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Make up
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Thanks a mil Thor. I never rely on monitors for colour inspections so working off an uncalibrated monitor is never an issue. I’ve put myself into the habit of trusting whatever comes up in histograms opposed to whats on screen.
I wouldn’t myself do a colour balance test on the likes of teeth etc, i’d usually go for the back drop (presuming that the backdrop was itself a genuine black, gray or white, which i never trust either. The only way around this would be for me to purchase a colour card. I don’t think it’s possible to colour balance this shot or even suggest that the colour balance is off
unless you at least one rgb reading in the shot.Ali wrote:
“Roberto. Thanks for the critique. What lighting would you suggest?”Ali, I think that the set up of the lights were not ideal. If you look the first shot, you can see dark black shadow behind the nose. The face has dark, light, dark… areas which gives ‘spoty’ impression.
But, how I said, I am not fashion photographer and these things maybe are not realy important… ?Thanks a mil for the feedback Roberto, i appreciate the comments. I see exactly what you mean
but it’s not something that really stood out when i was editing the shot. Thanks again.Well the colour balance doesn’t look too far off on my screen – but then it’s an uncalibrated one too, lol. Maybe the skin tone is a tad on the warm side, but it’s certainly not jumping out at me as being unnatural or anything.
Actually I’d be more surprised if it was noticeably off. Even if you’re shooting jpegs, with studio flash I’d have thought it would be difficult to go far wrong providing you’ve set your white balance to ‘flash’ (or even just left it on auto). With raw files things are even simpler as it should be easy to change after the fact even if you accidentally used the wrong setting when shooting. Only something like a very strong light source of a different colour, and close enough so the flash doesn’t completely overpower it, might cause problems. Or am I wrong about this?
Getting the white balance sorted becomes more of an issue outdoors, especially in difficult low light conditions such as street lighting etc – especially if you’re shooting jpegs. A grey or white card should definitely help here.
Anyway, back to the make-up :) Afraid it looks a bit heavy for my old-fashioned tastes, for everyday use at least, but maybe good for clubbing etc. With most make-up I think I’d prefer the ‘less is more’ approach – but then again what do I know, lol.
OK fair comment Ciaran,indeed everybody is entitled to express an opion.However as this forum is used for everybody to learn from others i do find that some of the above comments on Ali’s work do concentrate heavily on technical abilities.
In a perfect world yes all of the above feedback would greatly help to create the perfect shot,but one must also consider (1) Studio time if hired adding to pressure to getting the shot correct,(2) Hire of Model and the ability to instruct her to what your brief is,(3)Unfamilar studio envoirment be it having to grasp new lighting heads,pc or mac or confines of space of the actual studio. Assuming the studio was hired these are all extra factors that the photographer has to deal with as well as getting the technical fundamentals straight from the word go! We should really try and encourage more in terms of composition, athmosphere/mood, detail,expressions and preparation rather than always get hung up on technical bility. As for spot reading in camera you are assuming that it is strictly studio flash! I learned in a studio where we had alarge bay window and mixed ambient with control lighting reguarly which was taken from spot and reflective…Was it this tread that sparked the debate on readings on another forum… Thors( I had assumed that the finished work would have being used for hi/end editorial feature or other so rarely do they accept j-peg. Usually un-flatnned tiff or PSD is acceptable ,but hey thats just being from what i’ve being doing. Others may differ depending on the publication.
Ben 8)ben wrote:
However as this forum is used for everybody to learn from others i do find that some of the above comments on Ali’s work do concentrate heavily on technical abilities.
I find the above contradictory – on the one hand you are suggesting that “everybody learn from others” but then when you say that “the above comments on Ali’s work do concentrate heavily on technical abilities”. You seem to be suggesting that people aren’t interested in learning the technical abilities. I think all critique is valid here. I consider myself to be reasonably strong technically, but quite weak artistically/creatively, so I’m hoping to learn more about the creative and artistic elements of photography here, while also hoping to pick up the odd technical piece of advice here and there. I can’t speak for Ali, but would suggest that she is very strong on the creative aspects of photography (significantly more so than I am) but possibly a little weak on technical aspects. Seeing as how she’s so good creatively, I would imagine that some comments on the technical aspects of her work can only help her hone her skills and become an even better photographer. Photography isn’t just all creative flair or technical ability – good photography is a combination of these and other skills.
ben wrote:
We should really try and encourage more in terms of composition, athmosphere/mood, detail,expressions and preparation rather than always get hung up on technical bility.
I agree. FWIW, I’m of the opinion that composition is as much a technical skill as lighting, white balance and exposure. They all work together to create that ellusive perfect shot. No point in having a well composed image if it’s out of focus, with a magenta colour cast and overexposed (unless, of course, that’s what you’re aiming for).
Thorsten wrote:
Photography isn’t just all creative flair or technical ability – good photography is a combination of these and other skills
Hear hear!
Ps. I love these photos. Goes to show how much I know :oops:
Dont really understand where youre going with on the above,anyways in order to make an evaluation of anothers work one must first, based on their own knowledge and expierience rationalize how and in what way can the feedback benefit the photographer. Having read back over previous treads some critique is better left unsaid as the critique was subject to taste and not with regard to any skill or technique. Is it me or does it sometimes seem to be an eliteist select few whom provide all the negatives but rarely provide positive contributions to the forum(now before you all get on your high horse-i’m talkin about another popular photog/forum website) Consider the Australian train of thought (the poo sandwhich) First Motivate by pointing out the positive aspects of the image,then critique subjectively and finally to conclude give direction by pointing out the stongest trait and work on the weakest.
Oh hard luck on the defeat yesterday (think youre from Cork) Up da Cats… :Pben wrote:
Consider the Australian train of thought (the poo sandwhich) First Motivate by pointing out the positive aspects of the image,then critique subjectively and finally to conclude give direction by pointing out the stongest trait and work on the weakest.
Oh, didn’t I do that :( I think I got close though – here’s what I said in my first reply:
Positive:
Thorsten wrote:I like the idea of the three images together.
Negative:
Thorsten wrote:My biggest gripe is that the colour balance appears to be way off.
Positive:
Thorsten wrote:I recognise the fact that fashion shots often work with an incorrect colour balance
Negative:
Thorsten wrote:but not here, particularly when the objective appears to be to show off the makeup.
Perhaps I’ll just hold off on critiquing for a while until I’ve mastered the fine art of making a poo sandwhich as it’s not my intention to upset anyone. The critique I gave was well intentioned and wasn’t meant to be anything other than constructive. I must admit, I don’t think you’ve practised what you’ve preached, if one is to consider your critique of my critique, but who am I to judge.
C’mon Thorsten,think you might have thought i was havin a dig at ya,i dont recall having made an issue from your comments. I do detect an air of sarcasim from your reply,surely you can appreciate i am only making jovial reference to what makes good and bad critique. Chill out… As regards youre last comment,i have thought photography for the last few years to complete novices and the later technique was actually on the template for training,albeit it was not called the poo sandwhich.. :) however the student learnt to critique each other after a while which is fantastic to see. So indeed i have practised from what i have preached. And of which many have gone on to be well acomplised photographers.
Its nice to be nice…(Del Trotter)1981 :lol:
Hey Ali,
Bloody taxi driver’s strike in Dublin.. grrrr.
Critique:
These are “Nice”, and the lighting is “ok”, IMO. Now, I’m going to make some assumptions. I’m guessing that you’re goal is to sell the make-up. I think something harder with the lights would have worked better. You did a shot of Josie some time ago that fits the bill perfectly.
Technical stuff from comments in the above thread:
Colour balance. The neautral cards are great, “Whibal” would be my recommendation, make sure it is placed where the model’s skin doesn’t bounce back on it.
White balance setting in camera. Most studio lights are balanced for Daylight, so set the WB in camera to sunny or Kelvin equivalent. The Flash setting is for the on-camera flash which is normally bluer than daylight.
Her skin looks “ok” colour wise, perhaps a bit “Fake tan”?Spot-metering/ambient etc etc, I’m gonna go hunt out that thread :)
Chat soon
Si
Thanks Si for commenting, you should have given me a call, i would have brought you to the airport.
I’m going to have a complex about white balance after this thread :D I appreciate the comments all,
good critique and nice bit of info on how to get over the colour balance issue.
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