2 Concepts: 1 Beauty and 1 Abduction

[cstewart1977]

I took a stab at a beauty shot, then switched it up with a levitation concept. I have a long way to go, please don't hold back. Thanks!

[groovyone]

Interesting shot in #2. Needs a little something, maybe a grid overhead pointing down to give it the "tractor beam" look.

[DigMe]

"she sleeps above her covers... *four feet* above her covers." Peter Venkman

brad

[arich]

I like #1 a lot, though it's a little warm for my taste. I would also try to get a little more fill on her face and reduce the hot spots on the rest of her body. I really like the pose, she seems very comfortable in front of the camera.

[cstewart1977]

@Keith I agree completely. I think it needs more dramatic light in the background and stronger light on just the subject. I've got to get me some real lights and grids one day..

@Andrew The truth is, I took a bad photograph and did a pretty sloppy rush job on post processing. Here's the before picture:

[texxter]

I like them both. The first one seems nicely rescued, and, yeah, it could be a bit better, but not bad at all. The second one is a cool idea, and the overall composition works - nit picking here, but I wish the head had a bit more light or separation.

Thanks for sharing!

[cstewart1977]

Thanks Paco. I messed up when taking the shot. I had to put her head in shadow to cover up some mistakes I made when taking the shot. My assistant's hand was tangled into her hair and I didn't have another good hair shot to composite back in:( Lesson learned:P

[arich]

Learn and shoot again! I'm looking forward to your next batch!

[78novacaine]

Wow, after seeing the before shot I think you did an EXCELLENT job in recovering that first one!

[Ernst-Ulrich Schafer]

What was the cause for such bad exposure to being with?

[cstewart1977]

@David Thanks man. I like the end result a lot too:) I could have fixed the extreme highlights/hot spots and a few other things, but I didn't think the base photo was good enough to try for perfection.

@Ernst Since This was by far, the most difficult photo shoot I've ever done, mainly because of severe personality conflicts within my team that day. I'm lucky the whole thing wasn't aborted altogether or that there wasn't a physical confrontation. It was really bad...

99% of the other shots leading up to this one had uncomfortable expressions, unflattering angles, or something else entirely wrong with them. That particular shot would normally be tossed out, but it had the best expression, pose, hair etc. of the whole set, so I put some Photoshop Spackle on it.

I also frequently have problems and malfunctions with my gear when doing studio work. I simply don't have professional level equipment. I spend a ridiculous amount of time on every photo shoot wondering why my camera won't focus, why my overheat warning light is coming on, or my lights won't fire, instead of working on perfecting my shots. I'm about to start doing photography for money, so I really hope to be able to get a pro camera and lights down the road.

Sorry, I didn't mean to cry and make excuses. I know that Chase Jarvas (and most of you guys) can still take better pictures with his Iphone, than I can with my SLR:(

[ChrisTX]

Would a reflector lower than head level have helped?

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by cstewart1977

I know that Chase Jarvis (and most of you guys) can still take better pictures with his iPhone, than I can with my SLR:(

Jarvis doesn't work alone. In every video that I've seen of him at work, there's a crew of several people making it all happen. Of course, they are taking directions from him.

[cstewart1977]

@Chris Thx for the suggestion:)

The low right catch lights in her eyes should reveal I was using flash for fill to bring up my shadows. I didn't feel a reflector was needed. I was definitely not going for a clam shell setup and really, the final picture is somewhat close to what I envisioned.

Her head just happened to move a bit too far forward on the shot that I ended up choosing to keep. I had a bubble of light that gave a look I was happy with, but it was very easy for her to move out of position because it was so small.

[49884]

#1 Good rescue.
#2 is a good attempt, i'm sure you'll be perfecting it.