A Little CC Please

[Gerou]

A newbie here. Been lurking for a while and after seeing the things you guys do figured I'd ask for some help in improving.
This is a shot of my Very patient daughter. The image is a 2nd effort exercise at OCF and some skin softening / smoothing. Am I in the ballpark as far as what OCF is supposed to accomplish?

This link My-Boug-2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! is to a copy of the same image with a texture applied.
Is the texture usable?
How's the image overall? Focus, post processing, etc. Any and all CC will be appreciated. By both of us.
Thank you in advance.

Nikon D80

ISO 100

50 1:8

F 2:8

SB 800 w/ Diffuser

[TheMoons678]

Originally Posted by Gerou

A newbie here. Been lurking for a while and after seeing the things you guys do figured I'd ask for some help in improving.
This is a shot of my Very patient daughter. The image is a 2nd effort exercise at OCF and some skin softening / smoothing. Am I in the ballpark as far as what OCF is supposed to accomplish?

This link My-Boug-2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! is to a copy of the same image with a texture applied.
Is the texture usable?
How's the image overall? Focus, post processing, etc. Any and all CC will be appreciated. By both of us.
Thank you in advance.

Nikon D80

ISO 100

50 1:8

F 2:8

SB 800 w/ Diffuser

I couldn't really get past the fact that it looked like a bad mug shot to me. I apologize because I can't give you any advice of the PP, etc but the focus on the eyes and lighting looked great. However the composition/PP was not very flattering for your daughter at all (although you may have simply only been going for the features that you mentioned).

I imagine my comments weren't that helpful, but I know how it feels to get lots of views without any replies.

Keep going, you're on the right track.

Ps, great job on the eyes on that 2nd flickr img.

[BigFuzzy]

I'll start by saying that the lighting work is well done.. but for me, that's where it ends (and I'm sorry if I'm harsh) because the PP work really kills the image for me and almost negates the nice soft lighting.

It's waaaay over done, in all ways to me. The eyes are incredibly over sharpened and look almost cut and paste into the image because of the difference between them and the rest of the image due to the smoothing you did. I can't even tell if the eyes were sharp to begin with because they are so artificial looking now

The smoothing, which is something I don't really like to begin with, even if done well, is over done in my opinion. It makes it almost look CGI. The over smoothing also kills some of the shadows which are needed to create some depth to the image, so this feels a bit flatter than I imagine it was. Any chance you can post an unedited one so I can see how wrong I am?

I like the simplicity of the shot/facial expression. I do feel it's a bit tightly cropped as you do cut off some of her hair and it's a bit central. Sometimes central works, and might have in this one had I not been so put off by the PP.

I looove using vignetting, but I think yours is overdone (seeing a trend?). To me, vignetting (and any PP work) should be subtle and simply something that enhances/focuses the image, not something that is an item in the image in and of itself. I noticed the vignetting as being very strong even from the thumbnail before I opened it and that's a sign to me.

Lastly, the background is a bit distracting. The top half is grey and the bottom half pink.. which makes my mind draw an imaginary line about halfway through her head which kind of distracted me.. this could be me being overly picky, but it's something I noticed.

The key is that you got too enamored with the idea of PP and took what could have been a simple nice headshot into some PP nightmare for me. The PP in and of itself became an element of the image instead of complimenting/enhancing it. That's where it goes too far at takes away from the nice qualities it does have.
I know I sound harsh, but I think it's all easily correctable which is why I point it out so bluntly. Don't fall in love with PP and don't make it something that is a strong element of your image (unless you're doing some serious digital artsy stuff) because, to me, it'll take away from the image.

You have a good core there, just don't do too much to it so that it loses what it does have.

[Gerou]

Originally Posted by TheMoons678

I couldn't really get past the fact that it looked like a bad mug shot to me. I apologize because I can't give you any advice of the PP, etc but the focus on the eyes and lighting looked great. However the composition/PP was not very flattering for your daughter at all (although you may have simply only been going for the features that you mentioned).

I imagine my comments weren't that helpful, but I know how it feels to get lots of views without any replies.

Keep going, you're on the right track.

Ps, great job on the eyes on that 2nd flickr img.

Thanks for responding Moons.
Your comments concerning focus and lighting made me posting this worthwhile.

Shooting-wise, this was an exercise in OCF for me. I've only tried it a couple of times. Started out as her just sitting in a chair in the den. Nothing formal. Nothing set up. No composition (and it shows). Nothing posed. Nothing serious. Just an exercise. Camera in 1 hand, flash raised in the other. Think I'm getting the hang of it. As for the processing, felt her skin needed a little help so turned pp into an exercise in cloning / smoothing. Yeah the skin looks wicked smooth but I'm kinda liking it not as 'here's my effort toward natural looking skin' but as an effect. I'll probably use it again. Maybe not quite this heavy, but again, it's a 1st effort at something that's different. I think it may be a fairly usable effect with a little refining. I've got Plenty of shots of her in her natural state.

".....but I know how it feels to get lots of views without any replies......" another thank you for your sensitivity.

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by Gerou

Shooting-wise, this was an exercise in OCF for me. I've only tried it a couple of times. Camera in 1 hand, flash raised in the other. Think I'm getting the hang of it.

Out of curiosity, what sort of flash was it, and was it straight flash or was it bounced or diffused in any way? I ask because with the PP work done it's difficult to tell. The shadows (and subsequently lighting) look soft, but seeing as you said it was hand held, I'm assuming (wrongly?) that it was bare flash with no diffusion?

It's why I made the comment that the PP makes it difficult to judge anything else since I believe that the PP work changed the effect of the lighting (which is what you seemed most interested in, feedback-wise). It's also why I asked if you have any pre-PP photos you can share so we/I can better comment on the lighting aspects of the image.

[Gerou]

Originally Posted by TheMoons678

I couldn't really get past the fact that it looked like a bad mug shot to me. I apologize because I can't give you any advice of the PP, etc but the focus on the eyes and lighting looked great. However the composition/PP was not very flattering for your daughter at all (although you may have simply only been going for the features that you mentioned).

I imagine my comments weren't that helpful, but I know how it feels to get lots of views without any replies.

Keep going, you're on the right track.

Ps, great job on the eyes on that 2nd flickr img.

"I couldn't really get past the fact that it looked like a bad mug shot to me."
Hahaha......lol you're Funny!