How am I doing?

[nairbynairb]

So I went and looked at that photo again in photoshop…

I decided to try making the light temps similar and I did a bit more retouching/styling
This any better?

[nesgran]

You can make your own but I picked up an entire set of 20 precut gels from Lee for a couple of pounds, hardly worth the hassle to faff with acetate. If you have a multiple flash setup you can pick up whole sheets for not very much and cut your own. 3M make velcro squares you are meant to use for putting posters up but works great for attaching the gels and they have adhesive on the back. Attach hooks side to all your flashes in the same place and fluff side on the gel in the same place so you can move them around. Most important will be CTO, orange to match tungsten, and window green to match flourescent. Fun colours will be green, red and blue. Just make sure there is a bit of air between your glass and your gel as otherwise it may melt too easily.

[emf]

Thanks Nesgran.

[Worst Case Scenario]

I can’t see your first pic, but I really like your new one. I’m only looking on my laptop but it looks a tiny bit too bright on the left side of the face for my liking.

This post should be a great inspiration to anyone starting out, being able to see how you have progressed is great.

You can make your own but I picked up an entire set of 20 precut gels from Lee for a couple of pounds

Nesgram, please tell how and where?

[cameraclicker]

I like the latest version.

 

A couple of years ago I found a set of sample gels which I think were from Honl.  Not this set (http://www.henrys.com/4620-HONL-PHOTO-GEL-KIT-2-CORRECTION.aspx) but they look like these.  A band of Velcro fuzz goes around the flash and the hooks are on the gels.  I think it cost $15 or so.  Definitely more than a couple of pounds, but reasonable.  It looks like a sheet of Lee gel is $9:  http://www.henrys.com/2719-LEE-FILTER-GEL-20X24-1-4-C-T-O-206.aspx

My Canon 600 EX RT flashes came with plastic holders that clip on and pre-cut  CTO and 1/2 CTO gels, in a little wallet.

[nairbynairb]

This post should be a great inspiration to anyone starting out, being able to see how you have progressed is great.

 

Thanks!

100% of my free time is spent doing something photography (reading, watching tutorials, researching, experimenting, shooting) so I’m pretty happy with the progress I’ve made.

I’m going to head to Henry’s sometime this week to grab some gels 🙂

 

I posted the SOOC/After version of that portrait on my Flickr if you’re interested in seeing it.

[nesgran]

@WCS, ebay. They aren’t very big but big enough to cover a reasonably sized speedlight like 580EX. Not big enough for studio strobes though but sheets aren’t that expensive either

[nairbynairb]

Hey guys… Back again looking for a critique on my latest photo.

Shot this for a friend who is a MUA for her portfolio. What do you guys think?

 

Again, it was with my DIY beauty dish and a bare every-day household bulb.

[cameraclicker]

My initial reaction is that I like it. It’s quite a striking photo.
There are some observations to think about though:
— The hair band makes her look “last year of high school”
— In the larger Flickr image, her face seems pretty bright, possibly blown out?
— Once I get past her face I’m drawn to her hands. They look big! 50 mm is probably better left to full body when you can’t back up. Her left hand is a bit bright and her grip reminds me of Golem from Lord of the Rings.
— At different sizes, the nose piercing looks like a blemish
— A difference between strobes and continuous lights is the pupil diameter.

[nairbynairb]

Haha yeah, she has naturally big pupils it seems… ALL photos of her look like that (not even ones taken by me that night)

And the hands bug me a bit too. Unfortunately I only own the Nifty Fifty for my 5d mk ii. Looking to purchase the 24-70 soon…

Do you like the processing? Its a new style I’m trying out

[cameraclicker]

Do you like the processing? Its a new style I’m trying out

I do like it.
If I size it so just her face is on the monitor I like it even more. I think the whole photo says “Look what I got for puberty!”   If I scale it, so just from her index fingers up fills the screen, I think it is a more attractive photo.
I still wonder if highlights are slightly too bright but you would have to play with the raw file to see.

[nesgran]

I’ll agree the highlights are a little bright, probably a third to half a stop over exposed. Her left hand draws more attention as it is brighter, have you tried a bit of burning on it to see if that helps with the eyes being drawn to it?

I would also agree that you could have gotten better results with a longer lens, her breasts look massive given the lack of compression and the shadow in the cleavage. They are also a little speckly

I like the lighting and the expression but the corner in the wall behind her is a little distracting. I would possibly have directed the rimlight so it didn’t fall on her face as much or at all, you could always stick a reflector to lighten up that side if needed. Now it looks a little like there is a sharp corner over her right cheek.

Since it is for make up, a tighter crop could possibly help showcase her skills more. I would probably have sacrificed a bit of shutter speed and gone to 1/100 and f4 instead to crispen up the image a little.

Since I know you mainly shoot portraits, have you considered a 85 f1.2 I instead of a 24-70? They go pretty cheap on the used market, the af is slow but not that much worse than your 50 1.8 but if it was to break it’d be hard to fix. The images are however magical from it and sharp all the way from 1.2

[nairbynairb]

Haha the portraits I do are just for fun when I’m experimenting really.
The 24-70mm is ideal for everything else I do 🙂

Here are two more shots from the same night:

[nairbynairb]

Here’s a quick photo I did today.

All my life I’ve always been the shortest in a group.

[Worst Case Scenario]

If I was picky I’d say that the lighting doesn’t match. The highlights (burn outs?) on your head and hand don’t match the feet, which have multiple shadows and you don’t. It’s still a cool shot though.

[Author]

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