Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

Two self-taken portraits from today.

Both with Nikon 85mm 1.8 @ 5.6. First shot @1/160 & ISO800. Second, 1/40 & ISO200. Camera was D7000 on tripod and triggered w/RF-603 transceivers. 26" Rapid Box" w/yn560iii flash for key light and a yn460 flash w/snoot for separation light. Background lit with ambient & probably some bleed over from main in first shot. Added torchlight LED to light the background in the second shot. Camera triggered w/rf-603 transceiver. Also added reflector in the second shot as a fill.


C&C always welcome.

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attylward

I think #1 has a colder feel, making you look quite pale. I like the Iighting in # 2, looks warmer, gives a healthier glow to your skin. Good practice!

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

Yes, I noticed that I apparently bumped the WB up in post on the 2nd one more than the first. Also, the wrinkled background is much too close to me for a f5.6 shot, and looks terrible. I was able to quickly update that in post without looking too obvious. Anything else that would make one, or both, better.

Thanks

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OriginalCyn Loc: Connecticut

Good save....however, I think your image is competing with the red background. I'd like to see something a little more subdued....perhaps maroon if you want to stay in the red family. I'd choose a light charcoal. Then again, I'm speaking off the top of my head:)

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

Thanks Cynthia,

I could have changed the color in post when I added the motion blur to the background, but it would have required more work to keep the pp from being obvious. The image was done to practice lighting and photography. I practice pp almost every day. I want to get to the point where most of my work requires very minimal post.

I do like red, but it was just my most recent background acquisition. Excluding painted walls and mother nature, I only have the red, a white, and a black. I may try paper next. The cloth backgrounds wrinkle, but the paper may take too much storage space.

Anyway, thanks again for your comments and suggestions.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Rick, a couple of weeks ago I decided to paint my own BG, primarily because I didn't want to pay $600 for one, and because I like red, too, and I couldn't find one that I liked from one of the major suppliers that I knew about, so I decide that my BG would be red, and I've included a couple of examples, I hope you don't mind - but here's the reason I'm posting, I feel like your red BG is really over-powering your model by quite a bit.

The examples I'm posting are all shot against the same BG (it was a lot more work to get it the way I wanted it than I thought it would be, bye the way) for the first example I thought the BG color and the skin color of the model was too close, and I was ready for a re-shoot, but the client loved it, so you never know. The second one is a selfie with no lights on the BG and the 3rd one is a selfie with a snoot highlighting the little area behind my head.

I think that if you stepped a little farther away from your BG, and it looked darker, that your red BG wouldn't look nearly so over-dominant in the photos, and your model would become the subject that received notice, not the RED BG.

I think that these photos, where your head is turned so you can't see the far-side ear are much better than the first selfies you posted when you were against a black background. Like you, I practice on myself a lot, too, 'cause models are hard to come by in the wilds of Los Angeles, and it seems nobody works on the same time-frame I do.

Edit: when I looked at these photos on UHH after posting, for some reason the red has been 'sucked' out of all the photos, on my computer the reds are much brighter than it looks like in these examples. So, my examples don't show what I was hoping they would.

1st shots with new red BG

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shot with no BG light

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shot with snoot, small DOF

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PalePictures Loc: Traveling

These are really good shots Jon. You should post them in your own thread. Really like your style on these.

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

Nice work Jon. I don't mind you posting here at all. I did see the color in the full size images. It was just missing in the smaller ones that were resized by this site. On what type material did you paint your background?

I haven't considered painting my own backgrounds, although I have considered taking additional background only shots during a photoshoot for later use in post processing. I'm just collecting photography related items here and there that interest me. I still may try paper backgrounds soon, or I may buy a new focus rail to use with my recently acquired extension tubes.

One of the great things about this hobby is, until you find the area where you are most passionate, there are plenty of imaging avenues to explore, and countless ways to deplete financial resources during the expedition.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Russ, thanks for kind words and precise, it" sjmuh

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

So, for the actual backdrop, I went to the art supply place and bought 9' X 5' piece of canvas. Then I went to the lumbers store and bought 2 each 9' 2 bys, and 2 each 5' 2-bys, Then I got 30 feet of 1/4 round, a tub of sizeing gesso and some metal bracing for the corners, stuffed it into my little red car and sauntered off to have some fun..

I actually had a great frustrating blast doing this and worked on it for weeks, painting, looking, modifying, glazing, looking some more, and then doing it all again. . . . And there was actually a meaningful lesson learned here, if you want to have your very own backdrops, hand painted by an expert (that would be either you or me), and you want your backdrop to be the only one like it on the face of the earth, well, because you can, but don't expect to do it for less than the factory-made ones do, probably more. But it's unique, and it's all you, and after doing one you wonder why anyone in their right mind would go onto the business of painting backdrops.

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

Thanks for confirming that painting my own custom background is not for me. :thumbup:

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Don't you just love 'auto correct' - that was supposed to say 'encouragememt' not 'precise, it"sjmuh'

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

I knew it! Few humans are capable of the poetic prose that your messages often contain. It's your smart phone or tablet that deserves the credit!

Don't complain about that poor thing. It's overworked and deserving of your tolerance for such a minor error. :lol:

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

One of the great things about this hobby is, until you find the area where you are most passionate, there are plenty of imaging avenues to explore, and countless ways to deplete financial resources during the expedition.[/quote]

Financial resources? You still have financial resources after finding this hobby! I'm amazed, you were either extremely wealthy before you started, you won the lottery and can't spend it all anyway, your wife has control of your money and you're on an allowance or you have an utterly amazing amount of self control.

I've only been "back" at photography for two years and have undoubtedly spent 3 times what my first house cost on amazing photo gear and related stuff, and . . . I've got my eye on this thing that will make my . . . . .

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

Yes, I will accept that I have exceptional self control... today. On Thursday, when the D750 will likely be officially announced, I don't know that I will be able to repeat the first sentence of this paragraph for quite some time. ;)