My friend asked me to take some pictures of his wife for her birthday. They never got good wedding portraits, and they wanted a portrait so that one day grandchildren would look and say "wow, look at how pretty grandma was." They have two lovely daughters and the subject is an excellent mother and wife. Hopefully I did an alright job, and both my friend and his wife will like these.
Your thoughts and comments are, of course, always welcome.
Evan, really love 1 and 3, but 2 doesn't work for me at all. The shadows feel wrong on the inside of her nose and in her eye socket, but more than anything, it may just be her expression. It's like she's between expressions. The same lighting seems nice on 3, but her expression is so different.
I really savor your handling of light and shadow, Evan. The subtle gradation and ever so slight caressing of the contours of the human face, body and so on. To me, your portraits are beautiful compositions and waltzes of bright and dark. When I view them, I feel like I’m settling into them.
I’m a fan of truth in portraits like this and am inclined to preserve the natural blemishes – and the lines and details of time and experience.
At the same time, in my own work in this vein, I’ve made peace with the reality that a conflict occurs between this sublime lighting approach and the way the subject generally appears in less dramatic lighting. When I light like this, it’s as if I deliberately tried to cast a shadow on every pore and wrinkle – and it exaggerates the “flaws”.
So for myself, I choose to back it down a bit in post. Not to hide truth, more to lessen the exaggeration my chosen lighting effect has created.
Still studying them... 3.. the handling of her (camera) left edge, from the top highlight on her hair, down her locks, shoulder and right arm... sublime.
Rim light always works, fade to the background is often dramatic... but this handling is so understated and quiet. It begs for the viewer to study and discover.
Nothing to not like about that portrait. None of my nits are even worth mentioning.
I love the black and whites but the light, color, gradation in separation, expression, pose and feel of 4 is (to me) classic, nuanced studio portraiture.
Thanks for sharing. It went straight into my reference file.
friscoron wrote:
Evan, really love 1 and 3, but 2 doesn't work for me at all. The shadows feel wrong on the inside of her nose and in her eye socket, but more than anything, it may just be her expression. It's like she's between expressions. The same lighting seems nice on 3, but her expression is so different.
Key light was the same old 64" Soft Silver PLM w/ white diffusion that I've been using. On axis fill from an einstein w/ small reflector, background w/ 30deg grid, and a large silver reflector providing accent lighting as needed.
#1 & #3 for me, with a nod to the attitude in #4. #3 is a good example of how to handle a sleeveless dress. I might have gotten her to pull her left arm just off her body a little. In #4, I'd consider knocking down the reflection on her fingernail.
