Archive 2017 · Makayla in black and white

gregfixit
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Makayla in black and white

Makayla is a grand-niece who just turned 18. She was happy to model for me so Diane and I planned a couple of sessions. I had some very specific poses and lighting setups in mind and when we finally got her in the studio nothing was going as planned. I managed to get a few decent shots and after converting this one to B&W it became my favorite.

C&C always welcome. Thanks for taking a look.

Greg

Makayla

Jun 07, 2017 at 09:33 PM

film_4ever
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Makayla in black and white

I think the lighting looks great, and is beautiful for this type of portrait. I think the crop is just a smidge tight, but I know this composition is quite common.

What ruins this image for me, is the lack of enthusiasm from the model (i.e., the half smile, half frown mouth position). Unfortunately, that aspect is very difficult for the photographer to control. I would rather see a completely solemn expression, if the model can't crack a full genuine smile.

I'm not sure I agree with your choice to go B&W for this. Would appreciate seeing the color version too, if not too much trouble for you.

thanks for sharing

Jun 08, 2017 at 10:25 AM

dmacmillan
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Makayla in black and white

Traditionally portrait lighting, from the 15th Century to now has tried to emulate natural light. Whether it is window light or sunlight, you rarely if ever see the light source emanating from lower than the subject. Therefore, when viewers see a portrait photograph with a low main source and no obvious reason for the light to be coming from below, they know something doesn't look quite right even if they can't put their finger on why.

Given all that, what was your reasoning in putting the key light below eye level? Speaking of eyes, I looked at the photo on two different screens to verify that it looks like you missed focus on them.

Jun 08, 2017 at 12:23 PM

gregfixit
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Makayla in black and white

film_4ever wrote:
I think the lighting looks great, and is beautiful for this type of portrait. I think the crop is just a smidge tight, but I know this composition is quite common.

What ruins this image for me, is the lack of enthusiasm from the model (i.e., the half smile, half frown mouth position). Unfortunately, that aspect is very difficult for the photographer to control. I would rather see a completely solemn expression, if the model can't crack a full genuine smile.

I'm not sure I agree with your choice to go B&W for this. Would appreciate seeing the color version...Show more →

Her expression is all my doing. I was going for a specific pose and lighting and expression. I actually told her I thought her hint of a smile was great. (I did her senior portraits last year and I have many shots of her with her beautiful smile. She does look great when she's smiling)

As for the choice of B&W. I rarely even consider processing for anything other than color. For some reason this image called out for something different. I'm sure the color photo could have been processed to look beautiful but I never even tried.

Here is the original, untouched except to resize.

Thanks for your input.

Original photo. :)

Jun 08, 2017 at 04:33 PM

gregfixit
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Makayla in black and white

dmacmillan wrote:
Traditionally portrait lighting, from the 15th Century to now has tried to emulate natural light. Whether it is window light or sunlight, you rarely if ever see the light source emanating from lower than the subject. Therefore, when viewers see a portrait photograph with a low main source and no obvious reason for the light to be coming from below, they know something doesn't look quite right even if they can't put their finger on why.

Given all that, what was your reasoning in putting the key light below eye level? Speaking of eyes, I looked at the photo on...Show more →

For this photo (in fact this whole session) I was using new lights and umbrellas. I have recently picked up some Speedotron power packs and flashes. (Thinking 1600WS is great!) I had also purchased a couple of large umbrellas, a 6' and 7'. It turns out I had to pull the umbrella back so far that it created the low catch-lights. (Low ceilings and high posing stool) So I guess my reasoning for the low light was that I didn't want to take everything down and start over.

All in all I was very disappointed with my lighting for the whole set. I have had better results with my cheapo RPS Studio lights than the Speedotrons. (Although the 1600WS and 7' umbrella can do good things outdoors) Not shooting for most of the winter hasn't helped. I tried to rescue a few shots in post and I really like how this one turned out.

As for missing focus. How can I tell at f14? The dust on my sensor seemed to be in focus.

Thanks for your input.

100% crop of right eye

Jun 08, 2017 at 04:56 PM

Brev00
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Makayla in black and white

I like certain aspects of the first image. Her hair is well defined with a very nice array of tones including well held highlights. I also like the skin tones and the look of her left eye on that side. I think the half smile idea did not work as well as you intended because it created a left/right contrast in strength. The shadowy side has a nice presence while the more well lit side seems weaker. I would think a half smile should be evenly half on both sides--like the Mona Lisa. Most people do have a side that is weaker than the other and this expression emphasizes that. The high key approach also caused some of the flowers to be blown out. I might have tried a milder conversion as I don't think she looks fabulous and does not need much heightening.

Jun 09, 2017 at 01:09 PM

gregfixit
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Makayla in black and white

Brev00 wrote:
I like certain aspects of the first image. Her hair is well defined with a very nice array of tones including well held highlights. I also like the skin tones and the look of her left eye on that side. I think the half smile idea did not work as well as you intended because it created a left/right contrast in strength. The shadowy side has a nice presence while the more well lit side seems weaker. I would think a half smile should be evenly half on both sides--like the Mona Lisa. Most people do have a side that...Show more →

Thank you for the detailed feedback. It is much appreciated.
Greg

Jun 09, 2017 at 07:02 PM


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