Paulina

[Snow]

Hello everyone,

This is the first image I post. I don't know what to say. So, I will just post it. Thanks for looking.

[James G]

Hi Snow,
I think this is excellent.... Being honest, portrait photography is not something I do, but I really like the 'off centre' composition and the background creates a beautiful 'dream' effect. The lighting of the subject creates beautiful skin tones.

My only criticism? is that the item in the bottom right hand corner will be distracting to some people.

[rpcrowe]

I like the image but, agree with James above regarding the item intruding into the frame at bottom image right...

[Snow]

Thank you, James and rpcrowe for your kind comments. I am not sure what item are you referring to. Do you mean the umbrella handle? This was shot at midday under very harsh light conditions. So, I asked the girl to hold an umbrella to try and diffuse the light somewhat. I tried to crop it out of the image, but I thought it would be too tight of a crop. What do you think?
Anyway, it is my bad. I should know better than to shoot at midday under clear skies.
I appreciate your taking the time to look and comment.

[GBO25]

I also like this lovely portrait shot Snow. It is the umberalla handle that is a distraction but what a good idea to use an umberella like that to soften the light. If your editing skills are sufficient perhaps you could clone out the handle.

[Shadowman]

Nice capture.

[Manfred M]

Welcome to CiC, Snow.

Would you mind completing your profile; just click the "My Profile" button at the top of this page.

That will take you to the right page. Click the "about me" tab and please fill in at least your first name and where you are from. Clicking the pencil symbol beside those fields lets you edit the fields. We tend to be a pretty informal bunch here at CiC and go on a first name basis.

Now as to your shot; using an umbrella (so long as it is neutral coloured) is a great way to put your subject into better mid-day light. Pros use this trick all the time; a scrim, just like your umbrella make a great diffuser.

It's a nice shot and leaving the umbrella in the shot might be an interesting compositional element. Props don't always work, but often they do. At least it would help put the umbrella handle into context. While I like asymmetry in shots, I'm not sure if it really works all that well in this one; there's just a bit too much negative space on the left side of the image for my taste; I suspect that it might work better in a vertical format or if you brought the umbrella and other shoulder into the shot a bit more.

[rpcrowe]

When I see something in an image that I can identify, I can usually live with it if it is fairly normal to the surroundings (such as an umbrella might be). However, when I see something that I cannot identify, it tends to distract my eye away from the rest of the image...

[James G]

Ernesto,
the good idea was the use of the umbrella to soften the harsh midday light

For me, the handle was not too distracting, and since you were uncomfortable with a tighter crop, it comes down to 'personal taste'. It's still a very appealing image for me.

As regards shunning midday light... I live in the UK and we don't shun any light... particularly at this time in Winter.

[IzzieK]

Hi Ernesto...Welcome to CiC...take a read of this article from the FAQ to help you in your image upload:
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/fo...faq_postimages

[Snow]

Thanks for your input, everyone.

[Snow]

Hello everybody,

The umbrella's handle is not visible here, but you can see part of the umbrella. What do you think? Does it make better or worse? Thanks for looking.

[Manfred M]

I'd say worse because it is a distracting indistinct shape that interferes with the image.

For this version to work, the viewer has to at least recognize it as an umbrella, and that is simply not happening in this latest shot. That being said, even then, the image still has to work, i.e. the umbrella as a prop cannot overshadow the model.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Ernesto,

A warm welcome to the CiC forums from me.

I have combined your threads since it follows on.
I also made both images so they display 'in line' (i.e. bigger).


Unfortunately, in the new image, it still isn't so obvious what the thing is top right is, therefore it is another distraction.

However, please don't be discouraged, everyone learns by making mistakes and I've made plenty

Just keep shooting - and posting here for advice.

All the best, Dave

[James G]

Ernesto, I'm afraid I agree with Dave, this version definitely does not work for me.
Two issues :-
1) the white of the parasol distracts attention away from Paulina in quite a serious fashion and unbalances what was quite a harmonious initial composition.
2) also comparing this image with the original submission, some of the dream quality of the light has been lost, I think because of the more pronounced darker horizontal behind the model.

If I were to attempt any change to the original image, I would probably try softening/blurring the outline on the left hand side of the handle near the point where it leaves the image so as to minimise it as a distraction.

If you still prefer to try a crop, maybe just trim the bottom to remove Paulina's shoulder strap from the image, this would also enable you to clone out the handle of the parasol without changing the essential quality of the image.

I suspect more seasoned portraitists on the forum will have other ideas , but I hope the comments above help

[Snow]

Thank you all for your comments. They are much appreciated. OK, it's back to the drawing board.

[IzzieK]

Snow the first image is actually very nice...nice smile, good face...nice pose. The only thing that was wrong with it was the white handle of the umbrella...it can easily be cloned out in PP. The second one looks like a forced smile and the umbrella overhead is so distracting. If you clone out the white umbrella at the top, you are left with??? I would suggest you work on the first image first... like this:



This is just a suggestion...I will remove it if you do not want it. I just did a quick edit because I like her pose here...

[selig1656]

Great capture of the primary subject in pic #1, I do like that it is not centered and as stated the lower left side is what, a slight distraction to a perfect pic otherwise.

[Manfred M]

Hi Ernesto - let me add a few thoughts on your two images.

First things first; I've taken the umbrella out of your second shot and left the rest alone, just to see what that looks like.





I'm certainly not opposed to using landscape format for portraits, but let's look at some changes in the way the image is taken / cropped.

The first thing that strikes me about your two shots is the large amount of negative space, both camera left and above your subject's head, and what happens when that is removed. I've maintained your original ratio in both these shots:

Here in the first one, I've gotten rid of some of that negative space, but have not cut into the model's hair.






Here on the second crop, I've gone more aggressive and cropped some of the hair, but in doing so, have positioned her eyes using the rule of thirds in positioning her eyes.




Finally, I've taken both shots and come in quite close and used a more traditional portrait format.








Now, I haven't done much else to the images in terms of stray hair and other cleanup.

The other overall comment is that while the light is nicely handled by the umbrella, the light is soft and pretty well shadowless. In portraiture we often introduce a bit of secondary lighting to drive a few shadows into the shot to accentuate some of the subjects features, but let's leave that for another day....

[Snow]

Thank you, Manfred. I appreciate your taking the time to help.