formal portrait

[candleman]

i did a formal self portrait seeing as i got a roll of "Thunder Grey" paper, and portable suport stand.



(pettymuch SOOC)

Shutterspeed: 1/160
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 56 mm
ISO Speed: 200
WB: 5600Kelvin


Sb24 snooted at 1/8th onto the background (causeing partial hair light and visable in left temple)

Sb600 camera right in shoot through at 1/8th for fill

Sb28 camera left bounced in backed softbox umbrella, down @ 45 degrees, at 1/4 power


i'm not happy with the background light... to bright and not symetrical enough.
it was off the the side.. next time i'll actually sit it behind my body.
i ran out of space.. next time i'll mve the couches out the room

feel free to critique anything i wan to hear your thoughts on pose, light, anything.
it was an attempt at a formal/corporate portrait... tell me if its an epic failure or ok.
i left the hands in.. considered cropping them out but felt the hands made it feel a bit less boring, and more personal.

[AlphaBjerke]

I like the hands, but I am not crazy about the pose. It seems like you are in an awkward position. Almost seems like you are in a chair what leans back, but obviously, there is no chair there. I love the lighting and am envious of your skills in that area.

[LoveDSLR]

Corporate portrait point of view:

- He is leaning back too much. A 'weak person' or informal pose.
- The tie knot is too loose.
- Clone the label out at pp even it is a Canali, Armani or Prada label.
- Too much smile for formal corporate portrait.
- Hands? I think it is ok for a neighborhood store manager but not for an executive.

Checkout this sample photo from the web. Old fashion but just to illustrate my points.




BTW, tell me when to shut up.

[candleman]

thannks Alpha Bjerke, i'll have to concentrate harder on "bending at the buckle"

LoveDSLR.. good points.. thats exactly what i need.
i like the inclusion of the table, and the fingers do look more formal not crossed in "twiddle the thumbs" postion like my portrait.....

looking harder in comparing the pose, the head in mine isnt perpendicular to shoulders "enough".

thanks very much.

[mandyatm]

I would crop above the hands. Since you are in dark colors and the hands are at the bottom and face at the top, the hands compete for my attention in this picture. Other thank that I think it could pass for a corporate shot (in my little corporate experience anyway). All of the "rules" posted are very interesting! I disagree about the smile though. I would much rather walk into an office or building and see a casual smiling face than the same old stiff look! It is less intimidating and more friendly looking. Nice job.

[daddyoproductions]

Don't really know anything 'bout corporate poses, but like the smile and agree about the posture. I've seen lots of real estate broker photos and this could certainly be one of those Only much nice really than the ones I've seen.

[ttosifa]

Hey candleman --

I think at one point in the lighting section you asked about resources to take your lighting to the next level. At the time, I thought about mentioning the 4-DVD set of "The Best of Dean Collins on Lighting" available from softwarecinema.com (or used on Ebay and elsewhere). This is an example for which I think Collins' info could be useful.

Aside from the unusual pattern of the light on the background (which you already noted), you've lost a lot of form in your black jacket. Your hands are bright, as is your face. Eyes are drawn to areas of highest contrast. Thus you have two areas of high contrast, and at best they compete for attention and at worst the hands win because your jacket is so dark.

In the picture posted by LoveDLSR, note that the jacket has lots more detail and the contrast between the hands and face is, IMO, more pleasing. One gets used to creating form and detail in faces by creating underexposed areas called shadows, but this doesn't work with black because underexposed black is still black. One of Collins' big points is to get detail in blacks you have to use specularity -- reflections of the light source. This is where the photo posted by LoveDLSR shines (hee, hee, couldn't resist). The lights have been set up to reveal the jacket.

You have some detail in your jacket, but I think the photo would look more balanced and pleasing by raising the specularity on the jacket. There are lots of ways to do this, and quite a bit of Collins' stuff concentrates on it.

Hope this helps.

[candleman]

haha
thanks very much for that. thats definatley great feedback.

i'll have a look around for that DVD set.. it sounds good.
i've already posted my order for Santa to bring me Light Science and Magic or "Skin" ....a DVD would be even easier for me to learn from.
thanks.!

[kencaleno]

Don't like the highlight on background-I have applied shadow/highlight at default settings to enable you to see the pattern on the suit-it was underexposed-Did you use a flash meter? Ken

[zoom and crop]

Im really new, and still learning, so I dont know how valuable my opinion could be, but I do know that I personally like the subjects posture. I dont really look at it in a way of making him look less professional, I think it makes him look more friendly and regular- not intimidating, or cold. I like how the lighting is, because it makes his coat and darker features really stand out from the lighter background.