[Leica] Three portraits

[abridge at gmail.com (Adam Bridge)]

Don,

Thank you very much for taking the time to share your thoughts.

I think the Photoshop work you are suggesting (fixing the smile for
example) is beyond my current ability...and perhaps it's an alteration
I'm not comfortable with. I know in portrait photography it's possible
to move faces, expressions from image to image in order to make a
composite whole from a series of images.

For some reason I'm uncomfortable with this - not technically - but
just thinking about it I find myself squirming. I will have to think
about how this informs me both about my work and about myself but
somehow when I make an image I think it needs a kind of structural
consistancy that is complete within itself.

Well, clearly I have to ponder this.

I say this not to argue or to take away from ANY of the suggestions
you have made which I value highly.

Best regards,

Adam

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 14:05:33 -0400, Don Dory <dorysrus@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Adam,
> Please take the following as advice, not criticism.  Take:
> 
> http://www.splitsecondfilms.com/2004-August/Family-group.jpg
> 
> Starting with the background, you have chosen a position with a much
> brighter background that is not uniform, including a tree growing out of
> one of your subjects head.  The pose is a little unbalanced with the two
> older daughters significantly further away from the parents than the
> youngest.  I might have placed the parents front and center, posed an
> older daughter on each side in the rear with the youngest daughter
> placed in front just off her dad.
> 
> Animals are difficult and you are to be commended on having such a
> relaxed pose for the animals.  However, it might have been better to
> have all of the lighter dog in the image.
> 
> The youngest daughter is posed with her weight on the front leg.  She
> would have looked better if her weight had been on the back leg like her
> older siblings.
> 
> Regarding this image:
> 
> http://www.splitsecondfilms.com/2004-August/three-smiling.jpg
> 
> In PS if you clone out the stray hairs, darken the far left edge where
> it goes light, and try to straighten out the smile of the girl on the
> right you would have a significantly better image.  In you shots of the
> family if you have any with a better smile you might paste that in.  If
> this seems farfetched, I have a friend who shot a group of 15 sorority
> girls.  He ended up swapping 9 heads around to get a pleasing look on
> all the girls which resulted in significant sales to the girls,
> boyfriends, and family.
> 
> Again, you did a credible job with a group, please take my suggestions
> as just that, another way of rethinking posing similar groups in the
> future.
> 
> Don
> dorysrus@mindspring.com
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org
> [mailto:lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf
> Of Adam Bridge
> Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 11:58 AM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: [Leica] Three portraits
> 
> I did a set of images for a family that I'm pleased with but I'm
> hoping for sugestions/critique
> 
> <http://www.splitsecondfilms.com/2004-August/Family-group.jpg>
> 
> <http://www.splitsecondfilms.com/2004-August/three-smiling.jpg>
> 
> <http://www.splitsecondfilms.com/2004-August/three-laughter.jpg>
> 
> All were shot with M6ttl, 50mm Summicron.
> 
> The first is TMX100 the second two are Tri-X @ 400. All were processed
> in XTOL 1:3. I'm thinking that  TMX needs 1:1 to behave better.
> 
> For me, from now on, Tri-X just seems to work so well as a portrait
> film, at least for me.
> 
> I would greatly appreciate comments and suggestions.
> 
> Adam
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