Thanks for the tips and links, Bruce.
I did make an effort to try an minimize the shadows as best I could, but
I was cursed with a very sunny, clear, blue sky that day. My biggest
challenge was getting her as well lit as I could without pointing her
face directly toward the sun so that she'd be squinting.
Then, of course, came the harsh shadows when we ventured to the shady
area where the graffiti was. Someone with a reflector would have really
come in handy. I wish I'd had more time to prepare for the thing, though
I admit that given all the time in the world, I probably wouldn't have
thought to get someone to hold a reflector for me. I'm just so attuned
to using available and ambient light that it's become a crutch for me,
and not having a flash unit has become a bit of an excuse for me to not
learn anything about it.
So, over time, I guess I've developed a "close enough for government
work" attitude when it comes to lighting.
I thoroughly enjoy doing shoots like the one I did with LeeAnn -- as
most men would, I suppose. Unfortunately, my lack of experience shows in
too many of my shots, and I just flat-out don't know any of the
experienced photographers in my area in order to pick their brains and
steal their ideas.
-- Walt
On 5/18/2013 2:08 PM, Bruce Walker wrote:
Walt, this is where some understanding and experience with light pays
off. Light coming from the same direction as your lens shows no
surface shadows. Angled or oblique light shows increasing amount of
surface detail. Light coming from 90 degrees to your lens will reveal
a lot of surface detail by casting lots of shadow. Worst of all (for
skin) is hard light -- a point source like the sun -- coming from
right angles.
It's a very bad plan to side-light a person's face with hard light,
especially if they have imperfect skin. If they have great skin,
they've had proper makeup and/or you intend to do retouching you can
get away with it.
It's generally best to illuminate women with soft or diffuse light.
Light coming from a large number of angles fills in the shadows and
hides skin imperfections. Open shade is better than glare sun. Flash
through an umbrella is better than bare bulb.
If your subject's legs have mottled skin then do what you can to
either hide it or avoid angled light falling there. Have her cross one
leg in front of the other, have her stretch her legs (eg pointing
toes), block sunlight from falling on them, etc.
Poses that tighten or stretch the problem skin can help. You'll find
lots of posing tips in webinars and videos if you Google a bit. Look
up Christa Meola. She shoots "ordinary" women and makes them look
glamorous. http://christameola.com/ Her book is excellent.
Also Jen Rozenbaum. http://www.jenerationsblog.com/
On Sat, May 18, 2013 at 1:35 PM, Walt <[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks, Marnie.
It's strange, but when you (or I, at least) see the girl's thighs in person,
there's not the slightest hint of cellulite. Of course, I suppose that's
something I just overlooked.
I did try fiddling with getting that out of a few shots using a "skin
softening" brush in Lightroom. I just wasn't thrilled with the results I got
and need to go back and learn how to use it more effectively.
-- Walt
On 5/18/2013 10:53 AM, [email protected] wrote:
I'd photoshop out the cellulite on the back of her thighs. Okay, I do not
understand men's fascination with photographing women. Heh. And often the
model is one I think isn't that great looking, even though the men
usually
do.
Considering all that, nice gallery and I like the shot you like best too.
Marnie aka Doe :-)
In a message dated 5/15/2013 10:25:28 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:
I finally managed to get the young lady I've been pestering for a photo
shoot to get out and take photos yesterday. Here's one of my favorite
shots:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/walt_gilbert/8741925218/
Here's the rest of the gallery should anyone take a notion to have a
look. For some reason, Flickriver isn't showing any photos in the set,
so it's a standard Flickr set.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walt_gilbert/sets/72157633486638871/
-- Walt
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