Cherry - NSFW?

[Catdaddy]

I got a friend to pose for this one... I wanted to try and go for the old 'Athena' style images. Any C&C welcome, as ever!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/walkdev/Photography/Cherry800.jpg

[oldgit]

Not sure that Athena would have done this, although I'm old enough to know where you are comming from.

Comments:

Distinct lack of contrast from background to model. (maybe you wanted it that way?)

Cherry needs a better angle of dangle :)

[Catdaddy]

Thanks Paul - yes, I wanted to minimise the contrast between the background and the model...

[RobbieW]

I like it, a nice idea and the collar helps to add shape back to the model - I know what I mean!

[Fi_W]

I really like this Chris.

Love the way the you've minimised the contrast. Very artistic.

:)

[HIMUPNORTH]

Apart from angle of the dangle of the cherry I really like this. Great effort Chris!

[ftmftm]

great picture Chris i really like this. i love the theme

[matty]

piccy not showing?

[Venomator]

Pics fine for me Matty ...:shrug:

A great idea for a composition CD ... like the outturn ... :thumbs:

For me I would have liked to see the girl on top hold her head at the same angle as the one below ... that way the eyelash may not have obscured the eyeball ... result probably better eye contact between the two ... only mo Chris ... if you know what I mean ... (please explain it to me :lol:) ... ;)

AND probably the dangle would have been sorted too ...:D

Overall effect is pretty good though ...:clap:



:p

[Catdaddy]

Cheers for the comments and crit, guys...

The girl 'on top' was shot at exactly that angle - I guess I could always rotate the cherry around a little...

EDIT: Matty, dunno why you can't see the image...

[BBW]

THe girl at the bottom should just have her mouth open rather than sticking out her tongue, imho. Great shot though.

[trebs]

hmm, I'm not getting any feelings between the 2 here. It seems to lack any emotion at all. Rather like they've been holding that pose for a min or 2.

Top girl could have done with more... /me pulls a face.. (Teeth, grr, tempting look)
Bottom girl.. what's with that little limp bit of tongue? .me pulls another face ( Tongue out,curled upwards, coaxing the cherry to fall)

The post processing isn't my cuppa tea either, the skin smoothing shows the typical problems around the hair lines.
Personally I would have got to this very bleached out and flat look other ways that resorting to this localised skin blurring technique.

Still, you must have had fun doing it, keep it rolling :)
Regards, Rob.

[Catdaddy]

Thanks for the comments, Rob. It probably looked a little 'sterile' because it's actually a composite picture - both girls are the same model in different poses...

I know where you're coming from with the hairline, and have edited it again since, also bringing a little more neck detail out.

If I may ask, how would you have done the PP work?

Cheers,

Chris

[trebs]

Daft me for not seeing she's the same girl. That would explain that distance.

My prefered method to get the very pale/bleached/even can be attacked a couple of ways. Process the RAW 2x, one for good balance and density, the 2nd pushed a bit on the exposure. Put the brighter processed image on top of the other and erase the areas you want to keep.

The other and my prefered method is just with layers, curves blending modes
and erasor.
Duplicating the layer, pulling the curves a little, then erasing the areas you want darker, hair, eyes, clothes, etc. You can lift the skin values with good control that way. It takes some getting used to and good erasor settings. I use a wacom too which I find helps a lot.
I rarely resort to bluring skin as I find to get a realistic result it takes a heck of a lot of skill.

[Ally]

Very nice shot, the only think that puts me off is how bleached out her neck is compaired to the other skin tones. I like the way it looks compisionaly. I think it would look good as a magazine spread over two pages but the landscape so it look like they are on top of each other. What sort of lighting wee you using and by the way....................... Who are they?

[Catdaddy]

Rob, I'll have a look into that lot a little more when I can dedicate a little more time to it! :thumbs:

Ally, I've redone the pic a little, so hopefully the skintones around the neck area are a little better... interesting idea with the landscape mode though...!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/walkdev/Photography/Cherry_2.jpg

The lighting was fairly simple - a flashhead with a softbox behind and the front was lit with a flashgun, triggered by the light of the flashhead, virtually straight-on so I could get it as flat as possible. And the girls? 'They' are the same model - a good friend of mine.

[Brassneck]

I love it, although my missus says i am stuck in the 80's but i love these type of pics. By the way where do you find a friend like that?

[Catdaddy]

She's just a good friend - got to know her through a friend of a friend :thumbs:

[Ally]

great shot that looks superb with the neck redone, it takes your eye to the main point and not the neck. I never noticed they were the same model until you said! :D

[Liberalis]

It was crying out to me to try this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/Liberalis/Image15.jpg

Not sure if it works.

[johnb]

Wish i had a friend like that!