I don't post very quickly on a forum but I guess I'm a bit stuck now.

This is what I have accomplished untill now:
http://www.doorhof.nl/models/albums/userpics/10001/Angela%2017%20augustus%202006%2074k.jpg
This is the internet version, but please download this 100% crop....

http://www.htforum.nl/fotofrank/albums/userpics/10001/Angela%2017%20augustus%202006%2074.jpg
Don't open it in a browser because it will shrink the crop, loosing alot of detail.

Now my question.
I have posted this on some forums and although most are oh-ah, there are some forums which think my work is unnatural and ugly and unprofessional.

I would love to know what I'm doing wrong, and what to improve.
So I thought let's ask the pro's :D

Greetings,
Frank

Well, it looks good to me, Frank. :cat:

Maureen

my only suggestion is to tone down the texture on the face, just a bit...it seems just a bit too sandy to me.

Without seeing the original, I can't really give you a true answer or critique...however thus far I think it looks extremely natural. Very nice work!

Tone down the structure ?
Well that what the remarks were about it was too much barbie like.

To quote:
"Oh my this is the ugliest PP I have ever seen, jag"

:D
I know that the smooth skin is something that has to be liked, but I showed some work from for example www.dbem.net and they love the structure there, so there is something wrong I'm doing, but I really don't know how to get the structure to show but the smoothness also.

Greetings,
Frank

My first impression is that the face is to light ( not overexposed ). I see now that its because the main part of the face is to evenly lit, making the right side of the face very flat, as opposed to the nice highlights on the other side, adding some good drama.

Copying the blue channel to a new layer set in Lumnocity would help a little to get a little more tone on the cheek.

thanks will try that tonight,

Yep another step in the right direction :D
Thanks.

I think your photo is fine with the exception of the placement of light on the face and lack of shadow. The model already has a round face and without shadows it has a tendency to further exaggerate the round head shape (unless that was your goal).

Keeping in mind this is one individuals opinion, so please don't think I'm attempting to change your photo in any way . . . only suggesting. I've added shadow with a soft blur, warmed the skin, and made various contrast adjustments.

Of course I realize this is subjective and I do like your work.

It was shot with a ringflash so flat lighting without shadows was predictable :D

Of course I don't mind remarks, I'm here to learn.

One thing however, were did you make changes with the shadows, because I can only see some darkening on the side but not very much.

Greetings,
Frank

The difference to me was subtle but distinct on my monitor (which is calibrated) when comparing one to the other in separate layers. I changed the entire tonal quality not just one side of the face. My intent was not to make any drastic changes, only to make a suggestion which I "thought" I would be able to illustrate by example. If you see no variance other than what you mentioned . . . I guess that's just fine. Feel free to ignore it. :happy:

I never ignore anything that can help :D
Thanks again, will experiment more tomorrow with the workshop photo's will post some results later tomorrow night.

Her eyes look weird. kinda sleepy; and her right one looks bigger.

The hairs in her nose and nostrils bothers me a little.

The hair look too posed, overly static maybe.

There's a shadow behind the nose that give a strange cast over her face.

There's a lot of brightness on her right side that does not even the look of the rest of the face and almost vanishes her skin with the background.

The hairline at the back of her neck could use some work too.

Depending on what you are looking for I think that in general terms is fine.

hope this helps, cheers.

The lighting used was a ringflash so the light on the face is something I choose, love your site by the way, amazing stuff.

I tried the Degrunge method from this site and that seems to be working just fine for what I want :D

Now my question.
I have posted this on some forums and although most are oh-ah, there are some forums which think my work is unnatural and ugly and unprofessional.

I would love to know what I'm doing wrong, and what to improve.
So I thought let's ask the pro's :D

Greetings,
Frank


Subjective I know but for my tastes, a bit more detail in her hair using shadow/highlights, more depth to her face by over-laying both the green and blue channels, evened the skin color on her neck, removed the hair at the lower part of the back of her neck and sharpened a bit.

To get the best out of this forum you really need to post the original.
Taking the image overally - its flat and lifeless, evenly lit subjects are great - because it allows you to place the shadows and highlights where you choose to give the most impact. But even as a standard, well lit portrait, its flat, it lacks definition and the hair and makeup suggest you were going for more than just a well lit portrait.
With a mix of blending modes, channels and high pass sharpening you can get back some of the lost definition without painting the shadows in yourself.
Skin looks like a blur/airbursh + add noise job - which is fine on smaller images but on very close shots like this, more attention needs to be given - exactly what needs to be done depends on how much detail was in the original shot.
A lot of work is needed on the facial hair too.
On the long shot, the nape of her neck has a horrid green colour cast.
Cant really say more without seeing the original.

I found the degrunge tutorial on this site and have been experimenting with that one, and like it looks now that one is more the way I want to go.
See this 100% crop so I guess it's a totally different approach but it seems to work much better.

http://www.htforum.nl/fotofrank/albums/userpics/10001/Linda%2520S%2520workshop%252019%2520augustus%25202006%2520189t2.jpg

And the original small version:
http://www.doorhof.nl/models/albums/userpics/10001/Linda%20S%20workshop%2019%20augustus%202006%20189.jpg

Thanks by the way for all the comments.Some great tips.
I will be doing another session wednesday where I can experiment a bit more.


Greetings,
Frank