Girlfriends

[Kittelsaa]

This is one of my recent photos. I'm going back to my roots (My roots being a Pentax K1000 analog camera although this is shot on a Pentax K20D) trying to nail black and white photography. The conversion was done in Lightroom 4.

For the shot I used a beauty dish right next to, and a bit above, the camera, and a softbox to the camera left. I also have a light hanging from the ceiling, pointing towards the background.



ISO 100, 1/180 sec at f/8 26.25mm (Pentax 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II)

If (or when, as they are friends of mine) I do this again, I'd move their arms a bit, and perhaps also bring in a makeup artist/stylist.

At another forum, people told me the photo is to dark, so I've added a lighter version of it. I would like to hear your option on the dark vs light, and if there are anything I should do differently with lights, pose, and conversion. (Huge order, so you don't have to answer everything!)

[Andrew1]

Sorry to be mama bear but the first is too dark and the second is too bright. And if you do a similar shot in the future don't go too much with the makeup and hair. Keep it simple and clean.

[Kittelsaa]

No problem Andrew. I can make a version that fall between these two when it comes to light/dark.

I'm not sure if I understand the makeup and hair thing though, as none of the girls had any makeup on or styling

[Dave Humphries]

I'm not sure if I understand the makeup and hair thing though, as none of the girls had any makeup on or styling

Hi Kristian,

I think what Andrew meant was don't overdo any make up applied in the future shot(s).

My thought was also that the second version was about 1/2 stop too bright.

I would suggest losing the text bracelet if possible - it distracts because given text, we try to read it.

I like the composition and the space on the right, given their height difference, it seems 'just right'.

Cheers,

[Andrew1]

Kristian, Dave is correct. In your first post you said

"If (or when, as they are friends of mine) I do this again, I'd move their arms a bit, and perhaps also bring in a makeup artist/stylist."

I just meant not to overdo it.

[Kittelsaa]

Kristian, Dave is correct. In your first post you said

"If (or when, as they are friends of mine) I do this again, I'd move their arms a bit, and perhaps also bring in a makeup artist/stylist."

I just meant not to overdo it.

Ah, then it makes sense

[Andrew76]

Can I be the guy who disagrees with everyone? I like them both, I think the lighting is too dark in #1, and too light in #2, if you were going for 'perfect' exposure. BUT, for me, #1 is quite intimate, and the darkness reinforces that feeling of closeness. Number 2 has a more editorial feel (again, to me), and could be in a magazine. Lighting drastically affects the mood of your subject, and I think you've shown that here. I like them both.

[Kittelsaa]

Thank you Andrew76

[Kittelsaa]

Yet another version of the photo. A bit less bright than the last, but a lot brighter than the first


About the armband: It's something she's had on for years, and it's special to her, so she didn't want to remove it. Originally they were posed the other way around, so I didn't think much of it. I guess I should've kept them the way they stood, instead of having them swap places, but when they stood the other way, I didn't get the shot right.

My question now, as I'm not used to convert to black and white: In Lightroom 4, should I try to get the skin on the rightmost hand even, or does the shadow there look ok to you guys?