Lethal Lady

[Dave Humphries]

But whats the small thing on her nose? I am not sure if she is wearing any nosepin. There is something very distracting on her right side of the nose, towards the tip.

Yes Sahil, it is visible in #1

I dunno why they do it, such beauty doesn't need that kind of 'enhancement'

[Colin Southern]

But whats the small thing on her nose? I am not sure if she is wearing any nosepin. There is something very distracting on her right side of the nose, towards the tip.

Yes, it's a nose pin. Personally, I don't like them (never really saw the charm in sticking pieces of metel through our skin!) - but it's there in reality - by choice - so I left it in.

[Colin Southern]

I can see what Donald means in #1, it would be solved by bringing the camera right light further around to give a little more side and less backlight. That said, I think the shadow lends to the menace.

It is unfortunate in #3, that Holly seems to have a 'grubby face'*; her left cheek has a definite shadowy, edge lit effect. It could be caused by the same 'too far to right and behind' lighting as #1 - that said, if Holly had looked just a little more to left (of you) herself, it would also have avoided the issue.

Hi Dave,

People often comment on things like this, but what they don't seem to realize is that the shots aren't posed ... I get the girls in a starting position, and they "do their thing" from that point onwards, so the angle they present their faces to the lighting at may vary over 30 degrees between successive frames ... so other than getting the general principles of the lighting, I really don't have any control over any fine tuning like that -- so it simply becomes "luck of the draw".

With regards to the "grubby face", as you say, it's just shadow, accentuated by the rim lighting (which I think is very effective). Personally, it doesn't bother me - although now you mention it, a quick dodge migh improve it. We were already working 6 zones of light on those, so it's about the best I can do

[cneedha]

Good stuff Colin. Thanks for sharing. Hope it is a water pistol!

[Colin Southern]

Good stuff Colin. Thanks for sharing. Hope it is a water pistol!

Thanks Chris,

No, not a water pistol! (Air Gun, with safety on - magazine removed and breech cleared!)

[Markvetnz]

Just a public thank you to Colin for allowing me to sit in and be the fan gopher on this shoot. I think the final results are amazing considering that these ladies are not professional models. Holly was quite reserved and needed a bit of direction. To actually see how the lighting is set up in a systematic fashion was great. I learnt a lot and I'll be using the techniques in my own studio. Now how do I get 2 attractive girls into the house without my wife seeing them .

Thanks again Colin.

[ucci]

All the technical aspects, expertise and setting up which went into making such great photos is so far above my head that Alpha Centauri is far closer to me. Having admitted to this, and at the risk of sounding silly, I would like to make a 'layman's view' comment on picture 3, if I may; with the hope of not causing any offence on a great pic of a lovely model. On my monitor anyway, because of the lighting effect on the model's black top and the angle of the shot ( if that is acceptable terminology), her left arm appears to be articulated to her body and protruding from somewhere in the region of her upper sternum, rather than the shoulder region. Anatomically, to me, this apparent central juxtaposition of her arm seemed NQR. I make this comment purely on the basis of a 'layman with no interest or knowledge of the technical production input to attain the final art work,' but by one simply admiring fine art by a highly skilled and professional photographer. I hope this is a legitimate comment and neither fatuous nor offensive to those craftsmen who are my betters by far in these matters.
Ken

[Colin Southern]

Just a public thank you to Colin for allowing me to sit in and be the fan gopher on this shoot. I think the final results are amazing considering that these ladies are not professional models. Holly was quite reserved and needed a bit of direction. To actually see how the lighting is set up in a systematic fashion was great. I learnt a lot and I'll be using the techniques in my own studio. Now how do I get 2 attractive girls into the house without my wife seeing them .

Thanks again Colin.

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the kind words ... it was a pleasure to meet you and to have you there for the shoot

[Colin Southern]

her left arm appears to be articulated to her body and protruding from somewhere in the region of her upper sternum, rather than the shoulder region.

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the comment. I can see what you mean, but I'm wondering if you have your monitor's black point is slightly mal-adjusted ... you should still be able to see detail on the black sleeve.

[ucci]

Hi Colin
Yes, this is probably the most likely explanation. Thank you. I will follow this up and rectify as required.
cheers
Ken