Brian

[fais54]

A portrait I did for my cousin. This was unique for me because it was my first time doing a black and white. Once again, my lighting was limited so this may have affected it. I'm looking for critique on lighting, composition, and my overall idea.


7.26.11 by Stefan Faison, on Flickr

Olympus E-520 / 14-42mm
ISO 400 / 19mm
f/4.0 - (1/160)

[Doug Sundseth]

With a dark-skinned subject wearing dark clothes, most of the interest in the photo is going to be in the very bottom of the dynamic range. In this photo, it looks to me like you're losing detail in the clothing and skin. I'd recommend pulling up the midtones and shadows to reveal a bit more of that detail.

Using PS, I'd use a curves layer and pull up the lower-middle of the curve.

Using LR, I'd add fill light and possibly brightness.

(If you're using another tool, I'm afraid I can't help much.)

If I were to retake, I'd choose a slightly longer exposure to give me a bit more to work with in post. You can always pull the black point up if you start getting too gray in the shadows.

One thing I wouldn't worry about at all is blowing out the background. There's nothing interesting there at all, so you can let it blow out as much as necessary to get range in the subject.

[fais54]

Thank you! I agree with a lot of what you said. I am using both LR and PS, so I'll play around with what you said when I get the time. What do I do in the camera in order to get a "slightly longer exposure"?

[Doug Sundseth]

I don't know the specific controls of your Olympus, but you can usually set exposure compensation to overexpose or underexpose from what the camera thinks is the correct exposure if you're using an automatic or semi-automatic mode. If you're shooting manual, just reduce the shutter speed or increase the aperture (reduce the f/stop number).

Depending on what sort of metering modes the camera has, you might also be able to go to a center-weighted or spot metering mode, or if you have an exposure lock function, you could set your exposure on a frame with less light-colored background then recompose for the shot.

TL;DR: It depends.

[ChrisAdval]

Originally Posted by fais54

A portrait I did for my cousin. This was unique for me because it was my first time doing a black and white. Once again, my lighting was limited so this may have affected it. I'm looking for critique on lighting, composition, and my overall idea.


7.26.11 by Stefan Faison, on Flickr

Olympus E-520 / 14-42mm
ISO 400 / 19mm
f/4.0 - (1/160)

Here's a video about cropping and composing that would help you - Chris Adval Learning Model Photography: Critical Composing/Cropping Tips by Mark Wallace at AdoramaTV.com