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the posted:What kind of lighting do you use for something like this? PushingKingston posted:Catchlights say two softboxes camera right and left. That is correct - diagram here (if it works - sorry if it doesn't). Basically, get them really bloody close, lowest power. I would probably do it differently now, though. the posted:is there a cheap way to do this Rent the lights for a 24 hours. EDIT: My shoot today was fairly good and reminded me of how there really aren't any rules on who will be photogenic and who won't. I shot three older ladies who work in a beautician's - they just wanted studio style headshots, basically. There was one lady who was older than the other two, who I thought would be tricky to shoot, yet I got a nice, clean, confident portrait from her which I knew I liked as soon as I snapped it, before I even reviewed it. And I was right. I love moments like that. There was an Eastern European woman who was a bit glam and very confident but harder to work with due to wanting to look a certain way, so I had to stop her overly posing and looking less than professional. The third lady, who I thought would be the easiest to get a good shot of, as she was very funny and charismatic, was absolutely mad in front of the camera. I could barely keep track of her face. She looked like she had taken some industrial-strength amphetamines and they'd just kicked in. Bless her, some people just aren't good in front of camera. I did manage to get a serviceable shot where she looks fairly relaxed and normal, although I can't remember how I got there. These sessions always teach me the most, even if they're not always the most creative. I'll pop a couple of shots up tomorrow at some point. Gazmachine fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Jan 20, 2012 |
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Jan 20, 2012 02:12
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sw1gger posted:Too cold to shoot outside now drat, I hate you. This is all level of awesome. I need advice from the photoshop experts here... I have this picture:  IMG_6688 by avoyer, on Flickr Which I very much like other than her hair on the right is hosed. How would one go and remove this smoothly? (I can make the background neutral white... gradients were added in post)
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Jan 20, 2012 06:47
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Mirror the hair from the left half of her head, darken some of the highlights. Use a layer mask to keep parts of the original right half to keep some level of asymmetry/believability. If you have a tablet, you could probably clone some hairs out or paint new ones in. edit: if you want to be anal, you could clone out the part of her bra that's exposed, but I don't think it really hurts or helps either way. burzum karaoke fucked around with this message at 09:53 on Jan 20, 2012 |
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Jan 20, 2012 06:57
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What aliencowboy said (except I don't do any mirroring). I've edited out worse. I switch between the healing brush and clone stamp tool a lot, and I update my sample points regularly. Sometimes I'll throw in an exposure or curves layer on top of the layer I'm cloning/healing to, so I can get better definition of what the surrounding objects are so that it keeps making sense. I delete that layer after I'm done with my bad stuff removal. Cloning quickly gets rid of stuff you don't want and replaces it with stuff you do, healing, well, heals stuff and mixes it in so it looks better, but it can be finicky sometimes (like that area where her dark hair meets the light background, you'll get pockets of explosion of light color into dark or dark color into light). Don't be afraid to zoom in to 800% if you need to. Also, not everything needs to go, unless everything needs to go. Or if you know how, make a clipping mask and go from there.
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Jan 20, 2012 08:22
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Another option: http://freewareme.com/199-photoshop-psd-man-female-hair-download.html
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Jan 20, 2012 09:53
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aliencowboy posted:Another option: http://freewareme.com/199-photoshop-psd-man-female-hair-download.html Hahaha! Beautiful. Weaves for your digital pictures.
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Jan 20, 2012 11:32
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xenilk posted:drat, I hate you. This is all level of awesome. Liquify is actually a pretty good hair reshaping tool.
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Jan 20, 2012 12:42
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Subjunctivitis posted:Sometimes I'll throw in an exposure or curves layer on top of the layer I'm cloning/healing to, so I can get better definition of what the surrounding objects are so that it keeps making sense. I delete that layer after I'm done with my bad stuff removal. Could you elaborate on this a little for me? This sounds useful. aliencowboy posted:Another option: http://freewareme.com/199-photoshop-psd-man-female-hair-download.html If anyone's unsure of the integrity or professionalism of these digital hairpieces, you will not doubt have your concerns quashed by the comments section underneath it - some fine recommendations by people who are the very pillars of the art world. Paragon8 posted:Liquify is actually a pretty good hair reshaping tool. Again, any elaboration on this would be awesome. Do you use it sparingly, aggressively, or in conjunction with other tools? I suppose it depends on each individual photo, so that's a dumb question, but have you ever just used liquify to fix hair, for example?
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Jan 20, 2012 12:48
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Gazmachine posted:Again, any elaboration on this would be awesome. Do you use it sparingly, aggressively, or in conjunction with other tools? I suppose it depends on each individual photo, so that's a dumb question, but have you ever just used liquify to fix hair, for example? I mostly use it to give hair more volume if it looks a bit thin. You sort of just select the section of hair you want to manipulate - so it doesn't end up having too much of an effect. You can sort of push things in or out and smooth things. It does take some practice because it can look pretty awful.
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Jan 20, 2012 13:04
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Paragon8 posted:I mostly use it to give hair more volume if it looks a bit thin. You sort of just select the section of hair you want to manipulate - so it doesn't end up having too much of an effect. You can sort of push things in or out and smooth things. Cool, thanks. Might start practicing with that on non commissioned stuff (or stuff I've already done and sent) until I'm not horrible at it and feel happy with doing it, at which point I'll practice some more before taking it anywhere near a paid work.
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Jan 20, 2012 13:36
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Thanks for the tips guys! I'll try to experiment with everything tonight  I never would have thought about those options (guess I'm just not that used to it); especially liquify, which I believe I know how to use without destroying the picture haha... but I mostly use it on jawlines/chin/arms/legs very lightly
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Jan 20, 2012 15:46
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Here's a shot from the corporate-y headshots thing from yesterday.  Basically, they just wanted straight up, no background detail type headshots. This is my first "standard" headshot with the Octabox, and I'm quite pleased with the softness of the light. I keep wondering whether I like the actual shot or not. Basically, they're functional but I wanted some confidence from the sitter, which I feel like comes across. To an extent, at least. As he is a serial corporate headshot / portrait guy, I'd particularly like to hear what AAZZNSKATER (or whatever your silly screen name is) thinks, but of course all criticism and viewpoints are absolute golddust on here, so crit / comment away, if the feeling grabs ya.
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Jan 20, 2012 16:04
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Gazmachine posted:If this is for marketing the company or PR purposes, I think you need to make it brighter and less grey. Her expression could be a bit more friendly. Her eyes look relaxed and can connect with a viewer but her half smile seems in between moments. Did you try turning her body away from the camera at an angle. My style tends to lead towards happy, bright, colorful, and cheery stuff. http://clients.paulchinjr.com/photos/i-BLBZ2Pk/0/XL/i-BLBZ2Pk-XL.jpg I try to create that perfect commercial world where everyone gets what they want. Is there any reason you weighted the composition towards the right of the frame? I know her head is tilted a bit, but it seems weirdly framed, with one shoulder in and the other cut off. I would've turned her body a bit, probably name plate towards the camera, removed the watch piece, lowered the pin, had her turn her face 3/4 and centered her in the frame more. Great job lighting and wonderful detail, just gotta put a bit of salesy-ness in there.
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Jan 20, 2012 19:17
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You're right - I don't think there's enough salesy-ness in there. As for the watch, that was something they said they had to have in each shot, along with the badge and name tag. As I don't often do corporate headshot stuff, my composition has been informed by a more "artistic" (for want of a better word) portrait idea. Except that shoulder does look weird when the other is cut off, so the composition isn't that great anyway. I don't have that more corporate shot mindset yet, I think, and I need to differentiate between the shoots I'm doing possibly, and not make it "ART!!!" every time. It's basically because these shoots tend to come to me, rather than me looking for them, so my experience in that side of things is poor at best. Thanks for the crits, buddy - they're extremely useful. Someone else phoned today looking for a corporate headshot, so I'll use them in that shoot if he takes me on.
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Jan 20, 2012 22:45
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Gazmachine posted:Could you elaborate on this a little for me? This sounds useful.  It was hard to get definition of the hair against her jacket, so I used an exposure layer to pull it out of the darkness, since I also know that her hair is a different color of the jacket, and could get a good look at what I'm removing and what I'm sampling from. Notice the wrinkle in the jacket, which I'll need to keep while I also remove her hair that crosses over it. You'll also notice I have a curves layer turned off, which I was using to help clone out her brown hair against a light background.
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Jan 20, 2012 22:54
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Ahhhh I see. Of course, that's so simple yet genius. Thanks man, especially for the photographic illustration.
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Jan 21, 2012 00:40
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Could someone comment/critique this latest shoot I did? Took a few save the dates for some friends of mine at a comic shop yesterday. I'm pretty happy with them, but not at the same time. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepaisleyfox/sets/72157628982710333/
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Jan 22, 2012 17:32
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paisleyfox posted:Could someone comment/critique this latest shoot I did? Took a few save the dates for some friends of mine at a comic shop yesterday. I'm pretty happy with them, but not at the same time. First of all I love the idea. Definitely a cool couple. How were these lit? The light is very flat and a little harsh, it makes everything feel more like an editorial shot than engagement portraits. Do you have an umbrella or anything? The light needs to be more directional and soft, and you need more contrast (not as in photoshop contrast level, but light) in the image, especially for romantic photos. Also, be careful with some of the posing, some of it feels too forced. I generally just put a couple where I want them and let their interactions happen naturally. I'm talking specifically about the ones with the couple kissing and holding the book open, but there are more. Overall though, they tell a good story, which is important for engagement photos.
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Jan 22, 2012 18:25
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Yeah, they were very conscious of the camera and unfortunately I'm still very inexperienced, so I would try to encourage them to try different things and these are the best. It was lit with just the fluorescents of the store.  I don't have any extras save a flash reflector hood, and I didn't bring it out at all yesterday. I didn't figure it would make much of a difference, but perhaps I was wrong?I was thinking of getting a cheap speedlight or something next, should I try for a softbox or reflector or something first?
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Jan 22, 2012 18:39
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That looks like they had fun shooting so that's a good thing to come through the pictures. As for the lighting, really some fill flash on some of the shots is all they really need.
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Jan 22, 2012 20:21
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 IMG_6971 by avoyer, on Flickr Today was a cold day.
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Jan 22, 2012 22:13
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I suppose this is technically a snapshot, but I love how it turned out. I bounced the flash off of a reflective heating duct on the ceiling. Tear it apart. I'm feeling too good about it.  Jan20 by Chad Larson Photography, on Flickr
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Jan 22, 2012 23:26
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Shot some stuff to do an audition headshot - any recommendations?
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Jan 22, 2012 23:36
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MrOpus posted:I suppose this is technically a snapshot, but I love how it turned out. I bounced the flash off of a reflective heating duct on the ceiling. Look at the light on her face, there is a drastic falloff that looks bad. Easiest fix is black&white and some fill. When I shoot parties, this sometimes happens when I shoot a couple with a huge height difference or really tall people.
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Jan 23, 2012 03:53
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I'm shooting a few corporate portraits on a black background. My set up is a going to be a softbox camera left, a reflector camera right and a flash above/behind to give give the hair/shoulders some separation for the background. Should I be snooting that light or just zooming it to the max?
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Jan 23, 2012 06:14
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MrOpus posted:I suppose this is technically a snapshot, but I love how it turned out. I bounced the flash off of a reflective heating duct on the ceiling. While I like the picture, I think that you needed less flash. It seems like her forhead and above are just too bright. Maybe that reflective surface you bounced off of just reflected more than the camera thought or you could have manually scaled the flash back. I guess that may cause more shadows under her chin. Maybe you could of just aimed right at her with a diffuser?
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Jan 23, 2012 07:25
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Man_of_Teflon posted:Shot some stuff to do an audition headshot - any recommendations? MrOpus posted:I suppose this is technically a snapshot, but I love how it turned out. I bounced the flash off of a reflective heating duct on the ceiling. All I can see is forehead and shoulders. It doesn't help that the drastic falloff ends on a dark garment that reflects your only light source, so you end up with too high contrast there too. psylent posted:I'm shooting a few corporate portraits on a black background.
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Jan 23, 2012 13:42
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psylent posted:I'm shooting a few corporate portraits on a black background. try both and see which works best!
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Jan 23, 2012 14:26
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 IMG_7031 by avoyer, on Flickr  IMG_6968 by avoyer, on Flickr
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Jan 24, 2012 06:13
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I like this pose and expression over the other 2 because it draws me into the photo more. I was telling Gazmachine about how I like bright cheery salespeople. Welp, this is what I did yesterday. I made a terrible mistake in the full body shot because I was in such a rush I didn't straighten out my back drop so his shoe was covered by cloth in a few shots. loving A.  Used an 8x10 crop.
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Jan 25, 2012 21:13
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Been absent from the Dorkroom since my wife got preggers with twins. I decided that taking pictures of little people is quite fun. I didn't feel like these were snapshots, so I felt they fit better in the portrait thread. My girls were born 10 weeks early.     
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Jan 26, 2012 07:46
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Have you seen my apex seals? I seem to have lost them.
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AIIAZNSK8ER posted:I like this pose and expression over the other 2 because it draws me into the photo more. Is he sitting or standing?
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Jan 26, 2012 07:58
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Aeka 2.0 posted:I really like this picture, but I think it might have been better with a little warmer tones. This is pretty cold and kinda 
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Jan 26, 2012 13:07
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Mathturbator posted:Is he sitting or standing? He's standing.
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Jan 26, 2012 16:44
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goattrail posted:I really like this picture, but I think it might have been better with a little warmer tones. This is pretty cold and kinda She was under photo therapy. Those lights didn't play well with my camera, The sensor was picking up stuff out of normal spectrum. The only way to fix it is to just go B&W like this:   I suppose I should just convert that first one then?
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Jan 26, 2012 21:30
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I'm going to crosspost this from SAD so I can get people's opinions. I mostly shoot landscapes/cityscapes and this is probably my first "real" attempt at a portrait. I still suck at telling people what to do pose wise so I know I have work left to do on that matter. I think had I had him posed better or at least looking at the camera that it would have been a bit stronger. I liked this location. I want to return to it for a more serious shoot and was wanting to get more feedback on it. Is it too busy to be a viable spot? What about the black and white? I really like it in black and white (this was shot on Tri-X film) as I feel if color was added it might be too distracting for this spot. What about the time of day? Are those lights killing it for anyone? I personally like them as it distinctly shows a "city at night" feel that I was going for. I don't own a flash (poor: it's also why I only shoot film) so this spot was lit with only the street lights. Tear it down and rip it to pieces as I want to get better
pootiebigwang fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Jan 26, 2012 |
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Jan 26, 2012 21:41
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pootiebigwang posted:Tear it down and rip it to pieces as I want to get better He's just standing there, doing nothing, and not looking particularly engaged. It's got no narrative to it. You should be making pictures to tell the story of what's happening in there. So come up with an action- fictional is perfectly fine- and try to convey it with your staging/composition/lighting/models. It's just not doing anything for me, because there's nothing there beyond "guy standing on a manhole cover". Throw in some subtext.
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Jan 26, 2012 23:26
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McMadCow posted:He's just standing there, doing nothing, and not looking particularly engaged. It's got no narrative to it. You should be making pictures to tell the story of what's happening in there. So come up with an action- fictional is perfectly fine- and try to convey it with your staging/composition/lighting/models. Thanks for the write up! I definitely agree with everything you said. He is not the most photogenic person and I still have a lot to learn when it comes to directing the people I am shooting. I will revisit the spot again, with your observations in mind, to see if I can bring something with more subtext to the table.
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Jan 26, 2012 23:57
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Doing my thing! IMG_6757-Edit-2 by avoyer, on Flickr  IMG_6659-2 by avoyer, on Flickr
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Jan 27, 2012 01:32
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xenilk posted:Doing my thing!  Dark area on the bottom right. WHY IS IT THERE?! Also, you inadvertently stumbled on a pet peeve of mine with these. Here are two pictures of your subjects framed in a 1/3 to 2/3 arrangement in a blank frame. Why? What is the point of shifting them off-center when there is absolutely nothing in the rest of the frame? I'm sure there are circumstances when you can totally kill it with negative space in an otherwise empty frame, but it's not working in these. The rule of thirds is about relationships, and your subjects aren't relating to anything in the empty space. EDIT: Especially the first shot. McMadCow fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Jan 27, 2012 |
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Jan 27, 2012 01:40
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