Female Portrait IV

[Digital]

Shot in 2016. Bounced on-camera flash behind my shoulder.
Aperture - f7.1
Shutter - 1/125
ISO 400
Focal length - 50mm
C&C most welcomed. Bruce

[richardvallon]

the light here is a bit too high- this is why there is no light in the eyes...you can bounce off the wall to one side and try that....
the light is pleasant- just a bit high...

[Manfred M]

Bruce, this one is not working all that well for you. You have some areas on the cheeks and nose that are too hot and other areas light the eyes, below the nose and just below the lower lip that are too much in shadow. Your bounce is coming in too high on this shot. I find that you are a bit too yellow on the white balance as well.

[Shadowman]

Agree with the others, also the crop at bottom would be better if set a little lower to either include the neckline/necklace or remove necklace; I don't think you can crop any higher on the neckline.

[Digital]

Manfred, is this any better?

[Manfred M]

Manfred, is this any better?

Yes, although I would add a touch more warmth, but not too much.

[Digital]

How is this?

[KimC]

Hi Bruce. I prefer your revised image. The one thing I notice that hasn't been stated already is - it appears you did some skin softening? If my impression is correct, I find it too heavy in some areas and not evenly blended. I'd also try to lighten her neck a bit and be sure to flow whatever softening you are using on all skin. You could also dodge her hair selectively to make the highlights stand out. I'm sure the woman liked it - she's very attractive.

[Geoff F]

That last edit is looking good to me, although I wonder if you could carefully add just a fraction more highlight brightness to produce slightly more 'zip' particularly regarding her hair?

[Digital]

Kim, and Geoff - How do you like this?

[rpcrowe]

One of the problems I have experienced when bouncing off a wall is that walls are often some color other than white (in this case the wall seems to be a brown or tan) and will reflect that color on to your subject. More ceilings are white so I like bouncing off the ceiling using a reflector of some type to open the shadows. Doing this and using a white balance target of some type (I use a WHIBAL Card) you might have an easier time in getting a white balance closer to where you want it.

Sometimes, of course, there is no ceiling off which to bounce. Then a unit like the Joe Demb Flash Reflector Pro comes in handy.

The above image was shot outdoors in the evening with sun below the horizon but still providing some back light from the rear camera left. I placed the FlipIt portion of the Flash Diffuser Pro forward at a 45 degree angle. Off camera flash on a Stroboframe Camera Flip Bracket. Canon 7D, 320 ISO, f/4 @ 1/60... 70-200mm f/4L lens at 169mm (270.4mm equivalent)...

[Digital]

Using a white balance target of some type (I use a WHIBAL Card) you would have an easier time in getting a white balance closer to the real thing.

Richard, thank you. I have a WhiBal card. I will start using it.

Bruce

[rpcrowe]

I am sure that you know there are actually two ways to use the WhiBal card...

Setting a custom white balance in camera - the user manual gives directions, each camera brand and possibly model is a bit different.

Using the WhiBal as a reference point and setting the white balance when open the RAW images. I only know how to do this using camera RAW but, I'd bet that any program that can open RAW can set the white balance using a target.

I don't see one way being any more accurate than the other...

[KimC]

Yes, it's better for me, but for next time... I still see the following issues which would be hard to correct at this point - image left - see where her check bone is... and then to her hairline down -- it looks different to me -- like you did something different with the skin softening technique. Then on image right, see the outside of her eye... go straight across and there is an oval shaped blur on her skin that runs into her hairline area -- looks like you may have applied some skin softening there?

As an aside, I think the wall color is tough with light skinned people -- I know it would not be flattering to me. You might want to consider putting a white board behind your subjects. You can pick them up at Home Depot, or Lowes. It's foam core board, or v flats - the stuff that they put behind siding. You can put it on a table behind them and it will get rid of the detractions that both you, as well as providing a neutral color.

Kim, and Geoff - How do you like this?