Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Thank you so much Earnest...
Greatly appreciate your support!

norm70 Loc: Maine

Well Done !!

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Thank you Norm... I truly appreciate your support...

tgreenhaw

Nicely done :-) I like how the white shirt is perfectly exposed and the white background fully dropped out. Also I like the lighting and the way the parabolic creates a catch light on her eyes.

Bulldog1jack Loc: CT

Tom,
As always very nice work.
John

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

thank you for your very kind words tgreenhaw...
They are truly appreciated...
Exposure of the Actress and her blouse was by incident light meter... quick and accurate...
Shutter speed is locked at sync speed and ISO is in the Basement... only f/stop changes.
Yep that silver parabolic generates "stellar" specular catch-lights (8 point stars)!

And clean white backgrounds are certainly an industry standard for headshots...
Albeit I actually prefer neutral gray at a half stop or so under Key light...
This helps draw the eye to the brightest portion of the image... which it naturally tends seek anyway...

btw, I remember the lovely Christmas image of your wife and new granddaughter...
Believe it is titled "sally and clara" and is so absolutely enchanting...
Rather than Bokeh and DOF I'm kinda old school leaning toward time honored techniques of the masters...
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/guido-reni-the-adoration-of-the-shepherds
I believe Guido Reni got this right... btw, he was a thriving studio painting artist so he obviously figured out what it takes to survive in a competitive market place...

Again many thanks for your kind words...

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Thank you so much for your continued support John...
It is truly appreciated...

ChuckMc Loc: Prescott, AZ

A beautiful portrait of a beautiful subject. I found it quite arresting.
Thanks for posting,
Chuck

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Beautiful image and a very sharp lens. Details are all there. I agree with you, a gray background would have been more pleasant, at least more pleasant for me.
I like to turn the left shoulder more toward the left asking the model to drop slightly the right shoulder for the "feminist look" but that is me.

It is a great portrait with excellent lighting and the fill light worked to perfection with very soft shadows under her chin.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Thank you for those lovely words Chuck...
Rest assured they are cherished...
Yes she is a most wonderful and beautiful person...
Thanks again...

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

William I hear you and totally understand a compelling desire to craft your own visual statement. Albeit here I’m shooting for a client… and have to meet her needs (not mine).

That said below is what I believe would be more to your liking.
From a recent session with a 17 year old NYC agency fashion model…
Know your client… Here is what they want…
https://www.elitemodel.com/newyork/elite/
https://www.elitemodel.com/newyork/development/

I have to work within the constructs of a client’s needs…
My needs/desires and visual statement are pretty much irrelevant

Hope this makes sense William…
Thank you so much for taking the time to review, reflect and comment.
It is truly appreciated...

btw, the lighting scenario in this Elite agency model's image is virtually identical to the first image I posted (same 28" Silver Parabolic)... only the background illumination changed... However there was a different makeup artist and a wardrobe stylist on the Elite agency shoot. Thanks!
.

17 year old NYC agency fashion model

(Download)

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Thomas, I perfectly understand and I regret I made personal comments on your beautiful image so I apologize. Your work is meeting the needs of your clients, I am totally sure of that.
This second image is also excellent but I am yet to see one of your images that did not meet my definition of excellence.

Photographing to our taste is totally different than meeting the demands of others.
I apologize once again.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

William why on earth would you feel a need to apologize for true prompting that come from within... Your inferences are indeed valid... and I've taken them to heart... albeit to use the term "feminist look" may have varying connotations and consequences ... In an era where the Feminist Movement is to the fore and deeply aligned with the Me Too movement it is an area of "thin ice" that may be best avoided. Having to deal with from everything from Weinstein to Kavanaugh, change for women, LGBTQ etc on set is a major distraction... William "Feminist" in fashion use to mean jeans, baggy T-shirts and going bra-less... today the waters are somewhat more clouded...

Keep in mind to shoot young talent (17 and younger) means to deal with "Stage Moms" and their demands... To this end managing a team on set in its self a Herculean task and not for the faint at heart. Once you add a makeup artist, hair stylist, clothing designer, and client's agent to the mix it becomes a synergistic collaborative in which the photographer is merely a single player... there is little room for ego...

I collaborate with a myriad of young women from tweens to graduate students... as such I'm exposed to an incredible diversity of rhetoric. However I struggle to pay the bills... as such I'm a prostitute and simply strive to meet and exceed client expectations...

Once again, no need to apologize... I get where you're coming from... All the best on your journey William :)