Agreed that in some of the shots, the darkness of her clothing and shadows give her a BIT of a disembodied head. I'd also like to see a little more DOF on some of the shots with her and the horse, but realize it might not have been possible in the fading natural light.
leftbob wrote:
I don't find the "floating heads" in the majority of the images that appealing...
#7 is very appealing though there may be something to the critque of the centered crop above.
lovely eyes and smile in most of them
The question of the "floating head" is one that has come up more than once in my work, and I wanted to possibly begin a dialog.
What I attempt to achieve with that style is to focus attention on the incredible beauty of Laura's face and hair. She's in her early 40's, has always had very long hair, and she and I connect in these sessions more than, according to her, any other photographer she's worked with. But she does love the camera and isn't the least bit shy in letting me shoot as much as I want. But I really feel the "floating head" works with her for those reasons. She's sexy as HELL without being overt about it.
I've never understood that negative opinion on not liking the floating head, as with some models, such as Laura, Courtney and Kaylee, all of whom have beautiful faces and gorgeous hair... I view it as a different style, a different focus on beauty than most portrait photogs pursue, and personally feel it brings out more in a model's personality than the typical beauty shot.
Of course, there's no qualifying opinion on this discussion, so other's may feel different.
Just my take on the issue.
Phil
Edited by phil hawkins on Mar 18, 2008 at 05:43 AM GMT
Wonderful series Phil. I like how you captured the relationship between the two subjects; and you brought out her personality in the shots of just Laura. Could I ask if you did any PP to these images or were they straight from the camera? I'm guessing you just used natural light? I like how the light falls on 3-5.
thehonoraryfan wrote:
Wonderful series Phil. I like how you captured the relationship between the two subjects; and you brought out her personality in the shots of just Laura. Could I ask if you did any PP to these images or were they straight from the camera? I'm guessing you just used natural light? I like how the light falls on 3-5.
There was minimal PP on these, only a tweak of the contrast using the "curves" function, and slight cropping. Nothing earth shaking at all. This time of year the afternoon light shines perfect into her barn and we get this direct shot of late afternoon sun that's gorgeous.
#7, hands down; she is just extraordinarily beautiful. There is to my eyes an elegant simplicity in this picture which makes her beauty stand out even more. I'm a complete novice at this picture taking stuff, but I sure can recognize talent when I see it. good work.
