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Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!
Paul Abbott
New member
I think this is a nice portrait, James.
It looks right on to me. I think it might be the arm and shoulder that gives the subject a good sense of stability, and I don't find my eye wandering that much. Nice one.
It looks right on to me. I think it might be the arm and shoulder that gives the subject a good sense of stability, and I don't find my eye wandering that much. Nice one.
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Shot in the room.. window light only..
James Yu: Cheryl
James,
Cheryl is a sympathetic person to look at. She engages us with her patience and we feel a sense of calm with her stable pose. She has little make up, if any at all. I wonder if this is intentional or just the nature of taking a picture of a friend without elaborate preparation. Especially noticeable is the shine of the plump lower lip and dry dullness of the upper lip. This, if you wish, depending on your approach to truth, can be ameliorated with makeup or else altered to esthetic taste in photoshop by dodging and burning in and blending a blurred copy of the lips. Also, I wonder about white balance as the sclera of here eyes seem to me bluish, but maybe this is the iMac monitor which is not perhaps well calibrated.
There are issues with lighting. The right side of her face is dark and what light there is brings out lines around her eyes. OTOH, her right forearm is very bright. This could be selectively tamed in processing. However, you might feel it;s part of the truth of her being. Yes, it's paler than the rest of her skin because it's not normally so exposed to the sun, but then it should not be allowed to have brightness from the flash, greater than the face. In this situation, I feel that all the shadows could be opened with one close giant light or reflection off a white wall or card and the other light, high and to one side can give dimension.
Still, in the end, Cheryl wins for the picture and delivers a good result, even in lighting which does not flatter her as it could.
Asher