robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Our daughter Jasmine sent a ton of applications to med schools and is now busy sending off secondaries. Most of them want a portrait either with the application or the secondary (essay to follow up application).
She tried taking selfies but discovered it doesn't work well with her T2i, arms aren't long enough and hard to compose the shot. So she asked me. I am generally poor at portraits except when I get a good shot and then get inspired in PP. But, she put on a pin stripped jacket for that serious/business like look and posed kneeling in the middle of a bed with an off white wall behind her (only blank wall in house not cluttered with stuff hanging on it). Lighting was an incandescent high on the ceiling to her left front plus daylight from a window to her right front at eye level. I used my 6D with a Canon 100mm macro f/2.8 hand held.
She started with her hair in a businesslike (her words) tie back style, I then got her to let it down and comb it out. (Dad I just took a shower and shampooed. I can't do a thing with it. I said the frizzies could be removed in PP.) Got 5 with her hair up (two don't really count she was mugging) and at best a little Mona Lisa smile. (She either looks very serious or grins like a clown when asked to smile. She does have a very real sweet smile but I don't have the reflexes to get it when it flashes by at warp 9. I should have used burst while getting her to smile.) Then 4 with her hair down with various "smiles". Oh, she also kept her glasses on because she wears them all the time and that is "Her", and yes I did get her to move them up a little-usually she has them riding even lower on her nose. She downloaded the 9 shots and gave me back my SD card. She picked #1, I have no idea what she did with it, my version here has been cropped to 8x10 ratio only.
I would have used #2 or #3.
#2 Minimal smile - PP in LR and PS, changed background color from off white, cropped to 8x10 ratio then softened with clarity slider.
#3 Her big smile - PP same as #2.
I did remove the frizzies with clone and spot healing, but I am not very good at it.
#4 is with frizzies etc before I made a stab at cleaning it up.

Only for my learning experience, suggestions? She already sent it off as an attachment to ??? secondaries.

Jasmine's pick

(Download)

My favorite with minimal smile

(Download)

My favorite with big smile

(Download)

Hair down before I tried to "improve" it

(Download)

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

I would have picked no. 1 as well, she looks more professional in it to me.
You did a nice job on all, though I might have picked a slightly darker b/g.
How did you hold the camera still while bursting with pride?

Bill Paustian Loc: Sun City, Az

I like #3. Well done

MtnMan Loc: ID

Many prohibit teeth showing.

SkyKing Loc: Thompson Ridge, NY

...I like #3...good luck with your mission...

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Thanks
fast shutter speed
She tells me she cropped, lightened, changed the contrast a bit.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

thank you

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Yeah, I know.
But I told her if they really wanted "Passport Style" then these are all too good and look too much like her.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

thanks a lot

VaxN8 Loc: Minneapolis, Minnesota

As one who has been on 2 "sides" of med school you mentioned, I will tell you what I learned from both sides. One of the reasons they ask for a passport-type photo is for a few reasons... They believe (& do get similar backgrounds to the clean white you chose. They end up getting used for varying purposes, the most common being identification. Compared to a graduate class, med school classes are quite a bit larger. In my case, I did an MD/Ph.D. The med school class my year, was just under a hundred while all Ph.D. classes (I can only speak to the biomedical sciences) in comparison ran between 8 to 12, most commonly they rarely ran above 10. Part of this relates to funding, Ph.D. students are paid from research grants that cone from either the lab they work in, or the department. In conrast, med students are not paid & in some schools are advised strongly not to work. The pictures help the 2nd year med students recognize (they're asked to make the new class feel welcome). More importantly, they help the faculty do the same thing. It's not a picture that will be used for other reasons (of any school I work with). Please tell her from 1 who has been there, to hang in; no matter how tough it will seem (& this happens at different places in the curriculum, she wouldn't be there if there was any doubt & every one of the more difficult times WILL come to an end; before she knows it, it will be time to start looking for internships &/or fellowships. I wish her the best & know she'll do great! I am avoiding your photographic questions intentionally; many can weigh in there, I thought I'd bring a different perspective to a wonderful cause to celebrate a string intelligent woman!

Michele Hannah

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Thank You Very Much
Jasmine did Pre-Med at UCLA and had an outstanding score on the MCAT. An orthopedic surgeon, a friend of my wife she used to work with (OR Charge Nurse) has been letting Jasmine shadow him at two hospitals (she shadows two others also and works part time as a lab assistant for a PhD/MD candidate at UCLA). When he saw her score he recommended her to a school for DOs where he is on the board. He is also a DO, not MD. He then Bullied Kaiser Sunset into making an exception to no shadowing by those not in Med School yet so she can do more shadowing at 3 different facilities. Now he has offered her the chance to work in Pediatric Orthopedic research for him for a year before starting Med School. She is thinking seriously about that.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I prefer the last one, without the "improvements" to the hair. I would straighten it, though, and get rid of that tilt to the left (her right). I doubt her admittance relies on how she looks in a photo. It's probably more for identification.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

It is for ID if she gets to the interview stage.
But I am working on the images as portraits of my daughter.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

There's no end to what you can do when you have the subject so readily available. Good luck!