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took this portrait with natural sunlight behind the subject, with bounce to fill her face...wondering how you guys find the colour of her face from the soft gold bounce ? critiques appreciated

well done, excellent capture and use of fill.

Hi Dee,

Love her composure a real character makes the shot. Well done.

Mark

Dee. i think it is a very nice shot, the lighting is spot on for me and doesnt take too much away from her face, loverly shot in my books well done.

Dee I think that it is better than just a good shot, I love it and the lighting. As a matter of interest what did you bounce the flash off? Were you using a refelector?

yup
done with a soft gold reflector, a gift that i received for doing a photo shoot for a friend

i was a bit concerned witht he colour off her face..but seems that u guys think its okay huh?

Dee,

It is a delightful and charming shot in many ways but you are quite correct in raising issues about the colour of the face - and to that I would add that I feel there are issues with the contrast on the face.

What colour was the reflective object? The rendering has gone quite sallow and I am sure the young lady has a far more healthy glow than that.

I have used gold reflectors of various kinds and I have seen the work of many others with gold reflectors and they all have the one thing in common - they are diabolical in terms of quality work. (Not that I am sure that you used gold but it has been mentioned.) What I did invariably do with any battery flashes that I used was to dismantle the head and place a Wratten 81a gel behind the fresnel just to knock the excessive cool edge off the bare illumination.

Terry O'Neil devised a technique with exterior portraiture which Annie L has also colonised which is to use very high powered flashes as a key-light rather than a fill. This result approaches that situation - and quite pleasingly, I have to say - but the colour is a distraction as is the fact that the pupils of the eyesappear quite clouded through possibly lack of contrast.

Cheers,

Dee,

You posted your last response as I was writing mine and so, yes, what you see here is the classic undertones of a greenish cast resulting from the gold reflector.

I find that WHITE is the best reflective surface for this type of thing .... or if the range is greater perhaps silver can be used for added punch.

Cheers,

I thought that the golden glow to her skin was quite appealing

To each his own, Oneputt,

I might be able to handle a golden glow, as you put it, but green is a tad unhealthy looking for me.

Very cool shot, Dee.

I agree that it would be better, actually perfect, without the green cast.

Sheetshooter - that's the difference between a pro and an amateur, I rarely ask why I like something

thanks guys for the responses...
at least i dont think im going crazy

im also wondering if it has anything to do with shooting in RAW...
seems all my portraits shot in RAW come out greenish and i find its a biatch getting it right in the white balance adjustment...
this is even without bounce....

anyone else notice this with RAW and white balance?

When I first acquired my D70 a lot of my images had a green cast which is apprently quite common. Sadly I have forgotten how I overcame the problem

damnit!!

anyone else have any suggestions?

flipfrog wrote:damnit!!

anyone else have any suggestions?

I used to set the Hue to -2 for JPGs, IIRC... Whatever direction it goes to make it cooler, more blue.

But, if you're shooting NEF, it should be a very easy fix, just fuss with the WB to get the color you want, save it as a preset and then you're set for any like lighting conditions.

For example set the WB to daylight, direct sunlight and adjust it a little cooler to see if that fixes it.

Assuming you have Capture, you can also fuss with the Color Balance sliders too, on Tool Palette 1. Using a - setting on the Green slider gives you more red, I think....

excellent work as usual
the green tone on the face is very subtle i don't really notice
Pose and expression is great, the highlighted corona of the hair and the differential focus of the weeds all looks right
I would suggest a revisit on the fashion, clothes have a dramatic overall effect. You can use certain colours to exentuate the face.

Dee, here's a quickie I did in PSP.

I used the color balance control that is similar to Capture's to turn down the green a couple notches. Then I added a little contrast and sharpening, boosted colors just a tad.

I think it looks fine now, but am tired, so may not be seeing colors properly....