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Archive 2014 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)

  
 
kaycephoto
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


another slightly different subject for me - this was Vanessa's first time in front of camera & she just wanted the photos for herself, so I didn't dictate much of this shoot & tried to ease her into her natural personality.. as always, feedback's appreciated, please let me know your faves & least faves - thanks in advance!



01 http://www.kaycephotography.com/Models/Vanessa01/Vanessa01-01.JPG

02 http://www.kaycephotography.com/Models/Vanessa01/Vanessa01-02.JPG

03 http://www.kaycephotography.com/Models/Vanessa01/Vanessa01-03.JPG

04 http://www.kaycephotography.com/Models/Vanessa01/Vanessa01-07.JPG

05 http://www.kaycephotography.com/Models/Vanessa01/Vanessa01-15.JPG


full set for anyone interested: http://www.kaycephotography.com/model-galleries/vanessa-set-1-studio-portraits/



Feb 16, 2014 at 01:30 PM
elliotkramer
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Lovely images but I'm not sure I understand your choice of post processing. They seem rather over exposed and washed out to me. If that is the look you like, then you nailed it. Despite my critique, I still find these to be quite pleasant to view. It comes down to a matter of taste I suppose. I don't like the washed out back-lit photos that have become so popular these days either, and, unlike these, I generally do not enjoy viewing them.


Feb 16, 2014 at 02:38 PM
rodmcwha
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Lovely, unassuming, and natural! She must be thrilled. (Perfect PP too!)


Feb 16, 2014 at 02:47 PM
Mark Zwiesler
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


These are all very nice, and what a gorgeous model. I really can't pick a favorite of the set, I love them all. I really like the way the series has her starting shy then warming up to a wonderful smiling finish. Simply beautiful.

Mark



Feb 16, 2014 at 03:45 PM
Herb
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Seems like it needs more contrast......


Feb 16, 2014 at 04:50 PM
marioalejandro
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Wow, Bravo...
Might you share how you exposed for this key and maybe how you processed in post?
mario



Feb 16, 2014 at 06:12 PM
jojomon11
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Very nice love the lighting, and the models interaction

Well done, I see where you were going with this

Her legs seem to be pinkish compared with the rest of her upper body



Feb 16, 2014 at 06:21 PM
24Peter
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Lovely model; nice images processing; good lighting. Would like to see some variety however. Different clothing, hair and most importantly lighting setups, camera angles and focal length.


Feb 16, 2014 at 06:54 PM
Jim Rickards
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


elliotkramer wrote:
Lovely images but I'm not sure I understand your choice of post processing. They seem rather over exposed and washed out to me. If that is the look you like, then you nailed it. Despite my critique, I still find these to be quite pleasant to view. It comes down to a matter of taste I suppose. I don't like the washed out back-lit photos that have become so popular these days either, and, unlike these, I generally do not enjoy viewing them.


Agree.
Also the expressions and poses are really well done. Maybe the first composition could be adjusted so she's placed farther to viewer's left, rather than centred, but all the rest are impressive.



Feb 17, 2014 at 01:35 AM
film_4ever
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Beautiful images. You and the model appear to have a great relationship. She looks very natural in all the shots. Good composition. You captured really facial expressions. The model appears very whimsical.

However, I agree with the comments previously stated about lack of contrast, and appearance of overexposure. Flat colors. Not my cup of tea, but I still enjoyed looking at your photos.



Feb 17, 2014 at 03:09 AM
kaycephoto
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


wow, didn't expect this many responses over such a minor/small set, but thank you all very much for the feedback. it's always very useful for me to hear from a wide range of people (in this case, even more valuable coz the feedback is from other photographers) so i can glean some general takeaways.. i'll try to keep my responses as succinct as possible in addressing the comments I've received:

first, a general note about my process might help - this was 1 of 4 outfits we shot in a 2 hour time period, where i changed the lighting a maximum of 2-3 times to avoid wasting the model's paid studio time.. unless it's for one of my clients with a specific end goal (ie a publication shoot), i give general suggestions in terms of recommended outfits & the rest is up to the individual models to come up with outfits they like & as long as I have some variety in the looks, i'm happy with having enough to work with. then, out of 4-600 frames, i usually end up with 4-8 total photos for the entire shoot that i might actually be proud of, but I try to give the model sets of 10-15 per outfit so they have as many usable photos possible.. *helps me if a model/client is going off, posting 1 new image every few weeks on her instagram/facebook, rather than just having 4-6 finished images in total to show for a 2-hour shoot investment*

bad as this might sound, i guess after 2-3000 studio hours of logged model shooting in the past 5 years, it really isn't naturally in me to try & showcase my model photography skills every shoot i do anymore. once in a blue moon I'll accept an editorial shoot commission for some publication of sorts, and in those rare cases there's definitely way more planning involved & even in those situations, there's usually a creative stylist involved who coordinates all the outfits/themes..

elliotkramer wrote:
Lovely images but I'm not sure I understand your choice of post processing. They seem rather over exposed and washed out to me. If that is the look you like, then you nailed it. Despite my critique, I still find these to be quite pleasant to view. It comes down to a matter of taste I suppose. I don't like the washed out back-lit photos that have become so popular these days either, and, unlike these, I generally do not enjoy viewing them.


Jim Rickards wrote:
Agree.
Also the expressions and poses are really well done. Maybe the first composition could be adjusted so she's placed farther to viewer's left, rather than centred, but all the rest are impressive.


Herb wrote:
Seems like it needs more contrast......


film_4ever wrote:
Beautiful images. You and the model appear to have a great relationship. She looks very natural in all the shots. Good composition. You captured really facial expressions. The model appears very whimsical.

However, I agree with the comments previously stated about lack of contrast, and appearance of overexposure. Flat colors. Not my cup of tea, but I still enjoyed looking at your photos.


marioalejandro wrote:
Wow, Bravo...
Might you share how you exposed for this key and maybe how you processed in post?
mario


24Peter wrote:
Lovely model; nice images processing; good lighting. Would like to see some variety however. Different clothing, hair and most importantly lighting setups, camera angles and focal length.



thanks for the feedback! i'm usually more standard in terms of exposure & contrast, but for this particular outfit I thought she was really hoping to get that "girl next door" look with a heavy focus on natural, un-posed images so i went with a "lighter" look in the finished images (her outfit, going barefoot - these are things that I'd never really suggest if the shoot was for me).. for this set/outfit, i exposed all the images maybe +1/3 of a stop brighter than i normally would & i eased up on the contrast (+4 on Canon faithful, rather than my usual +8/+10) in Lightroom. judging by the majority of the comments in this thread, i probably overdid the effect a bit haha.. but luckily, i didn't kill the images to the point where everyone hates it =P

that said, i think my personal style is definitely more about organic colours/tones in images rather than the more commercial model images with heavy airbrushing, heavy contrast & huge saturation boost. 99% of my wedding images, for instance, are always processed with Canon faithful as the base setting, with fairly minor adjustments after that fact..

in terms of lighting, this setup was as basic & efficient as it gets.. i had a 74" Elinchrom octa on the main beauty light slightly on the left (facing the model), maybe 8 feet in the air, tilting 30-40 degree downwards.. slightly behind the model & off to the right, i had a background light (i don't remember the strobe reflector modifier but prob the 30 degree elongated snout).. behind the model to the left (ie opposite of where the background light was), i had an umbrella bouncing some of the excess background light towards the model (in essence a rim light). background light was an Elinchrom RX 300, main light was a RX 600


rodmcwha wrote:
Lovely, unassuming, and natural! She must be thrilled. (Perfect PP too!)


Mark Zwiesler wrote:
These are all very nice, and what a gorgeous model. I really can't pick a favorite of the set, I love them all. I really like the way the series has her starting shy then warming up to a wonderful smiling finish. Simply beautiful.

Mark


jojomon11 wrote:
Very nice love the lighting, and the models interaction

Well done, I see where you were going with this

Her legs seem to be pinkish compared with the rest of her upper body


thank you all for the kind words! i was pleasantly surprised by this entire shoot in general, but i really thought this particular look/outfit suited our subject's personality to a tee. I hope she loves the images (I think she does?) & it was def a fun, carefree shoot..

lastly, i noticed the odd upper body warmness also, on some of the shots at least.. i think a warming reflector left astray to the right of the backdrop may have been to blame. seems like a minor thing, which is why i prob was careless/lazy in leaving it out - but in this particular set, i think it definitely affected some of the images being warmer on the upper body..



Feb 17, 2014 at 04:47 AM
DaveOls
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


I like all of the images. She is a beautiful girl, but I agree with a lot of the others that it is way over exposed and lacks contrast. I hope she was pleased with them.


Feb 17, 2014 at 06:51 AM
Uzay
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


i like all the images, i also like low contrast and your processing, i think it's a matter of taste


Feb 17, 2014 at 09:14 AM
kaycephoto
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Uzay wrote:
i like all the images, i also like low contrast and your processing, i think it's a matter of taste


DaveOls wrote:
I like all of the images. She is a beautiful girl, but I agree with a lot of the others that it is way over exposed and lacks contrast. I hope she was pleased with them.



thank you for the feedback! much appreciated,



Feb 18, 2014 at 05:02 AM
Wildcats_Fans
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Great set. #3 is my favorite followed by #2. The low contrast is a matter of taste.


Feb 18, 2014 at 03:08 PM
viscosiphotogr
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


great shots


Feb 18, 2014 at 09:03 PM
kaycephoto
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


viscosiphotogr wrote:
great shots


thank you!


Wildcats_Fans wrote:
Great set. #3 is my favorite followed by #2. The low contrast is a matter of taste.


thank you! it typically takes me some time (edit, send to publisher/client, wait a few weeks/months..) before i ever figure out my favourites, so the selections are very helpful..



Feb 19, 2014 at 01:15 PM
calk
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


Pardon my interruption, but isn't this work an example of a photographic style of lighting called "high key"? I have read definitions of high key and low key lighting and this seems to me to be an example of high key lighting. Low contrast is one of the defining characteristics of this style of lighting.

I have not taken any of the images into LR to see if there are significant areas of blown highlights, but I don't see any to speak of, except possibly some specular highlights in her hair.

This style of lighting seems to be much in vogue today, especially among young people. A lot of high school senior photography I see locally is in this style. I've seen some that I thought was not nearly as good as this, with large, prominent areas of skin and clothing overexposed to the point of all detail blown. I don't see that here at all.

I enjoyed the viewing these images, as did some others here. They are upbeat, energetic, a gleeful celebration of youth, and a fine collaboration by the model and photographer.

Thanks, Kevin, for posting them.

Cal





Feb 19, 2014 at 10:34 PM
swordfishphoto
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


1 and 5, her cheeks have a funny color, like if you have blown highlights and try to bring them back but there's not enough data. Not saying that's what happened, just what it looks like.

2 is my favorite, but I'm a fan of candid, even if it's faked candid.



Feb 21, 2014 at 11:17 AM
kaycephoto
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Vanessa - Studio Portraits (5 Images)


swordfishphoto wrote:
1 and 5, her cheeks have a funny color, like if you have blown highlights and try to bring them back but there's not enough data. Not saying that's what happened, just what it looks like.

2 is my favorite, but I'm a fan of candid, even if it's faked candid.


thank you! as mentioned previously in my last comment, I think it's a stray reflector i had laying around that bounced some warm light to her upper body/face for a few of these shots..


calk wrote:
Pardon my interruption, but isn't this work an example of a photographic style of lighting called "high key"? I have read definitions of high key and low key lighting and this seems to me to be an example of high key lighting. Low contrast is one of the defining characteristics of this style of lighting.

I have not taken any of the images into LR to see if there are significant areas of blown highlights, but I don't see any to speak of, except possibly some specular highlights in her hair.

This style of lighting seems to be much in vogue
...Show more

thank you Cal! stylistic things are always very subjective with photography, but it is most definitely still invaluable to hear differing opinions from everyone - thank you for taking the time to elaborate on your thoughts!



Feb 22, 2014 at 09:37 AM
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