Black & White Self Portrait

[Avandria]

EDIT: I just noticed I put this in the wrong section, if one of the admins could please put it in the critique section I would really appreciate it. Sorry.




Camera: Nikon D60
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 135 mm
Exposure: +0.85
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: +1 EV
Flash: No Flash


I was trying to practice with black and white high contrast photos - I came up with this. I calmed down on the make-up ( just a little bit) as a few people suggested on a previous photo, I also took notice on my skin tone and made sure it matched up before I decided to keep/work on the photo.
Here's the questions:
Is the sun spot on the [photo] left shoulder/side too distracting?
I was going for that real white skin tone I see so often in B&W photos so I uped the exposure on my camera and then added a bit of contrast to it after converting it to B&W in photoshop; does it work here or would you have toned it down a bit?

As always any other advice and feedback is muchly appreciated.

[candleman]

i would say you need more contrast, the grey of the skin is (IMHO) is to much of a mid tone, and looks like a greyscale conversion.

i think the bigger issue is that the face looks very "flat" and i think you need more contrast/shadow across the face to bring out the shape.
i'd increase the contrast more to fix it, simply as the face and skin look a bit odd.

however, i dont thhink the sunspot is a major issue, i'd probably still burtn it a bit to lower its intensity.

other than that,
very nice, good confident yet pretty (& feminine) posture, and your hair & eyes really pop out beautifully here.
good job

PS, the photo looks sharp, so i'm guessing you had a tripod based on that really slow shutterspeed,
but at 135mm i'd expect to see a shutterspeed of 1/200th to eliminate handshake if it was handheld.. just a curiosity/tip

[Daoust]

Yeah, what candleman said. Your face is way too flat. Too washed out. No discernable features and it makes you look weird.

[Avandria]

Originally Posted by candleman

i would say you need more contrast, the grey of the skin is (IMHO) is to much of a mid tone, and looks like a greyscale conversion.

i think the bigger issue is that the face looks very "flat" and i think you need more contrast/shadow across the face to bring out the shape.
i'd increase the contrast more to fix it, simply as the face and skin look a bit odd.

however, i dont thhink the sunspot is a major issue, i'd probably still burtn it a bit to lower its intensity.

other than that,
very nice, good confident yet pretty (& feminine) posture, and your hair & eyes really pop out beautifully here.
good job

PS, the photo looks sharp, so i'm guessing you had a tripod based on that really slow shutterspeed,
but at 135mm i'd expect to see a shutterspeed of 1/200th to eliminate handshake if it was handheld.. just a curiosity/tip

Ah, I definately see what you mean with the "flat" face now that you mentioned it. I admit I'm still learning all the technical sides of photography so I often don't realise what my shutterspeed and such should be for a certain photo, but I'm practicing and trying to learn from others. It's so much easier when I don't have to worry about myself being the model as well. And yes, I did use a tripod. Thanks for the tips!

[Trader]

Was there a reason you set your Exposure: +0.85 and Bias: +1?

[Avandria]

Originally Posted by Trader

Was there a reason you set your Exposure: +0.85 and Bias: +1?

Yes, someone once told me that when they were going for high contrasting b&w photos they over expose their shots, so I figured I'd give it a try. I tried a few different settings and this photo happened to be one that was more in focus and had less distractions. As a few people mentioned to me before I end up looking flat, but it's a learning experience for me and with their advice I can try to improve on my photos.

[candleman]

aaah, that explains the longer shutterspeed.. you were using Aperture priority?

and the bias forced it longer.

i could be wrong.
still, very nice portrait, a bit of PP will make it really pop out nicely.