My wife Cheyenne, again

[Evertking]

I know you guys and gals are tired of pics of my wife lol
But... I gotta practice.
I'm over the moon that I learned a Photoshop trick or whatever it is.
Thank you so much Manfred that ebook was cheap and it's very helpful and was good for the way I learn.
I'm off to try and get pics of my lil girl.

[Geoff F]

A rather sombre effect which has a nice autumnal rustic feel. But what is happening in the bottom left corner? Looks like a bit of out of focus foliage which I am afraid rather spoils the scene.

I think I would try a crop from the bottom to remove that area. Maybe crop just below her left elbow and go for a rather unusual panoramic portrait image size ?

[Manfred M]

Same image as Cheyenne

My comment about it being underexposed still applies. Look at your histogram; even though there are very light areas in this image, there is no data toward the right side of the histogram. That is a clear sign of underexposure. The specular highlights in her eyes are showing values of around 140 - 150, when one would expect them to be around 230 (or more).

I'm glad that the book is working out for you.

[rpcrowe]

I like this image. IMO, her gaze works for me in this one.

A bit of brightness, a touch of contrast, a little cloning out of the errant foliage and the selection and brightness reduction of her left hand results in this...



I love the effect of the OOF background! It is quite beautiful and fits Cheyenne perfectly!

What I might clone out, if the image were mine is the vertical starting from the tip of her left shoulder (image right shoulder) into her hair...

[pnodrog]

Mike if you keep getting feedback indicating underexposure it may pay you to check the brightness setting of the monitor you are using for PP. Richard's increase in brightness and contrast looks better on my monitor. There is a general tendency for people to have the brightness of the monitor set on the high side, partly because they are often working in reasonably high ambient lighting.

Your model, lighting and compositions are of a high enough standard that at this stage I am certainly not tired of them. When you stop getting helpful comments you should start worrying....

[Manfred M]

Mike if you keep getting feedback indicating underexposure it may pay you to check the brightness setting of the monitor you are using for PP.

Because of differences in computer screen settings, I usually look at the histogram of the image when discussing under / over exposure.

You are right, of course, with regard to the way most computer screens are set up, they do tend to be much too bright for photo editing. Settings in the range of 100 - 120 candela / square meter (a.k.a. "nits") are usually recommended, but then working in a darkened room with neutral walls is also recommended.

[rpcrowe]

Mike, I was just thinking that AEB just might be a way to go. It would ensure that you have choices in the exposure. A one stop bracketed AEB sequence would give you 1-shot at the metered reading, 1-shot at one stop under and one shot at one stop over the metered reading. I sometimes combine this with + or - exposure compensation...

I remember being very impressed when I attended a lecture by a National Geographic Photographer (name long forgotten) sometime in the 1960's. He mostly shot with Kodachrome 25 (which was the ISO). This film had very little (if any) exposure latitude. He talked about bracketing his exposures whenever possible and I thought how wonderful it would be to have a budget large enough to virtually waste 2-shots out of three. However, now with digital, the cost is not a factor. OTOH - I never bracket when shooting sports in burst mode because selecting bracketing and AEB on my Canon DSLR cameras will give me three bracketed shots and then stop until the next time I press the shutter button...

On the other hand, I had a Navy Photojournalist buddy (I was a Cinematographer) who bracketed his shots. The unit got a message from the Chief of Naval Information that 2/3 of his shots were either under or over exposed

[pnodrog]

working in a darkened room with neutral walls is also recommended.

I am sure some my acquaintances think it would be a good idea if mine was also locked and padded.

[dem]

I am sure some my acquaintances think it would be a good idea if mine was also locked and padded.

padded from inside, locked from the outside...