Portrait work

[djviper]

1st try at low key portrait work. Comments are welcome

[axeri]

I'm not an expert but I like them a lot, especially the second one, it is very interesting how the face comes out of the darkness. Congratulations.

[djviper]

thanks axeri, i am new to portrait shots and would like to learn more

[Drizzt321]

I think in the 2nd one it's valuable to note how there is a bit of light coming onto the background from the left of the frame which let's us see the line of her neck and hair that is hanging down on the opposite side of her head from the camera. I think I like that, as opposed to a completely black as in the first photo. I do like the first photo, not sure if it'd be good to crop the right of the frame more, although it's certainly setup for some kind of advertising/logo stuff there.

[djviper]

For the 2nd shot, I did not use any light to lit the backdrop, it came from the key light (i guess somelight bouched off the wall on the left).

I will try litting the backdrop for the 1st shot and try and different perspective

Appreciate your feedbacks. Thanks!!!

[Drizzt321]

For the 2nd shot, I did not use any light to lit the backdrop, it came from the key light (i guess somelight bouched off the wall on the left).

I will try litting the backdrop for the 1st shot and try and different perspective

Appreciate your feedbacks. Thanks!!!

I actually prefer the first shot without backdrop lighting as is, it makes for a more dramatic photo.

For the 2nd shot, I think it's a happy accident that a bit of light bounced off of the wall and onto the backdrop. Maybe experiment with that effect a little bit, and intentionally bounce some lighting from somewhere onto the backdrop from the subject's side of the frame.

[Standard]

First off, great work with the lighting and mood.

A couple of constructive comments that may help you. The focus is somewhat off, ie, overall a little soft. In portrait photography, it is important that particular facial features be sharp, especially the eyes where naturally we all want to look at. In dim lighting, focusing may be difficult to achieve so some time focusing on the outer edge near the eyes where there's more contrast may be helpful. If these were shot handheld, you may want to bump the ISO up slightly to gain a faster shutter speed which will help account for hand shakes.

Both are compositional strong, with the first one having a little too much negative space on the right...but this is just my opinion. Framing to a closer ration of 1/3 with one eye on the first division would make this image stronger.

[sandymandy]

Well im not sure...but i think u should adjust ur screen especially in the first photo it looks like u used some black photoshop brush to fix ur image but i think u didnt see how much information there really is in the photo.

i enhanced it to show u what i mean i ONLY raised the exposure/brightness nothing else

guess on ur screen it just looked "black" ^^

[Kernuak]

Well im not sure...but i think u should adjust ur screen especially in the first photo it looks like u used some black photoshop brush to fix ur image but i think u didnt see how much information there really is in the photo.

i enhanced it to show u what i mean i ONLY raised the exposure/brightness nothing else

guess on ur screen it just looked "black" ^^

That really defeats the object of the low key look and it has lost the impact as a result. Personally, I prefer it as it was originally presented.

[sandymandy]

I uploaded the photo to show that it was edited in a bad way. If u brighten up other low key photos do u think u will also see fat photoshop brush lines and lost details that were just left in the photo cuz the one who edited it didnt have a proper adjusted screen??

 If u brighten up lowkey photos the black should only become grey....

OP used 100% black color brush (i guess) cuz on his screen all looked "100% black" im quite sure of this. But if u take a photo there is like nearly never 100% black...

I didnt add anything to the original image..... Its just like that... and i can see it on my screen!

[bvukich]

I didnt add anything to the original image..... Its just like that... and i can see it on my screen!

Yep, I see it too.  I didn't notice it until you posted the "enhanced version", but looking back at the original it's obvious if you're looking for it.

[Menace]

Very nice esp second one

[Kernuak]

I uploaded the photo to show that it was edited in a bad way. If u brighten up other low key photos do u think u will also see fat photoshop brush lines and lost details that were just left in the photo cuz the one who edited it didnt have a proper adjusted screen??

 If u brighten up lowkey photos the black should only become grey....

OP used 100% black color brush (i guess) cuz on his screen all looked "100% black" im quite sure of this. But if u take a photo there is like nearly never 100% black...

I didnt add anything to the original image..... Its just like that... and i can see it on my screen!

I see what you mean. I must admit, I hadn't looked that closely.

[sandymandy]

no problem im often writing in gibberish so its hard to understand me

[Quasimodo]

no problem im often writing in gibberish so its hard to understand me

I think you make a strong point, and what makes it even more important is that when you move away from a screen and go ahead and print it, it becomes quite noticeable. I have done that mistake myself (wanting to make it black'er than it originally was). Further there is a dilemma, because by doing it more black (skilfully or not) it is because you want to emphazise the subject. However by doing so, one also remove some depth in the shot... i.e. making a case for more details in the black/grey areas....