> I look back and want to kick myself in the head ( back lit shots what > was I thinking!
I didn't think that was so bad ... I thought it had potential! I'll preface this to note that I photograph railroad equipment, animals, buildings and other non-people subjects most of the time; portraiture isn't my strong suite ... I just dabble in it from time to time. First, the clothing has too much contrast with her skin. Something with a lighter color would help a lot, both top and bottom. There isn't a lot of detail in the dark colors; I didn't even realize the pants were _blue_ jeans until one of the later shots. I thought that one of the back lit shots showed promise; lub9. With the model backlit, the shadow problem that you see in many of the sidelit photos is eliminated. The contrast *in* the subject is lowered, which helps. You also get a touch of a hair-light, which differentiates and adds texture to the hair. If you pose the model to move the backlit light source *behind* the model's head you would increase the hairlight-- while simultaneously reducing the flare problem. The flare has the effect of *softening* the photo, such as a soft-focus filter would do; you may want to experiment with such a filter -- the effect seems to show potential. lub9 also provides the start of an opportunity for a good background. Eliminate the parking lot in the lower portion and use the model to cover some of the background buildings. Leave the distinctive parts of the skyline, such as the needle, in place to provide a silhouetted "where" to the photo. Another thing to try would be to shoot earlier or later in the day; the low-lying sun will give you some of the warm or "gold" tone which you were hoping for with your bounce. If any of this is particularly stupid, please say so; as I said, I only dabble in portraiture. Bolo -- Josef T. Burger - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
