3366997252 6ea11ee97e m Post processing; finding the edge

Before and after: Too much?

Sometimes I like to play with a photograph that doesn’t appeal to me in it’s original form. I see other’s work and like the processing or like the concept of it. I tend to get fixated trying new filter effects, crops or plug ins while trying to produce an artistic version that is like a gossamer thread in my mind’s eye.

Sometimes I get to the ‘ah ha’ moment – sometimes I don’t. I do however enjoy the journey to artistic expression.

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3127347223 4d0bb3f17a m Portraiture: The changing human face.


With every portrait session I use light, shadow and pose to portray a different mood, facet and aspect of the subject. I see it during the session, I count on it to produce the shoe-box photograph – the keeper.

During nearly every post production process I am pleasantly surprised how a single person can look so differently in a photograph. Soft, rough, hard, beautiful, thin, heavy – you name it. The human face holds a true fascination for me, the eyes – the eyes, expressing the wisdom of the ages or the delight of youth.

People are wonderful creatures.

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2748002099 d50e91b09a m High key portrait process

From my Flickr photostream of this image:

Mark Chamberlin says:

“This is a really strong effect. Would you mind divulging what you did to the original image to get it to this point? “

Well Mark, I start with a nice looking model.

Seriously, this photograph was taken almost as framed here. Sometimes when I really like the expression on a wider framed picture I will crop down to the face. this photo of Mona Marie was one in a series of tight shots I took over several minutes, I coached her to look here, there, up and down. I feel this image has the ‘strong effect’ you mention because she is looking pencefully away from the camera.

Orginal photograph

Orginal photograph

The original image is show here. The first step I took was to spot heal any blemishes (of which there were very few, Mona Marie has very smooth skin), then I did a general smoothing to accommodate the high-key effect. I try to leave enough detail to the face so the larger delicate features are not destroyed.

With this photograph I did add back a bit of color to her lips, but just color, I liked the formation and shape/size as it was. After several bleaching passes to reach the desired effect, I sharpened the image.

Normally I have to resist the urge to tweak more; here I did not.

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2750642565 a68d3cf166 m Post Processing Fun

I like high-key ultra closeups. I like to work with an image, not just high-key, until “I” see an aha picture. I know a lot of folks don’t care for the treatment I afford an otherwise acceptable normal photograph.

I do, however, also use post processing to salvage an image, or at least part of it. The half face of Barbara here for instance; another photographer placed his big mitt and light meter into the frame and covered the other half of her face as I puller the trigger on the picture.

I liked the half I could see, I liked the the slight tilt of her head (she was starting to move away from the intrusive hand and meter), I liked the expression of her eyes and face.

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2700197668 49c67ae90a m The models husband


This entry is not about the model shown.

In the last three or four months I have allowed several models to bring their husband to the shoot. I set clear guidelines with the model, I spoke with the husband when they arrived at the studio about not getting in the way; please don’t distract me or the wife. If it became a problem I would ask them to step out of the studio and/or stop the session. Of course they agreed.

Most went very well. In two cases the husband, during a set change or a break, started talking about nudes, implied and full. Neither model appeared to really want to do full nudity and both agreed to do some implied. Although the session wasn’t booked that way, we would start doing mild implied shots.

Both times the husband continued to suggest/ask his wife to take more clothing off; undercover more. I never witnessed a real argument but could sense the tension between them. The model would exchange a look with me that I read as seeking a little intervention.

The first time I simply reminded the fellow of our agreement not to interfere. He said ‘Oh, okay, sorry’ and we finished the shoot.

The other guy just floored me. Pretty much the same scenario as above. Except during my second reminder that I would stop the session if he continued to disrupt me, he politely asked me to step out of the room to talk to him. I gave his wife a puzzled look and followed him out the door. In the hall he basically asked me to help him get his wife naked so I could get the photographs for him. When I expressed my puzzlement about his request he said, and I quote; “But she won’t let me take these kind of pictures of her at home.

I really don’t remember my exact reply except for something about I’d see what I could do. The session came to ‘routine’ conclusion about 10 minutes later.

Lesson learned: No more husbands or significant others allowed.

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