Thursday, February 24, 2022

Your Happy Smile of the Morning

 


17 comments:

  1. Truely lovely. What smile, what eyes.

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  2. She’s adorable, but if she’s a day over 15, I’d be very surprised.

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  3. Look at her hands, back side wrinkles. They never lie. Her upper thorax and face are heavily photoshopped but not the arm. Note the color and surface variation. A good photoshopper can almost make Hillary human. This was child's play.

    Spin

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  4. Clearly photoshopped. The dividing line at the top across her shoulders is a botched job at best. Definitely not professionally done.

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  5. Weird how some of your guys just have to pee on every parade that you see. Hard-bitten; that's what you are.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I agree. All these guys must be married to super models. But I bet they are all alone.

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    2. And you would lose.
      It's not our fault you like underage pancake, blame your parents.

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    3. Well, I like underage pancake, but it's okay to look as long as you don't touch, right?

      My oldest granddaughter is twelve. She's a beautiful girl and I love doing photos of her similar to the photo prior to this one. (My other granddaughter is only ten and more tomboyish so I do her photos in a different style.)

      Now, having said that, I will tell you that I Photoshop nearly every one of them. You see, modern professional-level digital cameras are so good that the images of a woman or girl's face - especially the eyes - will be tack sharp, and that makes the eyes stand out very nicely. However, it will also show every wrinkle, pore, hair, or other imperfection on their face - also in stark detail. Women hate that. You can moderate it with lighting and pose, but not completely. So, you do a little spot removal to get rid of that unfortunate zit or mole. Do a little skin softening on the cheeks, forehead, and upper chest. And you might adjust the skin tone a little bit for a more flattering look.

      That's what this photographer did.

      In my opinion, he got it a little bit too "pancakey", in that she looks like her makeup is on too thick. I thought he did a good job on her upper chest but he got the color off between there and her upper arms. There is a distinct color difference between the inside and outside of the bra/dress straps. Oh well.

      I still think the girl is very cute and I would love to have her model for me. (...in the dress she has on, you perverts!) Besides, she's probably in her mid to late teens as opposed to the last one who looked to be between 12 and 14.

      By the way, underage or not, I love these "happy smile" and "freckles are good" photos. Keep them coming.

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    4. That's all very well and clever but you still end up with an image that isn't a true image. I bet this girl would look lovelier if the image hadn't been manipulated at all. Just show her how she is.

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    5. A lot of people think that, but for portraiture, especially of women, it's never been true. Even back in the heyday of film, photographers would touch up a portrait by burning and dodging prints and negatives. Even portraits painted by an artist were never what you refer to as a "true image".

      (However, in the case of this particular girl's portrait, I might actually agree with you. But I would have to see the original to be sure.)

      Most women do not want to be seen "how she is". They like to be shown in their best light. And trust me on this, if you shoot a portrait of a teenage girl, say, for her senior pictures for example, and she has a big zit on her chin or a fever blister on her lip that day, she will want you to touch up the images. If you shoot a portrait of an older woman, she will want the skin smoothed a bit to de-empathize the wrinkles on her face. For men, not so much. As a photographer, you do what the customer wants or you won't be in business very long.

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  6. I hope she can do more than just look pretty.

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  7. Roy:

    You can counter the sharpness/hardness of modern digital lenses (think Nikkor 105 F1.4, yes I have one) with using good old glass (Zeiss Sonnar 135 F2.8, have this also) for portraits. The natural look comes through, so only a little minor color correction or high lite protection is needed.

    BTW I love my Nikkors for running around shooting and I actually find the 85mm F1.8 to have the best portrait IQ if I have to shoot fast in a non studio environment.

    Spin

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  8. Hi Spin. We are definitely on the same page here. I have the original Nikkor 105mm and it is a fine lens though it is getting a bit long in the tooth. But, running away, my favorite portrait lens is the 85mm f1.4.

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