VogtGuy Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

I am just a beginner. I join a club meeting this month for the first time. They met at the local PBS TV studio and they had three volunteer models. We shot all afternoon. I uploaded this picture to Facebook, as many others had also done. The model was tagged in the photo. She sent me a message to remove the photo almost as soon as I had posted it. I have seen her in several other photos posted, but I guess this one is really bad. Please don't hold back - tell me what is wrong. She maybe needed better makeup, and the TV studio has a yellow gel on the key light.

Model in TV studio

hlmichel Loc: New Hope, Minnesota

Yup, she is a bit yellow. And the light seems a bit harsh. I'd be interested in seeing what others managed to get.

I think if you'd gotten a better angle and managed to get more light in her eyes there would be something you could do in post.

busted_shutter

Caught her bad side maybe? Wonder what the model release provisions were.

VogtGuy Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Is this any better?

2nd photo of Model

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

The harsh lighting accentuated blemishes on her face.

nivek340 Loc: South Hadley Ma.

I hope you did.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

I'm in Fort Wayne too. Never joined the club but have been to a couple of club sponsored events. My plate is just too full. My guess is that she is self conscious about the acne scarring that shows up on her cheek. Doesn't show up in the second shot. If she was there for an event like that, and signed a release, she can't "make" you remove it, but if she is that upset about showing something unflattering, then it is only the polite thing to do. Agree that the light is sure yellow, but you could have shot in raw and changed that.

VogtGuy Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Thank you to all that replied. Although she may not be able to make me take down the picture, I did take it down as soon as she requested.

I did take raw in addition to jpg files, but I don't have Lightroom. I have picasa and I do not yet understand how I can use it to develope raw images. I agree, however that her blemishes are more of a problem and I should not have posted it on Facebook in the first place.

Again thank you all!

grandbender Loc: Ontario Canada

If you're going to do portraits I recommend "Portrait Professional" It will take care of those rough spots.

tilde531 Loc: Seaford Delaware

wow.
I'm sorry your first experience working with a model this way was such a rough learning experience... but there are many things working against you, here.

Not having a post-processing program to help correct for the bad lighting makes it tough, certainly.

(I use LightRoom and not even the most recent version... and Portrait Professional with a very light hand, simply because I prefer to leave some realism in my portraits)

The lighting was very "harsh" in this instance, too....as evidenced by the sharp shadows. Perhaps next time, experiment with different angles, even if it's YOU who has to make the change-in- position to achieve it.
(People often forget that they don't have to depend on the model/subject to "strike the right pose". Moving YOURSELF higher/lower, left/right etc. can give you a bit more control)

She's a woman... she's going to be the harshest critic about personal aesthetics and the way she appears on film/camera. If she's a "model" she's going to be even MORE judgmental. It's been mentioned already that her blemishes are visible in your first shot, made more pronounced by the hard lighting and angle of the face. You "got her bad side" :)

You did the noble thing by removing the photo immediately and should be commended on that fact.
Many photographers stand by their "rights to do whatever they want to with the photos"... and that's perfectly fine. But the more respected photographer will always take the volunteer model's wishes into consideration.

Your photography will certainly distinguish you from the rest of the pack... but reputation will do that faster and much more effectively!

As you experiment and improve to the point of maybe doing this for a living... your established reputation will make a big difference in the speed of your success! :)

Just "tilde's two-cents"...

VogtGuy Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Thank you Tilde! I think I should stick with buildings and landscapes, but I very much appreciate your kind and corrective thoughts.

Annie_Girl Loc: It's none of your business

You ran in to how vain models can be, chances are she has never seen a photo of her that has not been "touched" and was taken back by how her skin really looks. Plus if she is tagged in the photo, it appears on her facebook feed, she doesn't want her friends to see it. It's sad, I know. As woman we can be silly like that.

With a little cropping, removing the yellow tint, skin work (more than a little) it could be an ok image, not great but still ok.

ianhargraves1066 Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida

The lighting was too harsh needed a softbox or at very least a scrim between the light and the model. Digital files seem to accentuate the skin problems but there is nothing a quick run though with Portrait Pro would minimalise. ?

Ian

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Is that a brain she's holding?

VogtGuy Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Yes, a brain. It's a medical show that is produced in this television studio. I really wasn't able to change the lighting. The lighting belongs to a television studio.

I have learn a great deal. I will look at my shots with the model in mind. I have shot product for many years, always trying to make it look great. Now I will use my critical eye on every shot.