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sankar tamminaini's picture

natural light-Deeksha

please let me know how i can improve this picture.

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14 Comments

Hey, looks like her eyes could use more light. Her expression is a bit bland, like she was just about to smile but not quite yet. Also the bottom half of the portrait is very dark and empty. As always, personal opinion. Its a well done portrait.

thanks for the advice. she has pretty dark eyes, so it was hard to pull out details.

It is a nice portrait and a beautiful model, I agree with Mike that the eyes could have used a bit more light, either from a low powered flash light or a reflector (if possible). A flash could also have given some more definition to her hair!

I agree with Christian - this is definitely a candidate for flash or a strong reflector. Eyes would have been brightened with catch lights added (if flash was used.) Skin would have popped. Hair and clothing would have come to life. Personally I would have backed away and added more space not cutting off the top of the head -OR, I would have come in even closer. I know this "cutting off the top of the head" trend over the past few years is popular now, but can you tell me why you did it? Did you have a reason for cutting off just the tip of her head? Not saying it looks bad, just wondering what your thinking was.

thanks for the advice, i currently don't own any flashes so had to work with natural light. i had two images with space above head and this one, most of my friends liked this crop and with space above head the eyes were almost in center of the frame, so i choose this crop.

Interesting Sankar. Years ago chopping off the top of the head would have been a big problem for most everyone. However today it seems the "Get in close. No, closer. Nope, still closer" idea allows for chopping off heads and other things. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing. It's a rule that is being broken by many of today's photographers, and I like to ask if they know why they're breaking the rule. People like the look, as evidenced by your friends. It's really just a question of design and intent. Keep up the efforts Sankar.

I've been critiquing here, so now I thought I'd post a few examples of one of my assignments. I did this as an engagement shoot for a couple I know. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

i like the colour tone and pose. But the expression seems a bit posed to me. i don't use flashes much so i don't know much but i feel the flash here doesn't blend smoothly with the natural light,maybe should have lowered the power a bit.

You don't like the flash blend on all the shots Sankar? On the first shot I used a higher ratio to pop the couple out from the darker background a bit and away from the sun flare to give them a bit more isolation. It's about a 30% fill. The blend on shots 2 and 3 are more even with the ambient light. Also, yes, these were posed shots. They were not intended to be candid shots - they're engagement photos. Thanks for the comments Sankar, I appreciate it.

sorry my bad, i saw only the first one. The second one seems nicely lit and i love the bokeh in the background

Thanks Sankar. I can see your point about the first shot. I appreciate the feedback.

I think my favorite is the first one, but they are all nice. I'm sure the couple is very happy with the shots you captured. Your crops are nice, you posed the hands very well, so overall, I have nothing negative to say. Great job!

Thank you Marion! I appreciate the feedback very much. By the way, I love "Skulls in Love" - an absolutely fantastic shot!

Mike

Thank you so much Mike! That was a fun shoot of my daughter and her husband. I'd love to do more creative dress-up/make-up photography like that.