Challenge - "Field" Portrait

[Don Lashier]

To take up on Asher's suggestion when he saw Jose's magnificant sports portrait, show your best portraits taken in the field, outside of the controlled conditions of a studio. I'll start it off with three of my own.

First, from the tryptch thread: This fellow was an Aussie sailor (liveaboard) who was spending some time in Newport. He had a way of talking very earnestly and even angrily (left), pausing to see the listener's reaction (center), then delivering the punch line to what was actually a joke, his face breaking into a wide grin (right). These were taken in the cockpit of his sailboat, a sailcloth sunshade over the boom provided convenient light diffusion and background.

"The Aussie"

Next, Chuni Lobsang Jinpa Rinpoche, on stage in an auditorium during a question and answer session. I was roughly seventy feet away. There was actually a translator standing at a podium just out of the frame to the right.

And finally, after a long six hour studio shoot we all retreated to the lounge at a local hotel and partied til after midnight when this shot was taken. This is one of the models and the owner of the studio - I was sitting at another stool down the L shaped bar (drinking about my 10th beer). Lighting was actually very low - I took this with my 1D, ISO 1600 (and the noise shows), 1/60, f2.8, 70mm. Even so I had to pull another stop or more in CaptureOne. Processed b/w in C1 using the b/w-yellow filter profile.

- DL

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Would you care to share the raw file on the last portrait. I'd like to try my JFI b/w profiles on it.

scott

 

[Nill Toulme]

In the spirit of Jose Luis's lovely shot...

Hmmm... it needs some sort of border against this pale bluish-gray background though, doesn't it...

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

 

[Don Lashier]

Would you care to share the raw file on the last portrait. I'd like to try my JFI b/w profiles on it.

scott

Sure Scott, in fact this would make a good "optimize this" thread. I'll start one later today and post the raw file.

BTW, a subtitle for this thread might be "Unposed Portraits".

- DL

 

[Don Lashier]

Hmmm... it needs some sort of border against this pale bluish-gray background though, doesn't it...

Excellent image Nill. Aside from the nice subject treatment, I like the clean background and (lucky?) presence and positioning of the flag.

I've gotten in the habit of always adding a small border of some sort to images posted online. It helps a lot - particularly images with a light background.

- DL

 

[Ivan Garcia]

A friend of my daughter the picture is not posed; she was some 50 yards away and completely unaware of the camera... I know she's not famous...but she is still young
5D 100-400L @400
BW conversion with sepia toning selected.
I hope you guys like it
IGD

 

[Jose Luis Sanchez]

As an honnour i take the invitation and i post again this pic here. For some other details you can visit Sports forum in thread "my first pic".

Gerald Brown, from Alta Gestion Fuenlabrada team. Spanish major basketball league (ACB)
Jose Luis

 

[Jose Luis Sanchez]

Ivan this pic has a fabulous antique glamour. I like the minimal DOF of the 100-400 in the 5D.
Cojonuda (spanish translation) Well done.
Jose Luis

 

[Nill Toulme]

Excellent image Nill. Aside from the nice subject treatment, I like the clean background and (lucky?) presence and positioning of the flag.
...

Thanks Don. For once I can (honestly) say it really wasn't luck this time. ;-) I work that flag background a lot as the kids come up for their foul shots. I really like the way the 200 f/1.8 dissolves it. This is just my personal favorite of more than a few similar shots.

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

 

[Don Lashier]

Thanks Don. For once I can (honestly) say it really wasn't luck this time. ;-) I work that flag background a lot as the kids come up for their foul shots.

Nill, I was hoping you'd say that (hence the ?). Good photographers leave as little as possible to luck paying attention to everything including the background (particularly the background).

- DL

 

[Jose Luis Sanchez]

Very nice portraits, specially two last. Very very natural the last and very well don in b&w.
Jose Luis

 

[Jose Luis Sanchez]

I see in this pic a tied player taking a break. I feel his breath. Colors are very natural.
Jose Luis

 

[Ivan Garcia]

This is a portrait of my son swimming in our summer pool.
The picture is not posed, he was just swimming unaware of the camera, I framed the shot and called him, taking the shot as he looked at me.
BW conversion via channels.
It looked bland so I decided to do a mix BW+ colour, He has (as you can see) amazing eyes.
I hope you guys like it.
IGD

 

[Asher Kelman]

Ivan,

Is it not great in color? I wonder whether pulling back on the saturation of the eyes might be something worth looking at? Also how did you convert to B&W, there maybe variations without the color for the eyes or even with it that please you more.

Anyway, you are smart with your approach.

Asher

 

[Ivan Garcia]

Thank you Asher.
The original picture is great, but it looks just like any other kids picture, I wanted this one to stand out, I tried several BW variations, but none of them pleased me.
You are right, the saturation is somewhat exaggerated, his real eyes don't look like that, they are more greyish, again this didn't look right on the BW+C version, so I decided to over saturate the colour and give more emphasis to the blue channel. I though it looked great, (my wife loves it), but your comments have made me wonder, if this trick has been overused and is now passé...
Food for thought... I might have to rethink how I approach this one.
Kind regards
IGD

 

[Asher Kelman]

Ivan,

Just because others overuse a technique downt mean yo have to remove it from your own set of creative choices.

However, here's my approach. I make the very best changes, for example, sharpening. I then do something else for a few minutes and return and decrease the percentage of that layer. Sometimes I can get the feeling I want with merely 3% of what I previously thought was needed. The secret, IMHO, is too relook at the picture and try to get back some of the previous layer.

Then one is being subtle and the changes don't just scream too much, too much!

It should be, wait a minute, the eyes are blue, fascinating.

So don't let anyone tell you this is overused!

Asher

 

[Ivan Garcia]

Thank you Asher.
You are quiet right, too much indeed.
I should have posted the picture in the optimise this thread before posting it here.
In any case, what’s done is done.
I have none the less, taken your advice, this is the resulting image.

BW via channels, eyes Alpha masked via fluid mask, Gaussian blur 2.3 radius, and desaturate by 25%
I also taken care of the nasty highlight on his nose I did this by selecting it with the lasso tool, then layer via copy, spot healing brush, and reducing opacity to 55%.

 

[Don Lashier]

Now that's very nice Ivan. I liked the first version and like this even better, both the eyes and skin tone are improved.

- DL

 

[Ivan Garcia]

Thank you Don... Is a stiff learning curve for me, but, I am getting there. It was all so much easier in the dark room with my chemicals... lol
IGD

 

[Asher Kelman]

Ivan,

The differences are major. You first version had a plastic look, almost caricature, which in itself can be a desirable end product if it fulfills your vision. By contrast the second version, your boy is now alive and his tone is in line with the water and his hair.

I like this picture. It is worth the attention. Now is the time to try printing and maybe you might post your impressions of how it prints. What does your model think?

Anyway, congrats on the fine picture and subject!
Asher

 

[Nill Toulme]

Ivan this version is *great.*

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net

 

[Ivan Garcia]

Thank you guys, I must say I am very pleased with it now.
Asher; my son has not seen the picture yet, my wife on the other hand, likes the previous version better, she shays it gives him a demonic look (go figure, most mums would rather have an angel lol).
I have not send the picture to the lab yet, so I can’t comment on how it prints.
Thank you all for your continuous support. I need to build up a good portfolio in order to get admitted for my arts degree, so expect steady stream of pictures and questions from me

Kind regards
IGD

 

[Asher Kelman]

Ivan, If it's for your Art's degree, maybe investingate the possible optimization of the water too. Maybe develop a version just for the water. Soesn't matter what the rest looks like.

Asher

 

[Ivan Garcia]

Good point Asher.
I think I'll start a thread in the Retouching section, so as to not pollute this thread.
I'll start working on the water and post in the new thread once is done.
Kind regards
IGD

 

[Asher Kelman]

Returning from San Francisco where I had the pleasure of joining Mike Spinak, Jim Collum, Jack Flesher and the rest of the shooting group, I happened to see this rather musclebound gentleman opposite me and was fascinated his devotion to his skin and muscles.

Tattooing is such an extensively transcultural activity. However, not in my home!

It's the permanent nature of it that I find so unusual and hard to accept. There is no room for fashion to change! Taken with available light. Consent obtained before hand. This was a special circumstance!

Asher

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

... Consent obtained before hand. This was a special circumstance!..

Hi Asher,

I like the photo and I am very interested in hearing more about your trip to SF.
On a side note, you'd HAVE to have consent in this case beforehand, wouldn't you? (LOL).

Cem
(who wonders how one would even DARE ask for consent from such an individual)

 

[nicolas claris]

Hi Asher,

I like the photo and I am very interested in hearing more about your trip to SF.
On a side note, you'd HAVE to have consent in this case beforehand, wouldn't you? (LOL).

Cem
(who wonders how one would even DARE ask for consent from such an individual)

Cem
One have to dare for consent.
Otherwise one's outlaw… but also shows very little consideration for the person, which is, for me, even more important than being outlaw…

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Hi Nicolas,

It goes without saying that I agree completely. I did not want to create the impression that one should not ask for consent, I merely implied that I am a chicken sometimes and I then don't take any pictures at all. Only once in the last 30 years I have taken a photo without asking for consent where I should have and to date I still regret doing it (the said photo is already destroyed).

Cheers,

Cem

 

[Erik DeBill]

Rowan Hiking

This is my girlfriend after hiking a couple miles at a state park a few hours from my house. We'd stopped near a well-shaded cliff, where water dripped down the face and ferns grew. After a couple pictures of the cliff, I took a few shots of Rowan.

 

[nicolas claris]

Hi Nicolas,

It goes without saying that I agree completely. I did not want to create the impression that one should not ask for consent, I merely implied that I am a chicken sometimes and I then don't take any pictures at all. Only once in the last 30 years I have taken a photo without asking for consent where I should have and to date I still regret doing it (the said photo is already destroyed).

Cheers,

Cem

Cem
I wrote "one", not "you"!
Everyone happens to be a chicken sometimes… or just lazy enough not to ask.
You're fully right

All the best