Is the skin tone off?

[Weird Girl]

I was mainly working on my lighting for this shoot- was getting frustrated because it was either too bright or too dark even with a minor adjustment... I did some editing because to me, the skin was too orange. Now I am wondering if I washed it out or took away the highlights too much? Are his eyes sharp enough? Any other comments are welcomed!

Nikon D300s
17-200mm lens
1/160
f5
ISO 200
2 studio lights fired
Edited in Lightroom 3

[ajax_andy]

Originally Posted by Weird Girl

I was mainly working on my lighting for this shoot- was getting frustrated because it was either too bright or too dark even with a minor adjustment... I did some editing because to me, the skin was too orange. Now I am wondering if I washed it out or took away the highlights too much? Are his eyes sharp enough? Any other comments are welcomed!

Nikon D300s
17-200mm lens
1/160
f5
ISO 200
2 studio lights fired
Edited in Lightroom 3

I dont think the skin looks too bad, maybe a tad dull but nothing major... the problem for me is the black cloths which kind of make for a solid block of colour with no detail and a head sticking out the top.

Just a general poor choice of colour all round spoils the image IMO... the image isn't very vibrant and lacks any sort of punch. The angle shot at doesn't help either as there's not a lot to draw your eye in. The eyes look sharp enough, but the angle and shadow over the eye closest the floor stop me from being drawn in.

I think getting in closer and filling the frame with a shallow DOF would have worked better.

It's not a bad image by any means, but lacks a few key ingredients to make it great

[Weird Girl]

Ok, thank you! I am going to practice more today so I will take your advice into consideration! Thanks!!

[Weird Girl]

Anyone else?

[Rentham]

Skin looks a bit magenta on my screen, particularly on his left side. Eyes look sharp at this size. I agree with Andy about the black shirt. There is detail in the blacks, but at first glance it does look like a black blob with a head sticking out. Also, did you burn down or darken the top of the frame? I'm seeing some sort of haloing around the top of this head and body.

[Weird Girl]

ok thanks! No, it's my stupid lights HAHA I am frustrated if you can't tell... I didn't burn or add vignetting, i just couldn't get rid of the ridiculous shadow (at least not on purpose). Other shots don't have that so I guess he was centered just right... I didn't think him moving one step would make such a huge difference in the lighting but I am also having issues figuring out my camera as it is... I am just all around frustrated but I'm not giving up... sigh...

[cyber3d]

Hey Weird Girl. I did an edit that illustrates what I think you could try in post processing. In shooting, I would suggest that you really need rim lighting because of the dark sweater and dark hair. It gives a nice separation between him and the background. If I had my way I would stay away from the shag rug. Imagine if he were on a surface that was not so contrasty.

I added a bit of shadow to the bottom half of his face and brightened the eyes 1/4 f-stop.



>>click for larger image<<

[Weird Girl]

ok, cool. I am working with 2 lights so maybe I will try one at a 45 degree angle, use a reflector on the other side, and my other light can be the hair light. I will definitely play around with that. As for pp, i like the eyes brighter- i was afraid to make them too bright and fake looking but I don't think you have so thanks! Do you think a hardwood floor would have been better? That was a rug and under it is a medium brown hardwood floor. I will go back to the original and see what his face looked like. Thanks for the feedback!

[cyber3d]

Definitely the wood floor. Tip: the trick in lighting pale skin when he's wearing a black sweater is to expose for the face and use your rim light to bring out the shape and texture of the sweater. Well, one trick out of many.

Love to see what you come up with.

.

[ccting]

Originally Posted by cyber3d

...you really need rim lighting because of the dark sweater and dark hair. It gives a nice separation between him and the background. ...

great advice that I have to learn..

Q1: Do you think he should wear white shirt instead?
Q2: Do you think the shadow under the nose distractive? Reflector needed?
Q3: Do you think the left eye not clear is of no problem?
Q4: Falloff @ background particular @ head region?
Q5: Strong highlight @ clothes & hair, will that distract viewer from face?
Q6: That is the objective of this pic? Face or clothes?