High Key Ella

gbmphoto

gbmphoto

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Graham
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Had the privilege of shooting with this young lady again and we tried a few new things compared to the first shoot we did together. I've only managed to edit a handful so far, but these are all in the same style so thought I'd group them together.

The lighting was very simple - just a single overhead strobe with a beauty dish and a white reflector directly underneath Ella.

Ella was right against the wall, about two feet from the dish.

I'm pretty sure the processing won't be to everyone's taste, but this is exactly the look I was going for. I've not done anything to the eyes. except tidy up a few veins and lift the exposure of the iris to match the rest of the image.

There is an annoying shadow in #2 above her left shoulder which I can't seem to make softer...

Love to know what you guys think?


#1 by Graham Mayers, on Flickr


#2 by Graham Mayers, on Flickr


#3 by Graham Mayers, on Flickr
 
Very nice, I like them all.
 
To my newbie eyes, they are cracking shots. Looking closely at the first one, I only just noticed her bindys, it'd be nice if you could somehow make them sparkle. Still far far better than anything I've shot.
 
Love them. With number 2 being my favourite. Well done :clap:
 
Absolutely lovely, lighting is lovely, and the model is gorgeous and completely at ease.

Why have you cloned out the marks above her nose on the second image (face-on) but not on the other two?
 
Very nicely done - lovely natural looking poses and a very confident looking model (y)
 
Yes look great to me and I can't see anyhting annoying at all. That slanting line of her top works a treat too.

Gaz
 
david357 said:
Absolutely lovely, lighting is lovely, and the model is gorgeous and completely at ease.

Why have you cloned out the marks above her nose on the second image (face-on) but not on the other two?
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Thanks for commenting, David.

I edited #1 and #3 first, then thought I'd see what it looked like without the diamanté in #2... I think I prefer the look without the added 'bling' :)
 
gbmphoto said:
Thanks for commenting, David.

I edited #1 and #3 first, then thought I'd see what it looked like without the diamanté in #2... I think I prefer the look without the added 'bling' :)
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Me too Graham, and I think you've done a great job of capturing a great model. The high-key approach was perfect for her.

Keep up the good work!
 
Excellent shots, I agree the shot without the bling looks better. It's off centre too from the looks of it, and doesn't add (imo only) anything to the shots or the model for that matter. She's very pretty, it's not like she needs any false sparkle adding, she has her own!
 
studioworks said:
Not so keen on her pose in the 3rd but first 2 look fantastic to me.
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Thanks Mark, I agree that it's the weaker pose in this set.

clicktor said:
They are amazing. I can't really say much more. I'd love to be able to capture something like that.
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Thanks @clicktor but you'd be surprised how easy the actual lighting setup is. Granted, there is quite a learning curve involved in the post processing, but if you have access to the lights and modifiers and a model, you'd be able to replicate the lighting in this look really easily.
 
Care to share some info on the post processing, please Graham? Definitely a look I would like to achieve.
 
Sure @david357 - it of course starts with lighting, so it's not processing alone that achieved this look, but I'm sure you know that! I do basic exposure adjustments, lens correction, WB, etc. in Lightroom and then for the skin retouching, I apply a global blur to the skin areas and blend in the original with opacity on the layer and then use a frequency separation and dodging and burning technique in Photoshop.

My first threads with Ella discussed this technique and @juggler also linked to a good dodging and burning resource - Few final images of Ella.

This should be enough to get you started, but please do ask any questions and I'll try my best to answer them :)
 
Very stylish indeed. I imagine she's delighted with them. I don't think the shadow above the shoulder matters in the slightest.

I don't much like the bindis - they do look off centre and out of place.

If you're going for this super polished look then I'd be minded to remove the rucks in the right shoulder of her top of #2 & #3.

Your processing is better than mine but.. there's something slightly inconsistent in the skin processing if you compare the face and the neck areas. I don't think it's the texture so much as the fact that the front of the neck is more saturated. Don't s'pose you'd care to share an unprocessed image?
 
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That's interesting, thank you. She has got really good skin; in fact barely any need to do anything at all, especially since you're boosting the midtones so much.
I think the contrast boost you've given it has altered the saturation of the shadow areas of skin.
 
gbmphoto said:
Thanks Mark, I agree that it's the weaker pose in this set.



Thanks @clicktor but you'd be surprised how easy the actual lighting setup is. Granted, there is quite a learning curve involved in the post processing, but if you have access to the lights and modifiers and a model, you'd be able to replicate the lighting in this look really easily.
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Thanks.
Artificial light is not something I have ever explored with photography and something I really want to get into in time. I just have such a busy life it's so difficult to devote time to explore it all. I do have one thing on that list, and that's a model permanently available; my wife, but obviously I am biast! She does photo well though and others agree. :)
 
clicktor said:
Thanks.
Artificial light is not something I have ever explored with photography and something I really want to get into in time. I just have such a busy life it's so difficult to devote time to explore it all. I do have one thing on that list, and that's a model permanently available; my wife, but obviously I am biast! She does photo well though and others agree. :)
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To be honest, getting the model sorted is the hardest part!!
 
Thanks for the D&B link. Really do need to invest in time and practice to get the hang of it. Time is my issue, it looks like a whole load of trial and error to get good results. Ah well, I shall start with the 3 hour vid, ha.
 
To me they are stonkingly good. I like the fact that they nearly blend into the background (im sure there's a technical name for this effect/style), it gives a fairytale type of feeling to them. The way i judge an image (when i say judge, i mean for me personally) is would i be happy to frame it, hang it on a wall and look at it eveyday and these i would. I'll admit I'm not a fan of the untouched image.
 
Livin The Dream said:
Thanks for the D&B link. Really do need to invest in time and practice to get the hang of it. Time is my issue, it looks like a whole load of trial and error to get good results. Ah well, I shall start with the 3 hour vid, ha.
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Hey Kris, sorry I missed this comment. I think that's definitely the key here - invest a bit of time and practice. I had to devote pretty much 100 hours just to get the concepts nailed and I am still learning and improving every image I edit.

Nostromo said:
To me they are stonkingly good. I like the fact that they nearly blend into the background (im sure there's a technical name for this effect/style), it gives a fairytale type of feeling to them. The way i judge an image (when i say judge, i mean for me personally) is would i be happy to frame it, hang it on a wall and look at it eveyday and these i would. I'll admit I'm not a fan of the untouched image.
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Thanks Dominic for the very kind comment :)
 
gbmphoto said:
Hey Kris, sorry I missed this comment. I think that's definitely the key here - invest a bit of time and practice. I had to devote pretty much 100 hours just to get the concepts nailed and I am still learning and improving every image I edit.
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Have been doing a little this last week but I think the biggest problem as a learner, is actually "seeing" what you need to do. I reckon I shall end up putting on the Christmas list again this year..... No, must try harder!
 
A really stunning series and having a beautiful model helps but they are very nicely done I'd be more than happy to have anything close to those
 
wow - these are fab - really good use of high key - without the associated over exposure
 
Lovely set of portrait images
 
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