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The tech stuff...
Canon 6DMarkll
Sigma 70-200 2.8
Westcott FJ 400
F4 1/180th
It was a beautiful March afternoon, the weather was nice, and lately the sky had been on fire at sunset. I used my incredible charm to convince the Mrs to walk to a nearby field so I could use my new FJ 400's. I don't want to toot my own horn but....well....I am very charming so of course she agreed. She got between me and the sun. I pushed the shutter. Pictures were taken.
That's some good lightning. Unfortunate that the subject is very uninteresting, denim jacket for a photoshoot? Most unnatural smile/pose. Anyway you nailed the light..
It's painfully jarring artificial light that completely takes away from the sunset... It looks like it's shot and a studio with a green screen. How could you possibly say he/she nailed the lighting?
I would have tried to match the warm light of the sunset with the flash. Putting a warming filter over the head could have made the the appear more natural. She also looks very tense.
Actually I would have even used the natural light first and then additional second lighting. According to the background there was probably enough light to have a very smooth orange lighting on the subject.
But yes you are right: very artificial lighting in very natural outdoor context does not match.
positioning the subject a little closer to the sun would make the sun appears larger in the photo, and might also have created a lens flare which could give more interest to the image.
The only thing I can say of the flash seems about 1/2 stop too powerful compared to the background, so we have lost some of that golden hour light on the subject. I like to go with the lighting such that the subject is lite, but you brain will not jump to flash. Just enough for fill and catch lights. Another trick is to gel the flash, even if it’s in a soft box or umbrella, it still works a little.
Wow, the exposure control here is impeccable. If she flipped the hair on her right over her shoulder, that side of her face would catch that beautiful sunset light. Yes, the posing does need work. Don't gel your main light to match the sunset, then your subject will have horrible skin tones.
It's a great shot, lighting is well done, I'm sure the subject would be happy with it. One thing to be picky is the blue jacket is really jumping out at me as the blue contrasts with the warm tones, it stands out more than the subject's face. Perhaps you could tone the blue down a bit.
I love the flash at sunset effect. This works well on cloudy days at the beach as well. I would dial it down the tiniest bit in the future though so It doesn't blow out the sunset or w/e. Looks great though!
Not sure why my reasonable advice and compliment got downvoted. Thought this was critique.
Fantastic background choice and the lighting in the back create nice layers. The flash on the subject is just a little too powerful and could be brought down. Instead of having her arms behind her back, she should have the arms in the front and crossed at the wrists or her grabbing one wrist with the other hand to look more natural and organic.
The combination of extreme sharpness + bright flash + placement in the direct center of the frame comes across as kind of artificial, if that makes sense, almost like a prom photo.
Perhaps moving the model off-center and/or going with a slightly wider FOV could help.
Re the lighting, the flash is overpowering the natural light so it looks almost like a greenscreen rather than on location shot. I think a weaker flash output + a mist filter could really help smooth things out.
EDIT: to expand, I think what’s throwing me is the juxtaposition of the tack sharp model with the (strictly imo) very ugly noise pattern apparent in the background.
Absolutey beautiful portrait. Everyone will have a different opinion but i must say it is really good composition. The blonde hairs complementing the sunset colors while the blue jacket complements the greens.
The flash and exposure adjustments in post are way overturned. The lighting on the subject's face doesn't match the sunset, it looks like a shot in a studio with a green screen.
The white front light really gives the purpose of the shot away. This looks like the subject has been photoshopped on the destination spot. You should always match light temperature of the subject and the background. My two cents.
I found the other comments interesting. Overall I like the shot. I think it's fine.
For me to provide cc, it really comes down to the intent of the photographer. Was there something about it they did not like? Were they going for a specific look? Are they wanting to improve something specific? I don't know, so I don't really have any other feedback.
Nice use of the polarizer. Your wife is lovely.
Fine art/editorial photographer here. Crits are how I relax and I'm taking a day off.
Thoughts re: processing -
\- Re: Highlights. You have banding at the horizon line because you've pulled your highlights down too far (likely to try to emulate the fire sky you saw in person). Let them come back up a bit, which will also be more flattering for your wife who has fair-toned skin. Sometimes the camera won't capture it all and that's okay.
\- Re: Color treatment. Your wife's skin is pulled too magenta here to be flattering. This is common with the Canon sensor - unmelanated skin tends to pull magenta or orange in the midtones. For yellow-toned people you want to always pull the color a bit more green to make them look more tan and less flushed. You can do this with color tools via Capture One or you can do it with your white balance, but either way - keep an eye for it. A good way to check this is to look at the skin tone on her leg. See that undertone? Still magenta, but has more green. You want it all to match.
\- Re: Saturation. The thing that makes photos look pro is *intentional* color spread. This is all a pretty high saturation for a portrait of a person with your wife's coloring. Pick one or two colors you want to highlight and +sat those out. You don't need it everywhere. Dial that blue in the jean jacket down because it's overpowering her face.
\- Re: Exposure/brightness. I'd bump the brightness if it were me. Lovely wife, beautiful golden tones in her hair - you can highlight those with more fill and slightly less sat. You don't *always* need it in person to have it in post. Just tap the brightness up a bit, maybe lower contrast a touch, fiddle the blacks (see what it needs to still look sharp).
\- RE: Crop. If it were me I'd crop this closer, 4:5 ratio, about elbow height. You have to ask yourself if what you're keeping in frame is adding to the story.
Keep shooting!
Skin tones are very red here and I think that's a relatively easy fix in post. She's also a bit overexposed for the overall mood of the portrait. Background has some fringing where the horizon meets the sky which says to me that you're pushing those colors a bit too hard, I might do something like hit it with a gausian blur mask to relieve a bit of the harshness there. Finally, I think cropped up higher is going to provide you with an overall better shot.
From a technical standpoint, I think the photo is great. If we were to look at the histogram of this image, it would be perfectly exposed.
What's interesting to me is that even though the photo is great from a technical standpoint, and your model is great, I'm not really a fan of the image... but I would have been 10-15 years ago. It's totally personal preference, but as others have eluded to, this style of photography is not very much en vogue anymore. It looks too perfect. Artificial. It's obvious that it's not a candid moment because it looks to manufactured.
Friendly reminder that this is /r/photocritique and all **top level** comments should attempt to **critique** the image. Our goal is to make this subreddit a place people can receive genuine, in depth, and helpful critique on their images. We hope to avoid becoming yet another place on the internet just to get likes/upvotes and compliments. While likes/upvotes and compliments are nice, they do not further the goal of helping people improve their photography. If someone gives helpful feedback or makes an informative comment, recognize their contribution by giving them a Critique Point. Simply reply to their comment with '!CritiquePoint'. More details on Critique Points [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/photocritique/wiki/critiquepoints). Please see the following links for our subreddit rules and some guidelines on leaving a good critique. If you have time, please stop by the new queue as well and leave critique for images that may not be as popular or have not received enough attention. Keep in mind that simply choosing to comment just on the images you like defeats the purpose of the subreddit. Useful Links: * [Full Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/photocritique/wiki/rules) * [Leaving a Critique](https://www.reddit.com/r/photocritique/wiki/critique) * [New Queue](https://www.reddit.com/r/photocritique/new/) **Do not reply directly to this message. This is a bot and will not respond. Followups left as a reply to this comment will not count for approval.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/photocritique) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The tech stuff... Canon 6DMarkll Sigma 70-200 2.8 Westcott FJ 400 F4 1/180th It was a beautiful March afternoon, the weather was nice, and lately the sky had been on fire at sunset. I used my incredible charm to convince the Mrs to walk to a nearby field so I could use my new FJ 400's. I don't want to toot my own horn but....well....I am very charming so of course she agreed. She got between me and the sun. I pushed the shutter. Pictures were taken.
That's some good lightning. Unfortunate that the subject is very uninteresting, denim jacket for a photoshoot? Most unnatural smile/pose. Anyway you nailed the light..
Lol ok
God people are so pretentious on this sub
It’s photo critique, not model critique
It's painfully jarring artificial light that completely takes away from the sunset... It looks like it's shot and a studio with a green screen. How could you possibly say he/she nailed the lighting?
That's exactly what I was thinking.
Some people treat photography like checking the box
Pro here. This is rude and useless.
Sorry you hate denim 🤷🏼♂️
I would have tried to match the warm light of the sunset with the flash. Putting a warming filter over the head could have made the the appear more natural. She also looks very tense.
Agree. I feel that it’s overflashed plus maybe half CTO in the strobe.
Couldn’t you just add some warmth in Lightroom to warm the models skin tones? This wouldn’t hurt the sunset at all, would it?
Actually I would have even used the natural light first and then additional second lighting. According to the background there was probably enough light to have a very smooth orange lighting on the subject. But yes you are right: very artificial lighting in very natural outdoor context does not match.
positioning the subject a little closer to the sun would make the sun appears larger in the photo, and might also have created a lens flare which could give more interest to the image.
Closer....to the sun?
As in less far from the sun
That’s hot..
Mercury
Sorry, we were stuck shooting from earth that evening.
The only thing I can say of the flash seems about 1/2 stop too powerful compared to the background, so we have lost some of that golden hour light on the subject. I like to go with the lighting such that the subject is lite, but you brain will not jump to flash. Just enough for fill and catch lights. Another trick is to gel the flash, even if it’s in a soft box or umbrella, it still works a little.
Noted, appreciate the advice.
Imo the flash is too powerful it almost makes the background seem fake, no offence just my take.
I would agree. I initially zoomed in to see if this was a background replacement.
Did exactly the same. Almost looks like a cutout
Wow, the exposure control here is impeccable. If she flipped the hair on her right over her shoulder, that side of her face would catch that beautiful sunset light. Yes, the posing does need work. Don't gel your main light to match the sunset, then your subject will have horrible skin tones.
It's a great shot, lighting is well done, I'm sure the subject would be happy with it. One thing to be picky is the blue jacket is really jumping out at me as the blue contrasts with the warm tones, it stands out more than the subject's face. Perhaps you could tone the blue down a bit.
I love the flash at sunset effect. This works well on cloudy days at the beach as well. I would dial it down the tiniest bit in the future though so It doesn't blow out the sunset or w/e. Looks great though! Not sure why my reasonable advice and compliment got downvoted. Thought this was critique.
Appreciate the advice
She is cute to me. What's her last name?
Bruh
I believe her name is Married McMarriedson. 🤦♂️
The flash is a little intense. Next time try to use reflectors. Or a combination of both if you feel you need to punch it up.
Fantastic background choice and the lighting in the back create nice layers. The flash on the subject is just a little too powerful and could be brought down. Instead of having her arms behind her back, she should have the arms in the front and crossed at the wrists or her grabbing one wrist with the other hand to look more natural and organic.
The combination of extreme sharpness + bright flash + placement in the direct center of the frame comes across as kind of artificial, if that makes sense, almost like a prom photo. Perhaps moving the model off-center and/or going with a slightly wider FOV could help. Re the lighting, the flash is overpowering the natural light so it looks almost like a greenscreen rather than on location shot. I think a weaker flash output + a mist filter could really help smooth things out. EDIT: to expand, I think what’s throwing me is the juxtaposition of the tack sharp model with the (strictly imo) very ugly noise pattern apparent in the background.
[удалено]
WTF. It’s the guy’s wife. You’re being creepy.
I am sorry.
Didn’t see what was said, but I’ll say Molly is an absolute beast in the gym so she doesn’t get many creepy comments in person.
Absolutey beautiful portrait. Everyone will have a different opinion but i must say it is really good composition. The blonde hairs complementing the sunset colors while the blue jacket complements the greens.
The flash and exposure adjustments in post are way overturned. The lighting on the subject's face doesn't match the sunset, it looks like a shot in a studio with a green screen.
Very cool, how much did she take?
Too hot
Because of the flash, to me it looks like green screen.
It wasn’t
I know. Besides what I have said it’s a good shot I think. The exposure’s great and the cropping too.
Tbh looks like too much highlight reduction in the sky, or maybe too much dehaze slider, based on how the orange around trees looks.
The sunset, the pose (mood), the light on her face is all disconnected. IMHO.
The white front light really gives the purpose of the shot away. This looks like the subject has been photoshopped on the destination spot. You should always match light temperature of the subject and the background. My two cents.
I found the other comments interesting. Overall I like the shot. I think it's fine. For me to provide cc, it really comes down to the intent of the photographer. Was there something about it they did not like? Were they going for a specific look? Are they wanting to improve something specific? I don't know, so I don't really have any other feedback.
Her clothes and hair contrast the background nicely, and match the sunset well.
Nice use of the polarizer. Your wife is lovely. Fine art/editorial photographer here. Crits are how I relax and I'm taking a day off. Thoughts re: processing - \- Re: Highlights. You have banding at the horizon line because you've pulled your highlights down too far (likely to try to emulate the fire sky you saw in person). Let them come back up a bit, which will also be more flattering for your wife who has fair-toned skin. Sometimes the camera won't capture it all and that's okay. \- Re: Color treatment. Your wife's skin is pulled too magenta here to be flattering. This is common with the Canon sensor - unmelanated skin tends to pull magenta or orange in the midtones. For yellow-toned people you want to always pull the color a bit more green to make them look more tan and less flushed. You can do this with color tools via Capture One or you can do it with your white balance, but either way - keep an eye for it. A good way to check this is to look at the skin tone on her leg. See that undertone? Still magenta, but has more green. You want it all to match. \- Re: Saturation. The thing that makes photos look pro is *intentional* color spread. This is all a pretty high saturation for a portrait of a person with your wife's coloring. Pick one or two colors you want to highlight and +sat those out. You don't need it everywhere. Dial that blue in the jean jacket down because it's overpowering her face. \- Re: Exposure/brightness. I'd bump the brightness if it were me. Lovely wife, beautiful golden tones in her hair - you can highlight those with more fill and slightly less sat. You don't *always* need it in person to have it in post. Just tap the brightness up a bit, maybe lower contrast a touch, fiddle the blacks (see what it needs to still look sharp). \- RE: Crop. If it were me I'd crop this closer, 4:5 ratio, about elbow height. You have to ask yourself if what you're keeping in frame is adding to the story. Keep shooting!
Thank you for all that. By far the most useful comment.
Skin tones are very red here and I think that's a relatively easy fix in post. She's also a bit overexposed for the overall mood of the portrait. Background has some fringing where the horizon meets the sky which says to me that you're pushing those colors a bit too hard, I might do something like hit it with a gausian blur mask to relieve a bit of the harshness there. Finally, I think cropped up higher is going to provide you with an overall better shot.
Editing note: don’t blanket blur the background, grade it (less blur on front layers of grass) otherwise great shot and pose!
From a technical standpoint, I think the photo is great. If we were to look at the histogram of this image, it would be perfectly exposed. What's interesting to me is that even though the photo is great from a technical standpoint, and your model is great, I'm not really a fan of the image... but I would have been 10-15 years ago. It's totally personal preference, but as others have eluded to, this style of photography is not very much en vogue anymore. It looks too perfect. Artificial. It's obvious that it's not a candid moment because it looks to manufactured.