Stephanie Katharine

[rpcrowe]

I have noticed both from experience (I was a counselor for many years) and from education (I am a graduate of the US. Navy Institute of Substance Abuse Studies and hold a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from San Diego Sate University) that extreme body modifications such as face piercings and large tattooed areas are often indicative of a low self esteem. I am not talking about the gal who wears a butterfly on her breast or a hummingbird on her thigh.

Low self esteem is often the hand-maiden of other compulsive behaviors. Not really liking oneself from the inside out and trying to change one's image from the outside in.

[Manfred M]

It looks as if there're two different Manfreds.


George

Not really. I photograph different styles and genres. These two images are artistic nudes. The postings of Stephanie are not. I'm not a great fan of artistic nudes, but because they have had such a great influence on art, including photography, over the ages, it seems sensible to master it too.

Until about a year ago, I did virtually no portraiture, outside of some street photography. Most of my work has traditionally been landscape (including urban landscape) work. I still do a lot of that today, especially when I get away from home and travel. I don't do a lot of landscape work at this time of year because places are both inaccessible and not particularly interesting at this time of year.

[mugge]

Manfred, you have successfully done what you set out to do.
Cheers Ole

[george013]

Not really. I photograph different styles and genres. These two images are artistic nudes. The postings of Stephanie are not. I'm not a great fan of artistic nudes, but because they have had such a great influence on art, including photography, over the ages, it seems sensible to master it too.

Until about a year ago, I did virtually no portraiture, outside of some street photography. Most of my work has traditionally been landscape (including urban landscape) work. I still do a lot of that today, especially when I get away from home and travel. I don't do a lot of landscape work at this time of year because places are both inaccessible and not particularly interesting at this time of year.

I hope you understand my "problems" with your former models: the lack of expression or whatever one may call it. It's not only the last one. I don't care about tattoos. And about the scars, just like James mentioned before "..we all create different stories for ourselves when we view an image.".

Success.

George

[Manfred M]

I hope you understand my "problems" with your former models: the lack of expression or whatever one may call it. It's not only the last one. I don't care about tattoos. And about the scars, just like James mentioned before "..we all create different stories for ourselves when we view an image.".

Success.

George

George - I do seem to have an advantage over you. I can evaluate an image, even if it is not to my taste. Leaving my personal feelings behind is critical to being able to offer constructive criticism of an image and even more importantly, when judging photographic works.

There are three questions that a person needs to answer when commenting on another's works:

1. Has the photographer shown the appropriate level of photographic techniques (for instance , is the exposure appropriate, is the image sharp enough, is the lighting used appropriate and working well, etc).

2. Has the photographer organized the elements in the image well (are there distractions, is the image well composed, has the space in the image been used effectively) and

3. What emotional impact does the image have on the viewer (mood, subject matter, emotional impact on the viewer, etc.)

In other words, the image should be evaluated for what it is, what works and what does not, regardless of personal tastes.

The other issue is knowledge of the genre. In these forums, I rarely comment on macro work or bird photos; not that I have not done these before, but because we have members who are very knowledgeable on these subjects. That doesn't mean I cannot comment on the three points I made above, as I certainly can. What I can't do is to provide specific suggestions on how the image can be improved from a technical standpoint.

As for the points you make on the expressions; this demonstrates to me that your experience with this genre is limited. These types of expressions are typical of what the models are expected to deliver. I did try to direct the model to give me different facial expressions and tried to use a number of different techniques and had some success. I'll see if some of these are interesting enough to post along side either the implied or nudes I am working on. These will not be going to the model as these are not consistent with the look she is trying to deliver.

When it comes to tattoos and body piercings, these are not things I particularly like either, but it is not my body, so who am I to judge? What I am interested in is how to photograph individuals with these features as these are quite prevalent in parts of the population and certain cultures.

The scars and how I handle them is again personal taste, philosophy and end use. As I mentioned previously, if someone has made some permanent changes to their body; naturally (moles), accidentally (scars) or purposefully (body modifications), it would be disrespectful of me to change them without the express wishes and consent of my subject. I will lighten, but not remove wrinkles and other signs of aging in my subjects that are primarily due to the lighting I use to take the shot. That is just me.

I know other photographers who refuse to make any changes, even to temporary skin issues (bruises or pimples). Others still will remove any "imperfections". I know a number of photographers who will not touch makeup flaws. I have no issues at all with digital makeup; primarily dodging and burning to enhance or reduce some of the subjects features. When working for a client, I will follow their wishes in these regards and do discuss this with them before the shoot.

[george013]

The circle is round. We start all over again.

There are three questions that a person needs to answer when commenting on another's works:

1. Has the photographer shown the appropriate level of photographic techniques (for instance , is the exposure appropriate, is the image sharp enough, is the lighting used appropriate and working well, etc).

2. Has the photographer organized the elements in the image well (are there distractions, is the image well composed, has the space in the image been used effectively) and

3. What emotional impact does the image have on the viewer (mood, subject matter, emotional impact on the viewer, etc.)

In other words, the image should be evaluated for what it is, what works and what does not, regardless of personal tastes.

.

Point 1 and point 2 no disagreement. Even point three I can agree. I'm the viewer and the emotional impact is none. That's what I stated when I saw your working shoes. I don't know why you keep mentioning tattoos and scars.

As for the points you make on the expressions; this demonstrates to me that your experience with this genre is limited. These types of expressions are typical of what the models are expected to deliver. I did try to direct the model to give me different facial expressions and tried to use a number of different techniques and had some success. I'll see if some of these are interesting enough to post along side either the implied or nudes I am working on. These will not be going to the model as these are not consistent with the look she is trying to deliver.

I think this is the point where it's all about.

George

[Manfred M]

Point 1 and point 2 no disagreement. Even point three I can agree. I'm the viewer and the emotional impact is none. That's what I stated when I saw your working shoes. I don't know why you keep mentioning tattoos and scars.

All three points come from my CAPA Judges manual and that are the three aspects of images that images are judged by in competitions.

That being said, this is purely about that single aspect of photography. The images I have posted of Stephanie are not images made for competition purposes. If I were looking for an image that would go into a family album, a different set of criteria would apply, likewise if I were looking for an image for my website landing page, etc.

I think this is the point where it's all about.

I would have to disagree.

You are looking at the images as what you would interesting or attractive, where I am looking at the images in a way that the model would use to market herself. Those are two completely different views the images that do not have any real overlap. I can see the difference and I'm fairly certain that you do not.

Portfolio images are marketing images. Models often have a number of different portfolios, depending on the work that they are trying to attract. They may have one that does nudes, another that they are used to sell specific accessories or items of clothing.

If you look at all of Richards dog pictures that he posts here in this category. He shares them with us, but the purpose of those images is 100% to get people who see them to want to adopt those dogs as pets. His are not images that he would likely post in photo competitions.


Here's one with a nice smile, just for you George.

[Rick50]

Really like the 1st image even though I'm not big on tattoos but that nude in the chair is simply a stunner..... WOW!