# portraits on a cloudy day.



## newrmdmike (Feb 12, 2007)

took these a few days ago . . . the conditions were poop, it rained on us at one point . . . but i got these four in the 15 minutes of shooting time i actually had.
1





2




3




4





any thoughts are welcome!


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## Tangerini (Feb 12, 2007)

I love the colors, though my favorite is #3 what a great capture! (Very small nitpick ~ I would have liked to see her other foot in frame)


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## newrmdmike (Feb 12, 2007)

yeah . . . i almost didn't catch the smile and didn't quite get it framed right.

i was standing on top of the culvert in num 2 and about fell.

i'm going to crop out the top i think  . . .


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## Big Mike (Feb 12, 2007)

I like #2 the best.  The pose, the composition, the p.p...all very good.  I wish her one eye wasn't obscured by her hair though.

#4) I'd like to see less blur/more DOF.  I think the texture of the brick would contrast nicely with the softness of the girl.


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## wxnut (Feb 12, 2007)

2 is my favorite as well. Absolutely great except I dont like the dark top corners. Either darken more of it gradually like the first one, or none at all. My opinion anyway.

Numbers 4s angle and texture of the brick wall works great.  Good job over all.

Doug Raflik


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## grafiks (Feb 12, 2007)

Other than rain, of course, cloudy days are great for portraiture.  Or early in the morning or late in the day on sunny days.

Yep, a little brush out on the corners (or crop) on the second one and you got a real winner.  A nice looking subject is always a big help too.


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## newrmdmike (Feb 12, 2007)

in num 2 the dark corners are from being zoomed out too far to be able to use my ringlight, while still using it.

pure laziness, and an easy fix.  i figured i'd leave it and see if it bothered  anyone.

big mike, num 4 was a totally botched shot.  i'm using a d200 now, and occasionally accidentally bump the focus from single to continuous.  the result was a shot focused on the wall instead of the girl, who isn't really all that soft . . . but i get you about the contrast and would have loved for it to have come out.  maybe another day with another person.


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## newrmdmike (Feb 12, 2007)

and thanks everyone!


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## eddiesimages (Feb 12, 2007)

I also like #2 the best. Very well done!


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## DeepSpring (Feb 12, 2007)

I like number 2 the most. Very nice.


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## craig (Feb 12, 2007)

I think the second frame is the most original. Major problem is the broken circle. You can't do that. I love the holes in the jeans.


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## AprilRamone (Feb 13, 2007)

I think #2 is interesting, but I think I would have like to see your Model in a different pose.  And I agree with Doug about the vignette, I would prefer if it was a little more subtle.
#4-Seems like there are too many shadows on her face.


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## pickypics (Feb 13, 2007)

I like them all... I think they are all really nice photos!


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## newrmdmike (Feb 13, 2007)

thanks a bunch guys for all the input!   i havn't been this happy with comments people leave in a while.

craig, i'm not sure what i think about having broken the circle . . .  but i'm thinking about it.  it doesn't bother me at all, but somtimes not being able to see somthing completely does bother me.  so i see it as a valid point.

aprilramone, i have other poses from #2's local, but have yet to edit them.

and i agree about the shadows!

wow.  lots of room for improvment!!!!  nothing better than having new things to watch out for!

again, thanks a bunch guys!


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## oCyrus55 (Feb 13, 2007)

Great photos, what kind of p.p. did you do?


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## jemmy (Feb 13, 2007)

Nice shots... I too am curious as to what post processing techniques you used particularly with the coloured shots... the colours are WILD x love em

Can i also ask what your camera is and what lenses... Im guessing something pretty snazzy! I neeeeeeeeeeeeeed a new camera x


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## shingfan (Feb 14, 2007)

beautiful shots....love them all

may i ask what post process did you use on #2 to get the look?....i feels like living in a fantasy world...thanks


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## newrmdmike (Feb 14, 2007)

jemmy . . . 

i recently bought a d200 . . . but this might actually be the first thing that i've  posted from it.  up until now i was using a d70s.

lenses: 85mm f/1.8 and the 17-70 f/3.5-4.5 kit lens.

post processing:

on 1 guassian blur and curves.
2 lots of special local contrast adjustments. with some low laying clouds in the back.  local contrast achieved by:gaussian blur with blend mode set to soft light, unsharp mask.  and i slightly desaturated her surroundings bc they looked pretty intense and overpowering.

number 4 was gaussian blur, and more local contrast adjustments through unsharp mask

i hope that helped some . . . but alot of the color was there, and the light was very even that day.


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## jemmy (Feb 14, 2007)

thanks!  they are soooo captivating to me?  i really cant explain what it is  except its something about the intensity of the colours?? but am going to go and try your techniques on one of my own shots...  I keep going back to look at them!!  Thanks again x jem


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## newrmdmike (Feb 15, 2007)

no prob, and post them here when you get done so we can see what you get!


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## Christie Photo (Feb 15, 2007)

Hmmm...  I totally missed this thread till now.

I dunno if the broken circle is a problem.  One thing that caught my eye in all is that one of her arms is creating a rigid, straight line.  I think it's most troubling in the first view...  maybe because it's bearing her weight and forming a vertical line.

I really like the black jacket with her blonde hair.


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## newrmdmike (Feb 15, 2007)

thanks christiep, i've decided the broken circle is fine . . . and i don't see why a straight rigid line is a bad thing (the arm).  idk, the vertical line thing i disagree with because its going towards her face . . . so its sort of a leading line.

black jacket + blonde hair = her choice, lol.  i didn't have anything to do with that


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## Mikeserver (Feb 17, 2007)

#2 is the best, however, top left corner does bother me a lots.


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## nolatome (Feb 22, 2007)

great effect in P.P.  I like it alot, thanks for the tips.  I like how you adjusted the blur, and worked with what you had in each photo, you didn't just blur the background for everyone, you worked with it.  I like that flexibility and I think it makes a better portrait choices for the client.


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## oCyrus55 (Feb 22, 2007)

Yeh, I agree, I still really like the p.p. in these shots.


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## newrmdmike (Mar 2, 2007)

thanks guys . . . the post enhances it . . . but alot of the "dreamy" quality in 2 was just the way the light was that day.


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