Catchlights

[h.r.ford]

Ok I think this is the best capture I've gotten in my make shift studio but the catchlights are HUGE! Tried to clone them out but it made the eyes really flat. What am I doing wrong?

http://static.flickr.com/100/316625301_9d926b6e60_o.jpg

[Venomator]

That's a lovely shot too Renee ... :thumbs:

I would guess you have probably got the light source too much to the front maybe ... as well as possibly a tad too strong ... as it's causing quite harsh shadows on the other side ... imo ... :thinking:






:p

[h.r.ford]

I wanted the shadows to be there and for you to kind of lose his head into them. Right or wrong that is what I was after. But the catchlights are sooo distracting.

[Venomator]

Of course there is no right or wrong ... it is all so subjective ... :thumbs:

I can see why you would think they are distracting ... it really needs an experienced portrait artist to put their contribution in ... :shrug:

For me lighting is still very strong on the viewers right of frame ... perhaps lighting into a reflector rather than direct onto the face ... :thinking:








:p

[CT]

It looks a bit stark doesn't it?

What are the catchlights a reflection of - a softbox? - reflector? Looking at the direction of the light which seems to be primarily upwards, it looks as through the light/reflector was set very low which is resulting in that near Bella Lugosi Style shot. ;) That sort of shot looks unnatural because it's meant to with the light coming from below. That's not to say you can't light like that but it needs to be handled carefully, and it's looking a bit overdone and overlit, particularly on the right.

I've toned it down a little and tried to make the catchlights a little more natural. :)

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/316625301_9d926b6e60_o_2_.jpg

[Marianne]

aww...he's just so cute! Barry showed me your version renee and my comment was 'what lovely light she has captured n his eyes'....love CT's version though, I have to say, so maybe a bit between the two would be perfect!

[h.r.ford]

I don't know who Bella Logosi is so I will have to look that up.... I was going for angelic almost ethereal lighting but looking at it this morning I guess I pushed it too far. As for lighting.... A bit embarrassed to admit but it is one of those lights to fight off depression during the winter months. But I can put it in the air almost like a soft box and well it was all I could afford. I'll have another play when my son is in the mood to be a guinea pig.

[Dena]

The catchlights are good! They just need to be a bit higher in his eyes, try for a 1 o'clock position.

[h.r.ford]

Can I ask what you did to warm up his skin tones like that. Keegan has naturally white skin (thanks Dad) and at times looks almost translucent. He also has exczema on his cheeks which often come out more when I warm his skin up. So can you let me know how ya did such a great job?

[moomike]

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/316625301_9d926b6e60_o.jpg

Absolutely love the image, really well captured :clap:
Hope you don't mind but I had a bit of a play too.
I cloned out the catchlight by continuously changing the area or the eye that the clone tool was sampling from (to keep the pattern different & try to avoid flatness).
I made a circular selection for the catchlight, filled it with white, duplicated the layer & shrank it by about 30%. I then used gaussian blur on the original layer - not too much, just enough to make it blend in slightly.
I then merged the two catchlight layers together & turned the opacity down slightly to make it a bit more natural. Duplicated the combined catchlight layer & moved it over to the other eye (shrank it slightly for a bit more realism).
Finally used the selective colour adjustment layer to add a little more warmth (added a little magenta to the yellow channel) & sharpened slightly.

Sorry, essay over now.

[Arkady]

If you want them smaller, move the lights farther away...

(Father Ted accent: "Dougal, dese are very small but dose are far away...")

[Arkady]

I don't know who Bella Logosi is

What????

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/Arkady01/Military/BIGdracula.jpg

What an impoverished childhood you must have had...I blame the parents myself...

[h.r.ford]

Feeling quite sheepish at the moment.