Like a Ruben child... What do you think of this portrait?

[guitarjunky]

This is one of those moments when I felt lucky... I got a glimpse from this cute red hair child who had such a serious attitude.. The natural light was warm and I hit the button at the right time... After that she ignored me! :-)

5D mark II
Canon EF-24-70 2.8 L at 66mm
iso 5000
f/2.8
1/100
little correction in apperture

[Multipara]

Great shot! Is this a sooc shot or has it been played with at all? I think the composition is spot on, but it could be a little brighter. Maybe up the exposure a tad?

[guitarjunky]

Originally Posted by Multipara

Great shot! Is this a sooc shot or has it been played with at all? I think the composition is spot on, but it could be a little brighter. Maybe up the exposure a tad?

thanks! There was little work done in aperture. The original is very close. Yes I had to push the ISO because of low light and it is not 100% shapr focus... Ahh if I could go back! :-)

Thanks for the comments

[graciousness]

It is a great shot. I think the problem with the focusing is with the use of the low f/stop. I noticed that one eye is sharper than the other, so I looked at your exif and there it was f/2.8.

Whilst I understand that you had low light condition taking the shot and had to use the widest aperture, what it also did is that you also used a very shallow DOF. I think even just one stop above with your f/stop would have helped keep both eyes in focus and everything else blurry (which is what you wanted with your creative vision with the image).

Slower shutter speed would have brought in more ambient light, like around 1/60 would have helped a little.

But you know what, I do love the photo. Yes, you did get the Ruben thing going on here

Just go back to Aperture (the editing software) and try just adding a little more sharpness to that left eye (photo left side) and it should do it, you know. Not a lot as you don't want to lose that dreamy look.

What a great job and concept. Post more!

Cheers,

Grace

[guitarjunky]

Originally Posted by graciousness

It is a great shot. I think the problem with the focusing is with the use of the low f/stop. I noticed that one eye is sharper than the other, so I looked at your exif and there it was f/2.8.

Whilst I understand that you had low light condition taking the shot and had to use the widest aperture, what it also did is that you also used a very shallow DOF. I think even just one stop above with your f/stop would have helped keep both eyes in focus and everything else blurry (which is what you wanted with your creative vision with the image).

Slower shutter speed would have brought in more ambient light, like around 1/60 would have helped a little.

But you know what, I do love the photo. Yes, you did get the Ruben thing going on here

Just go back to Aperture (the editing software) and try just adding a little more sharpness to that left eye (photo left side) and it should do it, you know. Not a lot as you don't want to lose that dreamy look.

What a great job and concept. Post more!

Cheers,

Grace

wow thanks! thsi is quite encouraging. I will try that just now

cheers

[graciousness]

Originally Posted by guitarjunky

wow thanks! thsi is quite encouraging. I will try that just now

cheers

No problem, just remember to use the adjustment brush to sharpen only that one eye and not do an overall sharpness with the slider. I'm assuming you are using Aperture 3 where you can do this....?

Cheers!

[guitarjunky]

Better or worse? I adjusted the curves as well... and used a portrait plug in to sharpen the eyes

[graciousness]

Prefer the first one. The second one looks cherubic and almost painterly, but then it's almost like having an effect of direct flash on her face. Hotspots on two places on her head....you want to tone it down so that it's not as 'light'.

I think you really just need to do this in Aperture 3:

- in Adjustments, go to Quick Brushes > Sharpen and then choose a brush size just big enough for the eye and then apply sharpness there.

- Again in Adjustments, go to Quick Brushes > Dodge and just lighten those eyes a little bit. Make sure you don't choose the extreme right setting with the slider so it's not too overpoweringly light. Minor adjustments at a time is the key. Also, make sure you don't touch the shadows under the eyebrows as it will look unnatural if you do. You only want to do the eyes (white and pupil).

- If you want that lighter (whiter) effect as in your adjustment in second edit, again use the adjustment brush and just dodge on her face with a big brush and wherever else you want to lighten. Slight adjustment is the key.

If you can do the adjustment somewhere in between the two edits, then I think you've got it.

Cheers,

Grace

[guitarjunky]

Originally Posted by graciousness

Prefer the first one. The second one looks cherubic and almost painterly, but then it's almost like having an effect of direct flash on her face. Hotspots on two places on her head....you want to tone it down so that it's not as 'light'.

I think you really just need to do this in Aperture 3:

- in Adjustments, go to Quick Brushes > Sharpen and then choose a brush size just big enough for the eye and then apply sharpness there.

- Again in Adjustments, go to Quick Brushes > Dodge and just lighten those eyes a little bit. Make sure you don't choose the extreme right setting with the slider so it's not too overpoweringly light. Minor adjustments at a time is the key. Also, make sure you don't touch the shadows under the eyebrows as it will look unnatural if you do. You only want to do the eyes (white and pupil).

- If you want that lighter (whiter) effect as in your adjustment in second edit, again use the adjustment brush and just dodge on her face with a big brush and wherever else you want to lighten. Slight adjustment is the key.

If you can do the adjustment somewhere in between the two edits, then I think you've got it.

Cheers,

Grace

Third try! Thanks for taking the time, much obliged!

[graciousness]

Yeah, that works! As long as you're happy with it, that's what matters

Just remember next time when taking portraits, aim for sharpness in the eyes. That's all that matters. Everything else can be blurry, but if the eyes are blurry, then the shot is lost. As with example in this one.

Also, time to invest in some lights (flash and diffuser). This photo could have really benefitted with proper lighting and then you dont have to compensate your ISO and aperture so much.