One More - Natural Beauty C&C Welcomed

[KimC]

A few forum members mentioned wanting to see more from this series, so thought I would post one more.

Also, for those who may not have seen my comment to Manfred on the other post, it took me 6 months to convince her to let me photograph her. Thanks to societal views, she thought something always needed improving before we could do a shoot. When she saw the images, she said, it felt like it was her birthday and hasn't stopped talking about them, or sharing them with family and friends.

Ideally, I would have liked her lips cracked just a bit... but I still find it appealing.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, this one seems a bit more formal than the previous set.

[KimC]

Thanks John. I really wanted to experiment (since I tend not to), so I did a bunch of different type of shots with her.

Nicely done, this one seems a bit more formal than the previous set.

[Manfred M]

I like this shot more than the first one because of the simpler background and the way you have handled the hands.

Something I will tell my subjects when dealing with lips is that they should be able to blow a bit of air through their lips; this prevents them from clenching their jaw too tightly. I might be tempted to crop a touch off the bottom as that little bit of denim really doesn't do anything for you. I also prefer the shoulder that is closest to the camera dropped a touch; in this shot, the shoulder that is farthest from the camera is dropped.

I find one of the most important skills that a portrait photographer needs to develop is instructing their subject on how to present themselves to the camera. Most people don't know what to do in front of a camera, and your self-assured direction will give them the impression that you know what you are doing and that will tend to make them more comfortable. Some people are "natural" models and need very little direction and others are not and need a lot more...

[IzzieK]

Kim she is really a beautiful woman...I like how her eyes shines...

[bnnrcn]

I agree with Isabel, a beautiful lady IMO the image would benefit from a bit more sharpening and noise reduction.

[KimC]

Thanks for commenting Binnur. I did play a bit with sharpening, but personally with the lighting/overall look, I preferred the soft feel. Regretfully I don't have noise reduction software at this point.

I agree with Isabel, a beautiful lady IMO the image would benefit from a bit more sharpening and noise reduction.

[KimC]

Thank you Manfred. Appreciate the added tips. I do have a version that's a tighter crop.

I like this shot more than the first one because of the simpler background and the way you have handled the hands.

Something I will tell my subjects when dealing with lips is that they should be able to blow a bit of air through their lips; this prevents them from clenching their jaw too tightly. I might be tempted to crop a touch off the bottom as that little bit of denim really doesn't do anything for you. I also prefer the shoulder that is closest to the camera dropped a touch; in this shot, the shoulder that is farthest from the camera is dropped.

I find one of the most important skills that a portrait photographer needs to develop is instructing their subject on how to present themselves to the camera. Most people don't know what to do in front of a camera, and your self-assured direction will give them the impression that you know what you are doing and that will tend to make them more comfortable. Some people are "natural" models and need very little direction and others are not and need a lot more...

[rpcrowe]

Again, a lovely portrait of this beautiful woman. I played with the image to get some separation between her hair and the background by using the dodge tool on the BG. I also increased structure of her face.

I also tried to reduce the noise a tad and cropped out the denim at the bottom as was suggested.

[KimC]

Hi Richard. I wanted to wait to respond to your rendition until I was on my large monitor.

I do agree her hair could use some separation, so I will make that change (somewhere between mine version and yours). IMHO, I prefer my version of her face -- since I am a woman of a certain age, I try to consider how I would want to look -- I prefer the softness of the lighting and her face in mine.

Again, a lovely portrait of this beautiful woman. I played with the image to get some separation between her hair and the background by using the dodge tool on the BG. I also increased structure of her face.

I also tried to reduce the noise a tad and cropped out the denim at the bottom as was suggested.

[rpcrowe]

I agree with you about the softness of her face...