First Self Portrait - Be Mean plz

[dvbear]

I only started taking pictures this week...this is the first time I actually went through the whole, setting up a "studio" and taking shots.

The photoshop processes I used:
- RAW editing
- Spot Healing/Clone
- USM
- D&B
- Curves

I feel very egotistical right now, maybe because this is my first shoot and the pictures turned out better than I thought they would. So I'm looking for effective criticism to help me ground my self, and most importantly improve.


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/...f10bfd92_b.jpg

[slash-5]

OK, I'll be mean. : ) ONLY, because FORD was really mean to me the first time i submitted something, and it was the best education I ever got.

The hair is uneven at the top. Your nose is distorted by the lens, you can correct in PS under lens correction. Your left arm is also bigger than the right because the sensor is not square to you. Looks like you used lens flair, not sure, but if you did it needs to be blurred better, you have halo rings around your head. Open the right eye just a bit in liquefy.

Other than that, lighting is good, skin is smooth and the overall tone is nice and light.

You asked for it.

[dvbear]

Thanks for the critisicm. Definitley very grounding (maybe I should of put be nice! in the title instead haha).

Anyways, I'm having a hard time seeing the distortion. I downloaded the trial for PTLens and heard it was a great tool, but maybe because I'm overdoing it? whatever distortion fix I use it looks wierd to me. Could you provide some insight to this?

Thanks for the great critisim and I'm just noticing you mentioned Ford. Do you mean the fucking modelling agency? god damn!

[slash-5]

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/471/fixh.jpg

[dvbear]

That doesn't look like my nose in real life! I feel insulted you find my actual nose big!

But anyways, have you used PTLens, it seems to me it does the same thing but for some erason it does it renders a lot faster then the PS Lens Correction filter...am I losing quality by using PTLens or something?

[slash-5]

Put your big girl panties on, and relax. : )

What lens are you using?

[dvbear]

Will do, will do

50mm

[slash-5]

OK, so with short lenses like a 50mm, there will ALWAYS be barrel distortion in the image. You really need to train your eye to see it, but I corrected it across the entire image (not just your nose). Basically, the center of the image is bulged outwards. A longer lens fixes this, which is why it is almost always used for fashion.

[LydiaRachael]

Originally Posted by slash-5

OK, so with short lenses like a 50mm, there will ALWAYS be barrel distortion in the image. You really need to train your eye to see it, but I corrected it across the entire image (not just your nose). Basically, the center of the image is bulged outwards. A longer lens fixes this, which is why it is almost always used for fashion.

I'm confused :S I thought a 50mm lens was considered a portrait lens because it's closest to what the human eye sees?? And anything over 100mm starts to flatten facial features??

Help! lol

[dvbear]

Yeah I'm a little confused too but I tried it out anyway. Here's my before and after, WITH barrel lens distortion fix.

ORIGINAL:
http://i48.tinypic.com/2efuyrb.jpg

EDITED:
http://i46.tinypic.com/mcdt6r.jpg

P.S What would you recommend for fashion/portrait photography? Should I scrap my 50mm and go for an 85?

[holgaman]

Originally Posted by LydiaRachael

I'm confused :S I thought a 50mm lens was considered a portrait lens because it's closest to what the human eye sees?? And anything over 100mm starts to flatten facial features??

Help! lol

It all depends on the focusing distance from your subject. For a head and shoulders shot, a lens in the 100mm range will make the face look normal. If you come in closer and make the face the same size using a 50mm the face will look distorted, the nose will be bigger, and all the other features out of proportion. 50mm is great for waist up or more.

[slash-5]

I use 50mm for full length, my 70-200 for headshots.

Here is a little more info on barrel distortion.

http://www.dxo.com/us/photo/dxo_opti...ons/distortion

[dvbear]

Wow...that plugin looks crazy useful. Going to look into getting it. Ty for the link slash.

[slash-5]

I didn't even realize the link was for a plug-in... : ) I was just looking for a good site to explain the issue.

[LydiaRachael]

Originally Posted by holgaman

It all depends on the focusing distance from your subject. For a head and shoulders shot, a lens in the 100mm range will make the face look normal. If you come in closer and make the face the same size using a 50mm the face will look distorted, the nose will be bigger, and all the other features out of proportion. 50mm is great for waist up or more.

Thanks Holgaman that's very clear. Had a look at your website, adore the image of the scottie dog on the back of a motor bike

Slash when do you use 200mm for close-up shots of features like eyes and stuff? or for people who have larger noses etc.