This beautiful personal trainer and makeup artist wanted a headshot in BW, and I wanted to try a high key look. 3 strobes, 1 w/shoot-thru umbrella... strobist is a new thing for me so I'm a nervous wreck when I have to rely on lights. I suppose with practice it'll get easier.
Beverly, You did a wonderful. Just to confuse you further I would trim even more off the top of her head, and the negative space on her left (right side as you view the photo) then add more negative space on the her right (left side as you view the photo - and the source of the main) but you know what...opinions are subjective things...and the image looks good as is too. None of us would do things the same, because we all see it a bit different from each other...and that is a good thing
IMO. She is beautiful, and I am sure she was very pleased with her portraits.
Yakim Peled wrote:
Very good Bev but I personally would rather if you didn't cut out the top of her head.
Happy shooting,
Yakim.
Thanks for the feedback, Yakim! I know some folks like the whole head in a shot, but I consider the top of heads to be nonessential; they take up too much space when I want to show more of the face and eyes. Sometimes it's just more dramatic to crop tight.
James Markus wrote:
Beverly, You did a wonderful. Just to confuse you further I would trim even more off the top of her head, and the negative space on her left (right side as you view the photo) then add more negative space on the her right (left side as you view the photo - and the source of the main) but you know what...opinions are subjective things...and the image looks good as is too. None of us would do things the same, because we all see it a bit different from each other...and that is a good thing
IMO. She is beautiful, and I am sure she was very pleased with her portraits....Show more →
Thanks, Jim!! I agree, it's all subjective. When I looked at the image this morning I realized I'd prefer a different cropping for a final version. I liked this one (replaced); the angle of her hair creates interest leading into the negative space. She hasn't seen her portraits yet, but will today!
CDalessandro wrote:
Very pretty Beverly...those eyes are gorgeous!! Good luck, Carolyn
Thanks so much Carolyn! Her eyes really stand out thanks to the amount of eye makeup she put on. If you saw a model with this much makeup on walking around you'd be shocked, but the camera loves it.
Photon wrote:
Why in the world are you nervous about using artificial light? You handle it beautifully.
Great portrait Bev!
Photon, you're so nice, thanks. I think I did OK with the headshots but I was really struggling to light full body shots on seamless white with just 3 strobes. I needed to keep the background and foreground bright white and keep the models beautifully lit. Not sure I have enough firepower for it, but I keep experimenting. Appreciate the vote of confidence.
Beverly Guhl wrote:
Thanks, Jim!! I agree, it's all subjective. When I looked at the image this morning I realized I'd prefer a different cropping for a final version. I liked this one; the angle of her hair creates interest leading into the negative space. She hasn't seen her portraits yet, but will today!
I like this one better...the zig zag in her hair part was a distraction.
