Pfiltz wrote:
Well, to be honest, I'm viewing it on my laptop. Something just looks weird about it... But then again, I don't even like my stuff on my laptop.
Can't describe what I "think" I see about the image...
You know what it might be...? I did adjust the Clarity control down to soften the skin detail. I may have over did it.
Skin maybe looks a bit soft to me also, move the strobe further away to make the catchlights smaller and this will also make the light a bit harder which I think will help.
pawlowski6132: On the catchlight matter, I've read that for a more natural look, the catchlight should go in the upper area of the eyeball. This position emulates the position of sunlight reflected on the eyes.
Besides probable overprocessing, the subject's face lacks shadows to put a natural definition on the facial features.
The first book below presents a good discussion on how to arrange studio lights.
Three books:
Light -- Science & Magic, by Paul Fugua
Monte Zucker’s Portrait Photography Handbook, by Monte Zucker
Minimalist Lighting; Professional Techniques for Studio Photography, by Kirk Tuck
You only needed to sharpen just a little. Mainly the eyes. Oh, and crop off that empty right side. It just shows ignorance. If that displeases you look it up in the dictionary, because it shouldn't
pilles wrote:
You only needed to sharpen just a little. Mainly the eyes. Oh, and crop off that empty right side. It just shows ignorance. If that displeases you look it up in the dictionary, because it shouldn't
pilles, are you suggesting - by cropping right side - I center the subject? I always thought that was a little boring.
I'd suggest raising the key two-to-three feet and if you don't like the catchlights then either change your modifier or modify it with black flags and charlie bars etc.
liamh wrote:
Looks good for a first go. I like the crop too.
I'd suggest raising the key two-to-three feet and if you don't like the catchlights then either change your modifier or modify it with black flags and charlie bars etc.
Thanx Liam. Always good advice.
I think I need a new "studio" though. The 60" umbrella was already smacking the ceiling!
Ok, it may be starting to make some sense... Why shoot with studio at 70th of a second. Modeling lights, ambient, etc... start to come into the picture at those speeds.
Shoot it again at 200th or 250th, and see what comes out of it.. 70th is way too slow if there is any ambient around.
pawlowski6132: Some photographers swear by the soft-focus look; otherwise, you may wish to try an aperture of f/5.6 or smaller for capturing more image detail. Reviews of most lenses indicate that at the largest aperture, the lens shows the least sharpness.
In addition, you may wish to try a fast prime lens of 100mm or thereabouts for better results.
Although you didn't say, it looks like you may use auto mode camera settings.
Instead, try setting your camera to Manual mode. Set the custom flash function to 1/200 sec fixed in Aperture Priority mode. Set the aperture to f/5.6, the shutter speed to 1/30 sec, and the ISO to 100. The default first curtain sync will work in the studio. The flash fires at the beginning of the exposure, at a speed of about 1/1000 sec, thereby freezing the subject. The remainder of the exposure uses the ambient light.
You can easily vary the amount of ambient light captured by raising the shutter speed at any given aperture.
And of course you can vary the flash power for the exposure result you want.
