From Today's shoot - opinions sought

[Alex]

Hello all,

Went to a shoot in a park today. I really would like to know what you think about this shot and also which treatment you would choose. I know my preference, but would like to hear from you.

1. Colour version



2. Cool tone treatment



3. Medium strength sepia treatment



4. Strong sepia treatment



The original photo was taken with D70, Nikkor 50 mm f1.4, 1/250, f3.3, manual focus, ISO250, WB Auto (-2), available light.

Thanks for thoughts, opinions and suggestions in advance.

Alex

[moz]

I prefer the B&W one, the purple eyes don't do it for me. I'd have been tempted to include a little more of the left of the shot to balance things a little. Maybe. And I like the hand.

[rooboy]

I prefer #2, but I'd like to see a straight B&W, and also some burning done to the highlights to make them less distracting.

Good shot, and I agree with Moz, the pose of the hand is nice.

[gstark]

Treatment? I'm thinking steamboat.

In all seriousness, neither of the sepia treatments work, and I suspect that's because the B&W treatment is also not quite there: good B&W needs to be able to display all shages of grey, plus pure white - as distinct from blown out highs) - and some pure black, being a really rich black.

There's no black here: where has it gone? That absence dictates how those three images look, and they all suffer as a result.

Please retry that coversion and see if you can bring it to life.

[Alex]

Thanks for your helpful suggestions, guys. I did not really like any of the converted versions, myself. I prefer the coloured one although the highlights are distracting.

Alex

[avkomp]

I think I would prefer if the background not as hot behind the model.
takes my eyes away from the model

Steve

[Alex]

 LOL Gary, in light of your, Moz's and Rooboy's comments, I did a straight b&w conversion in a different way.
Thanks
Alex

[avkomp]

I prefer the repost.

still would prefer to not see the bright stuff behind the model though

steve

[PiroStitch]

I prefer the rework, but maybe try a tighter crop to eliminate the blown background.

[yeocsa]

Hi Alex,

The blown out background spoilt the picture. I would prefer to see more of the model's face especially the other eye with the DOF.

regards,

Arthur

[Matt. K]

Hi Alex
It's not the treatment of the image that matters here...it's the composition. And that does not work very well for the following reasons:
1. When I look at the image the curve of the right hand leads my eye out of the image space. This is a bad thing.
2. If I force myself to look again then the direction of her gaze leads my eye out of the image space. This is a bad thing too.
3. If I look a third time the direction/line of her nose drags my eye out of the image space.

The purpose of composition is to lead the eye around the image anywhere but out. Pro photographers use a circular or triangular composition that makes it difficult for the eye to wander out of the image space.

[Marty]

Hey Alex,
as mentioned above, the b/w is the best of the set.
You need to go back and do the conversion again, with some more contrast.
The blown b/g can be covered with some pp. I have found if you fix the b/g before you convert you will get a much better result.
You do have a nice pose and a nice model, I like her expression.
Marty

[Alex]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Don't know if I made it worse or better but here is my attempt on getting rid blown highlights in the background followed by conversion.

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Thanks
Alex

[PiroStitch]

Nice try Alex, but now it looks like a tacky poster I think a re-shoot is in order

[Alex]

Nice try Alex, but now it looks like a tacky poster I think a re-shoot is in order

Thanks for being honest, Wayne. I still have quite a number of photos from this shoot to process. There are plans to do another shoot (possibly in a studio), with this girl in the works.

Alex