3rd try: I decided to leave things pretty much alone with her this time. I did brighten the teeth some. No liquifying this time. I also now see how harsh a bounce flash can be but this...

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

I decided to leave things pretty much alone with her this time. I did brighten the teeth some. No liquifying this time.

I also now see how harsh a bounce flash can be but this is all I have right now. I used it as a fill.

I see perfectly clear how a dark reflector above her head would help (Captain C). In addition, a reflector from camera lower right pointing at her at a 45 would get rid of the shadow along her face line.

Any better?

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

Done nicely, lots of room for adjustments to allow for different photo finishes, Teeth done real nice. I think you got it down now. Just a note for future PP work. As a general rule, if its a permanent feature, like a mole or birth mark, we leave it alone on less requested to alter it. If it's a pimple, rash we try to remove it. Good Luck and have fun.

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

tainkc wrote:

I decided to leave things pretty much alone with her this time. I did brighten the teeth some. No liquifying this time.

I also now see how harsh a bounce flash can be but this is all I have right now. I used it as a fill.

I see perfectly clear how a dark reflector above her head would help (Captain C). In addition, a reflector from camera lower right pointing at her at a 45 would get rid of the shadow along her face line.

Any better?

She has the most dreamy, creamy skin imaginable! A little more light on her face would be good, but I think you did a really good job with this. Nice lights in her eyes. Lucky you to have such a beautiful and willing portrait model.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Bill Houghton wrote:

Done nicely, lots of room for adjustments to allow for different photo finishes, Teeth done real nice. I think you got it down now. Just a note for future PP work. As a general rule, if its a permanent feature, like a mole or birth mark, we leave it alone on less requested to alter it. If it's a pimple, rash we try to remove it. Good Luck and have fun.

Thanks, Bill. I also know to keep the crows feet in on middle aged women. They do not want to be messed with.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Heirloom Tomato wrote:

She has the most dreamy, creamy skin imaginable! A little more light on her face would be good, but I think you did a really good job with this. Nice lights in her eyes. Lucky you to have such a beautiful and willing portrait model.

Everyone tells her how nice of a complexion she has. In this case, I did add as little colour as I could because she has real white skin and since it was overcast, her skin was a little too creamy. I hardly touched her skin and she tanned way up. Not exactly what I was going for.

ggttc Loc: TN

Very nice...

My only comment would be there seems to be a line on the left side of her nose...

That could be just me...I have to put my glasses on to make sure I have 5 fingers.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

ggttc wrote:

Very nice...

My only comment would be there seems to be a line on the left side of her nose...

That could be just me...I have to put my glasses on to make sure I have 5 fingers.

That is a shadow from the flash and no reflector. Keep your glasses in your pocket.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

tainkc wrote:

That is a shadow from the flash and no reflector. Keep your glasses in your pocket.

You should be able to eliminate that by moving the lower reflector slightly higher or by using a small reflector head high to her left -even a piece of crumpled & smoothed aluminum in a plamp should do the trick. Remember, you don't want that little reflector to reflect the main light, just the already reflected light from the lower reflrctor.

Nightski

tainkc wrote:

I decided to leave things pretty much alone with her this time. I did brighten the teeth some. No liquifying this time.

I also now see how harsh a bounce flash can be but this is all I have right now. I used it as a fill.

I see perfectly clear how a dark reflector above her head would help (Captain C). In addition, a reflector from camera lower right pointing at her at a 45 would get rid of the shadow along her face line.

Any better?

Tainkc, this is such an amazing improvement over your first 2. It's great to see how you have done the work to improve your shot. This is exactly what I would like to see more of here.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Mogul wrote:

You should be able to eliminate that by moving the lower reflector slightly higher or by using a small reflector head high to her left -even a piece of crumpled & smoothed aluminum in a plamp should do the trick. Remember, you don't want that little reflector to reflect the main light, just the already reflected light from the lower reflrctor.

Thanks, Mogul. I have pit tin foil in a cookie sheet before. Unfortunate for me, this little impromptu photo shoot did not allow for me to set up anything except to ask her to stop a moment so I can pose her. I wish people (friends & family) would understand what I am trying to do.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Nightski wrote:

Tainkc, this is such an amazing improvement over your first 2. It's great to see how you have done the work to improve your shot. This is exactly what I would like to see more of here.

Thank you for making the effort in producing this particular forum!

Chuck_893 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

That's not bad at all! On my (very carefully calibrated) monitor, though, she looks pretty dark. The whole picture looks dark. Have you tried a print and does it pretty well match your monitor, or is she darker (or lightercan't think which way it would skew if your monitor is off). Besides that possibility, this is getting to be a real portrait! You could consider carefully repositioning the catchlights in her eyes so they are not dead center, which can make eyes look little startled (that's being nitpicky). :thumbup:

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

The portrait is dark, as he mentioned he left it pretty much alone, but when adjusted for brightness it comes up well over all.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Chuck_893 wrote:

That's not bad at all! On my (very carefully calib... (show quote)

Yes, I did darken it up a bit because, if I do print it, it will lighten ever so slightly. As for the catch lights, not much I can do about that. I was using my bounce flash. You are not being too nit picky.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Bill Houghton wrote:

The portrait is dark, as he mentioned he left it pretty much alone, but when adjusted for brightness it comes up well over all.

It does look good on my monitor and when printed, it matches but I do have to put them in a file a little darker because the printer lightens them a bit. This way, the print matches the monitor and looks just fine when printed.