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Archive 2016 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

agelessphotog
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

D750, OCF, 200 F2, Aperture priority. And it looks terrible. The rest of the photo's look great, just not the ones in this spot. I get it that it's dark, but I had it on Aperture priority and the shutter was pretty fast, it's almost like it was underexposed maybe? There is a ton of noise in the image. The area was dark, but I up'd my ISO to get a decent shutter, do I just chalk this up to Aperture priority got it wrong? All I did in post was brighten it a little so you guys could see it better.

DSC_8994 by Renee Crabtree, on Flickr

Jun 22, 2016 at 11:42 PM

Peter Figen
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

There's really not anything major wrong with this image other than it being a bit flat. While it's completely subjective, I thought it needed a little spicing up - a little more snap and skin tones a little more saturated.

Jun 23, 2016 at 01:25 AM

Big Appa
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

This is very subjective, but I think a tighter crop would help, too.
Hope you don't mind.

Ed

Jun 23, 2016 at 06:19 AM

oldrattler
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

It is not a great photo but I see nothing wrong with it. I agree a different composition, and some enhanced vibrance would help.

Jun 23, 2016 at 06:24 AM

dmacmillan
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

Would you mind posting the settings?

Even though you say there was OCF, I still think I'm seeing a green cast from the foliage in her skin. At capture I think I would have made the flash 1/3-1/2 stop hotter to make like she is in a brighter area of the road. A little vignetting in post would give the same effect on this image.

I don't think it looks terrible, but it is hard to judge here. I can't tell what is image noise or jpeg compression artifacts.

I have been unhappy with the quality of the images I've posted on FM. I tried several things to improve. Finally I subscribed here and upload to the site. It has made a huge difference in how my images look here. You might want to consider it.

The location you chose is gorgeous! I would be very interested in what images taken there with a higher light level would look.

Finally, I can't tell if it is the lens or the environment, but the bokeh looks a little "nervous". I wonder if that is contributing to your disappointment. It would be interesting to see a side by side comparison of photos taken there with the Nikon 200 f2.0 and the Canon 200 f2.0. One reason I went with Canon for my personal 35mm equipment 45 years ago is that I felt that overall the bokeh of Canon lenses looked better. Nikon makes some gorgeous lenses, but from what I've seen I still prefer the look of Canon lenses.

Finally, I like your original composition. This would work as a large print.

Jun 23, 2016 at 07:40 AM

Matt Anderson
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

I think it needs some warmth. Not sure about the noise, unless you really had to push the exposure.

Jun 23, 2016 at 07:52 AM

pitbullo
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

If I may add my 2, totally amateurish, cents, I would prefer to move the focus a bit further back. If you look at the gravel a lot of it is in forcus in the area towards the camera, but not where she is sitting. Moving the focus a bit further back, making her sit in the middle of the sharp (and thin) area would lead theeyes towards her, not the ground.

Edit: Oh, and it is not a horrible picture!

Jun 23, 2016 at 09:19 AM

01Ryan10
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

In my eyes, she's sitting ever so slightly behind the focal plane.

Jun 23, 2016 at 09:32 AM

Dudewithoutape
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

Yup, bad focusing

Jun 23, 2016 at 10:27 AM

Bernie
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

Some selective sharpening and vignetting can still make her pop.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Miscellaneous/i-6QG9NTC/0/O/27815847286_d80fe6073b_b-upd.jpg

Jun 23, 2016 at 10:40 AM

Jim Rickards
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

My take:

1. Expression. Very neutral to bored. Get something exciting. A smile?

2. The OOF foreground is a distraction. Crop it out. Or change aperture to soften it. That background is blurred much more than it needs to be. Don't always use the widest aperture you have.

Jun 23, 2016 at 10:50 AM

dgenx24
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

lovely model.
agree with front focusing.
personally,
I like the feel of the image though, it has film look to it.
I don't mind it being little flat. all images don't need to pop.

Only thing that bothers me is,
her jacket might be too long and it comes straight down to the ground, like she's buried straight to the ground halfway.

and I see the leg part to be a different person's leg.

Jun 23, 2016 at 11:10 AM

dmacmillan
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

All is not lost. Amp up the saturation, throw in a sun flare in the upper right and you're good to go!

Jun 23, 2016 at 11:38 AM

Denny JetTone
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

I’m far from the definitive word on this but I have a little experience with the 200 f/2, the D800 and D810, and the D750

Lighting, exposure, focus, and composition aside – and I know that your camera and lens combination can be made to look great – you’ll never get what the 200 f/2 is capable of out of the D750. If you own the lens, get a D810.

Denny
My 2½¢

Jun 23, 2016 at 08:22 PM

ucphotog
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

I'll have a go at it.

I think the issue is mostly lighting. The lighting is overall rather nice, but the face is not as bright as several other things. Her denim jacket, for instance, seems to be brighter. As a result, the eyes tend to drift away from the face.

I love the basic composition. I like the colors in the background. The DOF seems to work. You could warm up the white balance, as a couple of people did, but I'm not sure that is necessary.

Maybe a bit of selective brightening around the head might help?

Thanks.

Dave

Jun 23, 2016 at 09:11 PM

nmguy
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

Can I ask what you don't like about the photo? There are a couple of things someone could nit pick about, but this looks to be a good photo that has potential to be very good. Understanding what you don't like would probably help focus the responses.

thx,
Glenn

Jun 23, 2016 at 09:11 PM

j.curtis
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

Flat lighting equals a flat image. Some post processing can help/change it a bit.

Jun 23, 2016 at 09:28 PM

Jonathan Brady
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Why does this portrait look so horrible?

I didn't have time to comment earlier when I saw this, but the first thing that popped in my head was front focusing. I'm wondering if you oversharpened the image due to the front focusing which made the background "nervous" or "crunchy". If that's the case (global sharpening), try setting sharpness to zero, selecting your subject only, and sharpen that way - and dial back the sharpening a tad so the skin stays smooth. Then, you could also select the background and blur it further, if you really wanted to. I also think some vignetting could help, but then I'm a vignetting junkie :-)

Jun 23, 2016 at 09:31 PM


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