Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/09/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Philippe Orlent offered: Subject: Re: [Leica] Portrait > Ted, there sure must be more ways of lighting than Rembrandt's, mustn't > there? > Although Rembrandt's is one of the more beautiful ones, and your credo > helped me enormously in making better photos.<<< Philippe, Of course and I've recognized and used good, bad and ugly light styles many times because that was all there was. It isn't always "Rembrandt only works." However, when one is confronted with the potential of a light type, in this case to make a beautifully lit portrait, surely it would be prudent to wait a moment because one knew ... "if I wait a second it's going to be a beauty!" Not just a somewhat ordinary photograph. But in the case of Victor's portrait where he had an excellent subject and the opportunity for a beautiful portrait instead of the basic flat lighting, it would've only taken him a waiting of possibly a few seconds for her to turn her head and it would've become an "excellent portrait." The comments about her hair reflected in the mirror threw me off completely. I had to find the photo again because I thought surely I've been looking at the wrong photograph. I stand by my hair comment it does nothing because unless I'm still looking at the wrong picture that background blur is meaningless when we have this very interesting face.... that for a few seconds "could've been a smashing great beautifully lit face!" We see time and time again in pictures presented where members could've improved their photographs with a few judicial moments of understanding light and waited a moment or slightly changed their position producing a "WOW FANTASTIC" photograph than an "OH Hum" nice kind of picture. I know I'm being some what hard assed about this, but critiques and comments are asked, many times I say nothing. But the potential in Victor's photo was incredible, particularly when using the longer lens and a great looking subject, I felt this was one well worth commenting about. Sometimes it takes a ... comrades in arms discussion such as this... for people to learn nit-picking makes the difference between good, bad or ordinary results in their photography. And second best never counts! ted