Shadow Face
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Date: 2008-02-21
Owner: Chelsey Hutson
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| Copyright © 2008 Chelsey Hutson |
About "Shadow Face"
So I thought long and hard about this project. About what would work and what I wanted to show. I came up with a couple of ideas, but nothing right out fantastic.
The concept of this one is to catch the shadows on the subjects face and how they add description and character. Even though the subject provided lots of character.
Setup
I used one of the big box lights we have at work set to its lowest setting. Played around with it until It was brought to my attention the best way to get what I was looking for was to bring the light close to the subject and use a huge mesh diffuser we have. I am sure the same situation could be played with a house lamp and a low shutter setting.
I took several shots of the subject as he played with different facial poses. Until I found that the higher the f stop the darker and nicer it would look.
Digital Darkroom
The works as usual. Fix the colour balance, saturation and sharpness. I lightened a little from the original.
Photo Properties
summary details
Make NIKON
Model D200
Aperture Value f/13
Color Space MODII(sRGB)
Focal Length 145 mm
ISO 400
Shutter Speed Value 1/250 sec
Date/Time 2008-02-21
Recent comments
In Reply to Constructive criticism
I had the two shots I took pretty much picked out.... I thought of going outside and getting neat shadows but I couldn't find to much and the sun has been weak lately.
but back to the subject, then ...
In Reply to Constructive criticism
I had the two shots I took pretty much picked out.... I thought of going outside and getting neat shadows but I couldn't find to much and the sun has been weak lately.
but back to the subject, then I was reminded of photographs I have seen before of portraits with lots of shadows that really define the face and features. This was shown a little in this shot. so I kinda accomplished my goal.
I never thought of many of these points in most of the photographs I take and are trying to develop I work on achieving what I saw when I took the Photograph.
The image was a slight bit darker when I took it and I did up the brightness. But I like the effect before it was to washed out. If you look at the one at my gallery as an example... that is what my lcd at work produces :P
Other Stuff
I convinced this guy to sit down for me and he helped me work it all out. He's a particularly nice boss. Half was through shooting him I thought to hand him and apple ... the rest is history. It was really a fluke but it worked out fabulous. It gives me a big smile when ever I look at this shot.
Posted by Chelsey Hutson on 2008-02-23 01:27:34
Constructive Criticism
When I first saw it I thought, "it's a great portrait but what's it
doing in a Shadows assignment?" The shadow doesn't have quite the
up-front role I'd envisioned.
Is a pretty...
Constructive Criticism
When I first saw it I thought, "it's a great portrait but what's it
doing in a Shadows assignment?" The shadow doesn't have quite the
up-front role I'd envisioned.
Is a pretty important aspect in the appeal of this image, though. In
the end I'd say yeah, absolutely it is in the spirit of the assignment.
It demonstrates what a key role shadows can have in portraiture.
I wonder if the light side of the image is too bright? Bringing the
brightness down a bit might accentuate the sinister, off-key effect
that the shadow brings. Or not; I don't know if you tried that.
I also wonder what it would look like if the main light were more of a
point source, to make the nose and pinkie shadows sharper. That might
also add to the effect but at the same time it might bring too much
contrast or jut not work; I don't know if you tried that?
Things I Like
I love the Dr. Evil pose, and the apple gives it a nice bit of colour
without distracting much from the subject. His eye is just on the
light side of the border between light and shadow, which is perfect.
It should be, and is, the focal point that draws attention.
I'm not sure if you or he planned the apple to be in that particular
orientation, but having the bright green and the dark red oriented to
match the light and dark side really works well, too.
Portait Impressions
The impression I get is that this is a serious guy. The staring eye
and the uniform bring the serious, no-nonsenseness. The shadow
accents that and brings an off-key feel.
The slight smile and Dr. Evil pinkie pose contrast that with a bit of
lighthearted attitude, which the apple accents.
It's as if he's trying to say, "don't mess with me, I'm watching you"
and "I have a funny, quirky sense of humour" at the same time. So many
portraits have almost no personality and here you managed to
bring two distinct elements into one portrait. Well done!
Posted by Josh Audette on 2008-02-22 09:15:53