I think most people will just look at this and think it is extremely competent work. Is there any aspect you think is actually weak? Short of shooting on a freak camera that might have got some extra tonal detail out of the light (a Sony A7s or medium format?) I can't really see what you could have improved here. The positioning for the candles and the raised arm are masterful.
The shadows are a bit deep on the model.. That mirror on the table nearest to the camera and turned inward could furnish a bit of fill that would turn this into a great shot. The way I would do it is to set a speedlight up on a stand so that her body and head hid it, I would use a very warm gel to emulate candlelight, and aim the flash at that mirror, I would start at the lowest power, say 1/128 and increase up to where it just barely fils in...this could easily be over done so go softly.
If you are some kind of masochistic purist you could rig a candle holder on that flash stand(spare tripod) put a piece of reflective material behind ot to direct the light at that mirror, or maybe some sort of homemade snoot to spotlight it right on the mirror..
My main goal was that I wanted to use only "natural" lights without any flash, but your idea is a good one.
Do you mean that I should have changed position of thenearest mirror?
István Szarka, "Do you mean that I should have changed position of thenearest mirror?"
No. just try to get a candle on a stand on the opposite side of the camera and behind her...with the light concentrated on that nearest(to the camera) mirror, which should reflect back a small bit on her and provide a bit of fill.
Adding a speed-light hidden behind her is a great idea as it will certainly ensure the viewer is drawn to her face first. A gel is a must as the speed-light will certainly change the warmth of the scene. Although I would not aim it at the mirror, I would aim it at her head instead using it as a rim-light on low power (gelled of course to match the warm of the candles). To me the shadows are fine as this is how the scene would look with candles only on one side of her body if you were standing in the room, but I would add a little exposure compensation in the event the speedlight causes the her side closest to the camera to become darker when metered.
Hi Brian,
Many thanks for your remarks and suggestions. During the next, same photoshott i will use a speedlight with a gel.
Im glad that you like this picture.
I agree with what David Mawson wrote, but I have some other thoughts, so I'm making this a separate post rather than a reply from his post.
David asked if there were aspects of the image that you are not pleased with, and I second his question, as perhaps posting specific questions you have about how the image turned out would result in more specific technical or other suggestions. :)
For an image lit by "natural" lights, candle light, I do think it is successful, in that the color balance, which on my screen is an off white egg-shell, complements the model's skin tone, hair and towel, as well as the quiet mood within the image.
If you were interested in building another image using similar components, here are some ideas that were inspired by this image:
You might consider integrating the elements that you have used in your image, using a single storyline, or several storylines, to guide the viewer or yourself when you are composing the scene.
For example, a person, in this image, a woman, sits at a mirror.
For illumination, she has chosen candles.
Why then, the candles behind her? They cannot be there solely so that she can see her face more clearly in the mirror. Their placement behind and to her left would mean they would tend to cast her into silhouette for herself.
So, then, they are there to dispel shadows, which she for whatever reason doesn't want. Is she afraid of the dark? Is her worry specific, to the corner which is illuminated?
Or is her wish to fill in the light in the room not born out of fear, but rather one of pragmatism. She wears a towel, was there a bath? Is the room well lit so that she can see the floor and tell if it is damp?
Beside her, on the floor, perhaps she has a snack, and needs to be able to see it.
Choosing or following one of these threads would then allow you to move the camera during composition to highlight aspects of your space.
Now, the candles below and to her left illuminate the room, but also bounce off the towel, causing the small table to be bright on its lower front edge. Do you desire this brightness? If not, perhaps deciding that while you need those candles to put more light into the space simply for extra light, but not for part of the narrative you are attempting to build, then you shift your camera to the left, minimizing the candles somewhat, while shifting further removes them from the frame, but retains their 'light,' while also bringing into the frame the mirror as a tool for further narrative exploration.
That same shift to the left would change how much of the windows behind the woman that we see.
Back to whatever story you might be pursuing. Does is matter that through what appears to be a window, it might be night, or dusk?
If unimportant, minimizing this window becomes an option.
The window and its wall of a pattern that in my image appears to be blue and yellow.
Right now, the woman's trailing hair on her head meanders along the edge of the wall's pattern or material, and so imagistically, that wall becomes visually active.
If you don't want that, consider what would have happened if you had increased that distance to take away the interplay between her hair and wall, or if you do want the wall to be a part of the space, the consider trying to make it more a part of the composition and the space you create.
Perhaps instead of white candles, there is a single candle or set of candles that are the same color or colors as are in the wall. Blue or yellow. Or go to the opposites. Orange or red.
Now, the potential in the lipstick on the table, with its red or whatever color, is lost in shadow. That lipstick, all by itself, with a small jot of a bright color, could draw the eye to the right of your image.
Whew. Please excuse my ramble.
My point more succinctly:
Right now you have a wonderful image with many elements that are perhaps a little disparate.
The window. The candles. The tables. The mirror. The towel. The lipstick.
You had your reasons for choosing the various objects, then you have a person inhabit the space you have created. Instantly, a story is made, and by thinking of that story, the one you intended, the one you discovered or the one that is suggested to you by a viewer, you can find new directions for exploration. And within those directions perhaps there are improvements, in that by really demanding of each aspect of your image that it has a 'purpose,' and what it contributes to the whole, not in isolation but in combination, you might decide that the next time those same elements will combine a different way.
I am so sorry about my late reply.
Firstly Id like to thank for your great effort and this long and meaningfull "thought-in".
I am sure your feedback is useful and awaking. I started ti rethink plan further with candles and other mentioned equipments. You are very right about that we, as photographer, have to add a story and meaning to our pictures. So, Id like to imporve my skill in this field. Thats way that I uploaded some of my pictures.
Thank you for analyzing my image and I hope I can read your remarks at under my pics.
I think most people will just look at this and think it is extremely competent work. Is there any aspect you think is actually weak? Short of shooting on a freak camera that might have got some extra tonal detail out of the light (a Sony A7s or medium format?) I can't really see what you could have improved here. The positioning for the candles and the raised arm are masterful.
Thank you David for your thoughts. I have a Nikon D610 body, this was also taken by it.
The shadows are a bit deep on the model.. That mirror on the table nearest to the camera and turned inward could furnish a bit of fill that would turn this into a great shot. The way I would do it is to set a speedlight up on a stand so that her body and head hid it, I would use a very warm gel to emulate candlelight, and aim the flash at that mirror, I would start at the lowest power, say 1/128 and increase up to where it just barely fils in...this could easily be over done so go softly.
If you are some kind of masochistic purist you could rig a candle holder on that flash stand(spare tripod) put a piece of reflective material behind ot to direct the light at that mirror, or maybe some sort of homemade snoot to spotlight it right on the mirror..
My main goal was that I wanted to use only "natural" lights without any flash, but your idea is a good one.
Do you mean that I should have changed position of thenearest mirror?
István Szarka, "Do you mean that I should have changed position of thenearest mirror?"
No. just try to get a candle on a stand on the opposite side of the camera and behind her...with the light concentrated on that nearest(to the camera) mirror, which should reflect back a small bit on her and provide a bit of fill.
Ok, I see. Thank you for calrification.
Adding a speed-light hidden behind her is a great idea as it will certainly ensure the viewer is drawn to her face first. A gel is a must as the speed-light will certainly change the warmth of the scene. Although I would not aim it at the mirror, I would aim it at her head instead using it as a rim-light on low power (gelled of course to match the warm of the candles). To me the shadows are fine as this is how the scene would look with candles only on one side of her body if you were standing in the room, but I would add a little exposure compensation in the event the speedlight causes the her side closest to the camera to become darker when metered.
It's a great shot...
Hi Brian,
Many thanks for your remarks and suggestions. During the next, same photoshott i will use a speedlight with a gel.
Im glad that you like this picture.
I agree with what David Mawson wrote, but I have some other thoughts, so I'm making this a separate post rather than a reply from his post.
David asked if there were aspects of the image that you are not pleased with, and I second his question, as perhaps posting specific questions you have about how the image turned out would result in more specific technical or other suggestions. :)
For an image lit by "natural" lights, candle light, I do think it is successful, in that the color balance, which on my screen is an off white egg-shell, complements the model's skin tone, hair and towel, as well as the quiet mood within the image.
If you were interested in building another image using similar components, here are some ideas that were inspired by this image:
You might consider integrating the elements that you have used in your image, using a single storyline, or several storylines, to guide the viewer or yourself when you are composing the scene.
For example, a person, in this image, a woman, sits at a mirror.
For illumination, she has chosen candles.
Why then, the candles behind her? They cannot be there solely so that she can see her face more clearly in the mirror. Their placement behind and to her left would mean they would tend to cast her into silhouette for herself.
So, then, they are there to dispel shadows, which she for whatever reason doesn't want. Is she afraid of the dark? Is her worry specific, to the corner which is illuminated?
Or is her wish to fill in the light in the room not born out of fear, but rather one of pragmatism. She wears a towel, was there a bath? Is the room well lit so that she can see the floor and tell if it is damp?
Beside her, on the floor, perhaps she has a snack, and needs to be able to see it.
Choosing or following one of these threads would then allow you to move the camera during composition to highlight aspects of your space.
Now, the candles below and to her left illuminate the room, but also bounce off the towel, causing the small table to be bright on its lower front edge. Do you desire this brightness? If not, perhaps deciding that while you need those candles to put more light into the space simply for extra light, but not for part of the narrative you are attempting to build, then you shift your camera to the left, minimizing the candles somewhat, while shifting further removes them from the frame, but retains their 'light,' while also bringing into the frame the mirror as a tool for further narrative exploration.
That same shift to the left would change how much of the windows behind the woman that we see.
Back to whatever story you might be pursuing. Does is matter that through what appears to be a window, it might be night, or dusk?
If unimportant, minimizing this window becomes an option.
The window and its wall of a pattern that in my image appears to be blue and yellow.
Right now, the woman's trailing hair on her head meanders along the edge of the wall's pattern or material, and so imagistically, that wall becomes visually active.
If you don't want that, consider what would have happened if you had increased that distance to take away the interplay between her hair and wall, or if you do want the wall to be a part of the space, the consider trying to make it more a part of the composition and the space you create.
Perhaps instead of white candles, there is a single candle or set of candles that are the same color or colors as are in the wall. Blue or yellow. Or go to the opposites. Orange or red.
Now, the potential in the lipstick on the table, with its red or whatever color, is lost in shadow. That lipstick, all by itself, with a small jot of a bright color, could draw the eye to the right of your image.
Whew. Please excuse my ramble.
My point more succinctly:
Right now you have a wonderful image with many elements that are perhaps a little disparate.
The window. The candles. The tables. The mirror. The towel. The lipstick.
You had your reasons for choosing the various objects, then you have a person inhabit the space you have created. Instantly, a story is made, and by thinking of that story, the one you intended, the one you discovered or the one that is suggested to you by a viewer, you can find new directions for exploration. And within those directions perhaps there are improvements, in that by really demanding of each aspect of your image that it has a 'purpose,' and what it contributes to the whole, not in isolation but in combination, you might decide that the next time those same elements will combine a different way.
I am so sorry about my late reply.
Firstly Id like to thank for your great effort and this long and meaningfull "thought-in".
I am sure your feedback is useful and awaking. I started ti rethink plan further with candles and other mentioned equipments. You are very right about that we, as photographer, have to add a story and meaning to our pictures. So, Id like to imporve my skill in this field. Thats way that I uploaded some of my pictures.
Thank you for analyzing my image and I hope I can read your remarks at under my pics.
so beautiful
Thank you!