Deborah

Luvwine

Well-Known Member
I don't do a lot of portraits. This was an informal one--unplanned--yesterday. I know enough to know I have a lot to learn, so constructive criticism welcome! These were using some window light at a church just prior to a choir concert where we were both performing. Are the lights in the background on the first two cool or distracting?

 

Ben Egbert

Forum Helper
Staff member
I really like the poses of the first two, with the second a slight favorite. I would tone down the lights.
 

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Really well done Stephen. Capturing the skin tons of African-Americans is not easy to do. The darker skin tones can really mess up cameras.

in #1, it’s a great shot but I would clone out that light. It’s so bright it draws the eyes. That’s easy to do.

In #2 I would clone out the bright light again, and then see if the softer light then becomes a distraction. With the hair right there, that’s a tougher fix, maybe toning it down would help.

#3 is really cool and I like angle of this one.
 

beavens

Forum Helper
Beautiful woman! She looks fantastic head-on, which can make some folks look awkward. I definitely agree about cropping down to remove the distracting light, or just clone it out. Speaking of cloning, she's got a few small blemishes that you'd be better off cloning out.

I might look to tighten the crop some overall as well. I think that the pose is best in #2 and you'll be off to a better start by cropping to remove the top light and then toning down the one to the left of her head.

You nailed critical sharpness here and I think that if you took her out for a planned shoot in a more controlled environment that you guys would do great.

Jeff
 
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