non-auto Critique please

[Nathan Leach-Proffer]

i am doing a project so let me know what you think, ill post a bigger one if someone really wants to get into it.

http://static.flickr.com/80/249414734_b214e07510_o.jpg

i know it still needs some work so be as harsh as you want, almost anything can be fixed.

[Jessica Germiller]

ok...I will give it a shot...but keep in mind that I have rarely shot people...I despise it actually. :rolleyes:

I like the image...but a couple of things do kind of come to my attention. One, the background is nice, and the lighting is really beautiful and warm...however it is a tad brighter than the model-so my eye goes directly to the background. Maybe tone it down a little in PS:confused:

To me the light hitting her hair is a nice rim light...but I think its a little too hot. It completely loses detail. Also, the same light is hitting her shoulders and is very hot and kind of looks a little odd to me. Did you use a strobe or reflector or anything to fill the front of her in??

Lastly...and this is probably just the woman in me coming out to speak...but it looks like you retouched and smoothed her skin a little too much, she looks like a mannequin (sp?)
I understand this is what people/fashion photography does, but I think on an outdoor shot like this it might be a little too much:o All I am trying to say is-she is a beautiful woman-why not let her real self show through a little more??

Again-please take everything I said with a grain of salt because I am by no means a people/fashion shooter. I just thought I would add my $.02 hope it helped a little:)

-Jess;)

[Keith Schoeler]

Pretty much the same.

Background too distracting. Burn and blur it down. Clone out the cut off signing on the top of the building as well as the shrubs at the bottom of the frame between her torso and arm.

Shoulders and hair are too hot and probably not salvageable. Doesn't kill the shot for me, but it is a little noticeable.

Overall the image just doesn't really work for me. Unless there is a story or reason that goes with it, the setting, model, and pose/wardrobe do not match. Put her in a business suit and it works. Put her in front of a boutique and it works.

One last thing...since her face is shaded, I would have removed her sunglasses. With the distractions that sit as is, being able to see her eyes is what will or won't draw you in.

[Nathan Leach-Proffer]

thanks for the comments, well the project is taking two photos and putting them together. that is why the stuff does not really match up.

she was shot at meadowbrook around 2pm while the background was shoot at at about 7ish. so that takes care of some of the comments however i like the idea of shooting a boutique, i will see what i can do.

i will work onthe background like you both said. i know this changes up things but i wanted to see if people could really tell that it was two photos. i think i am going to try and "make" some of the hot spots but i dont think i have a great chance of making it work.

anyway here are the photos i used.

http://static.flickr.com/79/249481071_061af0175f_o.jpg

i was taking some other photos and just took a fast photo for whatever reason.
http://static.flickr.com/96/249481068_eb8387cc35_o.jpg

[Daniel Buck]

the only thing that really bothers me is the white line above her head, and the lack of "frizz" on her hair. paint in some very thin hair squiggles, then blur them a touch and that would probably set her into the background better. I have done that before, and it worked nicely. If you paint with a very small brush (one pixel) then do a slight blur on the frizz layer, it works quite nicely.

Beautiful gal! I really like her pose, she looks very relaxed and natural. If you don't mind, here is a quick edit with some hair strands added. In my opinion, this is a very overlooked aspect of melting a forground character to their background :-) I have added just a very light touch, the more you add, the more you have to watch out that it doesn't look fake.


http://www.danielbuck.net/wip/hair_01.jpg

http://www.danielbuck.net/wip/hair_02.jpg

[Nathan Leach-Proffer]

ok so i took into account the stuff people said, good call on the hair.

i added very little i think i should add some more

http://static.flickr.com/87/249580729_17bc89e6a9_o.jpg

for some reason i did not see your photos before, yay i need to add more for sure.

thanks for the top!