My Little Angel

[Scatterbrain]

A few 1st's here so I'm rather proud of the results, but I think it can be better.


The photograph was underexposed (she started moving & I upped the shutter speed without checking the effect on exposure ). It was my 1st time shooting in RAW, though, so I've managed to rescue it, albeit a little grainy. as the photograph wasn't 100% I decided to experiment with texture. I found a nice texture & placed it over the angel as a 2nd layer, adjusted the opacity and rubbed out over the face.

What do you think (honestly)?
What do we think of the integration of the texture? How can I do it better next time?

Camera: Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire


Scatterbrain

[jiminyClickit]

Scatterbrain,

Even though this is a portrait, it's more concerned with (and altered by) post-processing, so I moved you here.

[Scatterbrain]

Thank you. And sorry for forgetting my exif.

[OhSnapPhotos]

I really like the idea of this photo, especially giving it a grainy sort of look. But I cannot get over how much sharper her face is than anything else. It looks almost cut and pasted in. I think it needs to be softened some. It might not have to be as soft or grainy as the rest of the photo, but the current difference is too striking to have it look cohesive - IMO.

Super cute kid!

[Scatterbrain]

Thanks. I think you've hit the nail on the head of what I'm not 100% happy with. I've been thnking that myself today, but when editting I struggled to rub out over the face without getting it all. I've been wondering if adding a duplicate layer of the texture but at a high opacity might help to blend it as there will still be some texture over the face.

Either that or I just need to practice rubbing out from the texture layer with a lighter hand.

Any other suggestions of what I could try?

Scatterbrain

[jiminyClickit]

Are you using a graphics pen-and-tablet? It has a degree of control unlike the mouse, very responsive to your hand pressure.

[Scatterbrain]

I do have one, but haven't used it yet . I'll give it a go when I try this again.

I'm actually using the mouse pad on a laptop at the moment.
Thanks

S

[Scatterbrain]

Right, I'm re-shooting the pic this afternoon then if I get any decent photographs (properly exposed this time) i'll try this effect again tonight. Thanks for all your help everyone. I'll try to be less heavy handed with the eraser and will blend the layers a bit better.

I'm assuming as no-one's said anything to the contrary that my basic principles of how to achieve this sort of this is right (???).

S

[basje]

There seems to be an elastic thread to hold the wing, just onder her arm, but where is the other end? Did you clone it out? It looks quite strange

[Scatterbrain]

lol - yes I noticed that. I did clone the rest out and forgot this bit .

I will clone the last bit of elastic off when I redo the treatment. Thanks for drawing my attention to it