Couple shot around sunset

[roostabunny]

Took this of some friends after the sun had gone behind the building to my right.

50mm
f/2.8
1/200
400 ISO

I think I should have turned them a little bit more toward the light, and I spent some time brightening their faces after the fact. Interested in comments about the lighting and my white-balance correction (wrong setting, but shot in RAW), but I’ll always take critique on other elements that stand out.

Thanks!

Cheers,
Josh

Edit: BTW, I'd just bought a reflector (this one - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZIMEMW) so if anyone has any tips on how I might have used that (aside from having it outside with me in the first place) to improve this shot, that's great, too!

[EOBeav]

Lighting can be such a fickle mistress.

If you're doing natural light portraits, I would wait until evening light, then face them right toward the sun, whether or not it's behind a cloud. Your photos will thank you.

[roostabunny]

OK, cool. I guess at that point it's pretty even and non-directional, so I might as well get as much of it as is available.

Thanks!

Any thought on the WB?

Cheers,
Josh

[zona5101]

The WB is a bit warm...but that's ok because it's expected to have that late afternoon warmth/glow.
On the topic of the reflector...this would be a great place for one positioned to the left of the frame and bouncing some light back into their faces. .. You have a real nice rimlight coming from the setting sun on her hair and his head/shoulder giving a nice separation from the background...a little kick of light to get some catch light in the eyes and to brighten up the faces would be great... I do believe it would be a situation where you would want an assistant to hold/manipulate the reflector...or at least a stand and arm to hold it...I don't think the shooter would have long enough arms to put it in the right place...

[roostabunny]

Originally Posted by zona5101

The WB is a bit warm...but that's ok because it's expected to have that late afternoon warmth/glow.
On the topic of the reflector...this would be a great place for one positioned to the left of the frame and bouncing some light back into their faces. .. You have a real nice rimlight coming from the setting sun on her hair and his head/shoulder giving a nice separation from the background...a little kick of light to get some catch light in the eyes and to brighten up the faces would be great... I do believe it would be a situation where you would want an assistant to hold/manipulate the reflector...or at least a stand and arm to hold it...I don't think the shooter would have long enough arms to put it in the right place...

Thanks!

Yeah, I liked that rim light effect against the dark trees.

I have a couple of spare tripods (including a massive old Star-D I snagged at a yard sale for $2!), with plans to modify one of the lighter ones to hold reflectors or scrims. Meantime, my assistant (aka, the Missus) was already standing to my left, so it would have been a simple thing at that point.

[High_Speed]

To me, the original still has a reddish tint to it. And overall, it seems to lack "pop" and is rather dull. Perhaps a little fill light or reflector under them could have helped? The good news is you shot RAW and have plenty to work with here. Overall, I think the exposure is really good. No major clipping on either end, except for some of the white in the guys shirt, which really doesn't bother me.

Here's a few adjustments...

See what you think...

[BigFuzzy]

First I see the thread title "Twilight Headshot" and now "Couple shot around sunset"..


I can't get the image of a shooting spree out of my head!

Must. Go. Home. Sleep.

PS nice shot though I'd agree that a bit more light needs to be in the faces of the couple. Agree WB is warm but works in the context.
Don't like the edit above because it loses the nice color tone though HS does a good job of boosting the contrast which is really needed. If you have LR, the Clarity setting could have done that for you.

In the end, the thing that bothered me most is the busy background.. The stuff over his shoulder bothers me (though I am very picky to be fair). If possible, I would have put them more in the middle of the street and use th tree lined street to create some interesting leading/diagonal lines. of course, that may have not been possible, but just a thought.

[Rentham]

What metering mode did you use? White balance doesn't look overwhelmingly warm to me, but it does look a bit magenta on my screen.

[High_Speed]

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

Agree WB is warm but works in the context.
Don't like the edit above because it loses the nice color tone though HS does a good job of boosting the contrast which is really needed. If you have LR, the Clarity setting could have done that for you.

Here's the reddish color cast put back into the edited version, if you like that sort of look (second example). Personally, to me it just looks like the white balance is way off and looks really unnatural. But to each his own.

Personally, I think if you want a "warmer" look, add a "warming" filter (third example) instead of just an incorrect white balance.

[Rentham]

I think someone got their feelings hurt.