Another "What I learned" thread

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by Jonbar18

Jon, I saw the "test shot" on Flickr yesterday (?), and wanted to say something, but I was completely speechless. If you had never said, I don't think anyone would have doubted it.



And why not??

Lol.. Because its the middle of October and about 5 degrees.. Everyone else was in big coats, I began to feel sorry for her.

But seriously, It seems mostly fine. Maybe a LITTLE dark, but no big deal. Only thing is she looks pasted into the background. A weak light behind her might have helped. Obviously you had to do with what you had available, but something to consider for next time

That was why I wanted together there before sunset, and use the sun to backlight her.. The trouble with front lighting someone in a backlit scene is exactly that.. They look pasted on.. Hmm,, andi think I need to calibrate my monitor, you're right, they are dark, easy to fix.

[sk66]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

Stupid thing is, I actually had a torch in my bag I just couldn't find it because it was too dark!!!

OK, Here are a few that I've uploaded to Flickr. I'm not the worlds best when it comes to post production, I've done my best to soften her skin without over doing it, and the focus was off on some of them.. But like I said.. All a learning process.. Tell me how you'd improve on these.. I know.. This thread belongs on the Critique forum now

I carry a petzel zipka headlamp. With the retractable "strap" I can put in on a wrist/head/tripod/wherever

They all look quite "flat" and a bit underexposed to me....I use a Mac and I couldn't find any color information in the images which could be part of the problem.

Here's a quick edit of one I thought very nice.
Mostly a levels adjustment. I then dodged the tree to remove the shadow line and make that side just negative space. Then a 8x10 crop putting her eyes at the 1/3 intersection. Working from the original obviously could deliver "better" results.

[SwissJon]

Thanks Steve.. I think I might have another go at that photo. (And the others.) I like the crop a lot.. It was the first thing I noticed.