just past 8:00PM, so the light meant having to make some tradeoffs to get the shot. The next time I get this kind of opportunity, I'll have an off-camera flash / light stand along. Many of the other people did and that gave them a lot more flexibility.

[billtils]

Like the B&W Manfred.

[KimC]

I was fine with the slight shadows in your originals Manfred -- as mentioned, I thought it added some pretty definition (contouring) to her face. I like the B&W version as well -- I see her face first and then her lovely curves. The B&W version makes the image all about her, and I agree, I like the positioning of her hands.