Even in most of the corrected images the subject is darker than the background. The human eye is naturally drawn to the brightest object(s) in the image. In many of these, because of the underexposure of the subjects, the skin tones seem very "muddy." Try spot metering next time... or bracket your shots so you've got a variety of exposures to work with. In AV mode you could use an on-camera flash to get a little fill. The 40D will expose for the ambient and pop some flash in there for fill in that mode. You can adjust to taste using the exposure dial, or FEC on the flash. Getting some catch-lights in her eyes would help a lot.
Your second set of original posted images are nice compositions - just need serious postprocessing to correct and enhance. Hope you shot Raw... You're gettin' it - keep shooting!
SAREBEL wrote:
Thanks babyjax. One question, what is the best approach for fixing tan lines? I have never gone that far into pp yet
Just use the clone stamp and clone from the nearest tan skin so it does not look unnatural. Try a soft brush with a size and opacy of around 20. I am not the best post-processor, but this should work ok (I have version 6, so someone might be able to give you a bit better guide with all the new features of CS3, but I think clone stamp should work fine).
Thanks again everybody. I have some great info to build on! This is why I signed up for this board. I appreciate all of you taking the time to help me grow!
I shot these in RAW using a 30D and a 580ex on camera, and a 430ex shooting into a 32 inch reflective umbrella. I just bought my first AB800 and an Octabox. They are on the way. I am hoping with the addition of a light meter and "Understanding Exposure" which I just bought, and all of your advice will help correct these miss steps from my first time out!
Thank you all again, I am glad I decided to post these!!
I was using a 580 on camera and a 430ex off camera shot into a 32 inch silver umbrella.
The eyes closed shot is one she asked for. Every pose she wanted an "eyes closed" "thinking" shot. Not sure why, but her check cleared, that menas she is the boss
