Scientist!

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This is a portrait of my friend, Dr Kate. I wanted to create an environmental portrait of her in her lab. I was quite happy with how these turned out but, as always, things I would do differently in the future and to take forwards to the next shoot. I wanted her to look relaxed and natural and not too contrived and posed and I think I achieved that here.


Dr Kate by GazMortonPhoto, on Flickr
 
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Yes, she looks relaxed and very much at ease. Given the amount of white in the photo, which I always find difficult to get right, I think it's turned out rather well. I like the composition too.

A good example of a contextual portrait, I'd say.

P.S. I think the best of the three on Flickr is the one where she's sat next to a microscope.
 
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DrGed said:
Yes, she looks relaxed and very much at ease. Given the amount of white in the photo, which I always find difficult to get right, I think it's turned out rather well. I like the composition too. A good example of a contextual portrait, I'd say. P.S. I think the best of the three on Flickr is the one where she's sat next to a microscope.
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Thanks Ged, and thanks for taking a look on Flickr. I considered posting that one, infact went back and forth a few times, but settled with this one. Thanks for your comments.
 
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I like it, the colours are so flickr, the smile is great, looks like she's just reacted to a joke being told.
 
Nice environmental portrait with good lighting and composition.

It looks a tad over exposed to me though perhaps a 1/3rd or 1/2 a stop and I would be tempted to crop in a bit tighter. I think you could crop the top RHS a bit to get rid of the top shelf and put a bit more emphasis on the subject.
 
Nice capture of Dr Kate - only thing I'd say is to concur with Vivid Art that the white seems a bit to over exposed (y)
 
Ivan S said:
I like it, the colours are so flickr, the smile is great, looks like she's just reacted to a joke being told.
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Thank you. I am really trying to work on how I converse with people when I am shooting them. Trying to help them feel relaxed and hopefully get the right feel to the photo.

Vivid Art said:
Nice environmental portrait with good lighting and composition.

It looks a tad over exposed to me though perhaps a 1/3rd or 1/2 a stop and I would be tempted to crop in a bit tighter. I think you could crop the top RHS a bit to get rid of the top shelf and put a bit more emphasis on the subject.
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THank you for your thoughts. I am often told some of my photos look overexposed by some. I guess it's just how I like them, a little brighter. :)


XFile2708 said:
Nice capture of Dr Kate - only thing I'd say is to concur with Vivid Art that the white seems a bit to over exposed (y)
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Thank you. :)

richard.grainger said:
Nice one Gareth.

This is a perfect example of textbook photography :)
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Thanks Richard. :)
 
Fionab said:
like it,, little bit over exposed given the amount of white its a bit glarey but nice relaxed portrait, mind you i wish my Lab coat was as white as hers! lol
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Thanks for commenting Fiona.
 
James J said:
Good photo but if I had my lab coat half open like hers, I'd get disciplined in no time :p
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and safety spectacles!!!!

These places are very familiar to me, and it looks rather too busy. I would either pose her properly and blur the background far more, or let her do something "scientific" (well you know, something general public thinks scientist do like handling coloured liquids.)
 
James J said:
Good photo but if I had my lab coat half open like hers, I'd get disciplined in no time :p
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Thanks for commenting.

daugirdas said:
and safety spectacles!!!!

These places are very familiar to me, and it looks rather too busy. I would either pose her properly and blur the background far more, or let her do something "scientific" (well you know, something general public thinks scientist do like handling coloured liquids.)
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Thanks for your suggestions.

From some of the comments (which I very much appreciate and need) I feel like I am going backwards with my photography a little. Need to step back and have a look I think. This seems to be a bit of a failure from the general concensus.
 
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I don't mind the background as it gives context in my opinion and the dof just blurs out the text on the pots to make them not that noticeable. If you tried the same thing in my lab it wouldn't be that white and it would have a faaaaar busier background lol.
 
I think the red and blue bottle tops immediately draw your eye away from the subject, and I also think its a tad over-exposed. However its a lovely natural pose and I certainly would be happy with this and would not class it as a failure. Does she like it?
 
Thanks for both your comments. I don't fine the background a distraction, but then the whole idea was to include the environment. I definitely take on board the comments though, particularly about it being overexposed. I do like them bright but maybe pushed it a tad too far here?

Carol, she said she likes them yes, but that doesn't really mean anything to me. She could be just being polite, which I fear she probably was. It's not like she approached me or I asked for payment. If I had taken these for payment for someone, I think they would refuse to pay and I would probably feel bad about taking their money.
 
theurbanclown said:
This is an amateur forum and is not the be all and end all when it comes to opinions.
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No it's not. Not only is it wrong but it also implies that amateurs views aren't valid.

Gareth, it's a nice environmental portrait. There's only one thing particularly bugging me and that's her left arm. The use of the wide lens has made it look very long, it also looks very straight and not particularly comfortable/natural.

Exposure is good for me and whilst there may be tiny areas of overexposure (I haven't checked but going on previous comments), I don't find the exposure objectionable or so bad as to detract.

The increase in contrast in pp has increased saturation and I find the reds a tad stong, especially her skin tones.

All in all a good portrait with a couple of niggles that are unlikely to stop your client from being pleased.
 
theurbanclown said:
Great enviromental portrait Gareth!

Don't take things to heart so much. .
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Thanks Ben. :)

ryanyboy said:
Gareth, it's a nice environmental portrait. There's only one thing particularly bugging me and that's her left arm. The use of the wide lens has made it look very long, it also looks very straight and not particularly comfortable/natural.

Exposure is good for me and whilst there may be tiny areas of overexposure (I haven't checked but going on previous comments), I don't find the exposure objectionable or so bad as to detract.

The increase in contrast in pp has increased saturation and I find the reds a tad stong, especially her skin tones.

All in all a good portrait with a couple of niggles that are unlikely to stop your client from being pleased.
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Thanks for the details Ryan. Appreciated. NONE of the whites are clipped according to Lightroom. As said previously, I do tend to shoot 'to the right' a little and it often attracts similar comments. I can live with that (I think).

(I've omitted bits of both quotes which I don't wish to comment on, hope you don't mind)
 
I think it's alright. Expression is nice and she looks relaxed and engaged on the whole. With the exception of her arms as mentioned; left looks a little straight and locked and her right is kind of just hanging there.

Exposure I don't mind, maybe a tiny bit too hot in places. But then I generally 'overexpose' portraits myself. I too find the reds a bit overcooked as Ryan mentioned.

I think you could give the framing a bit of work. She feels a bit lost in the corner, to my eye. A slightly lower viewpoint looking up more would have reduced the headroom, and tidied up the bottom of the frame where you have those blue doors peaking in and the dead space under the bench.

Besides the framing, I think the background and depth of field are fine. Plenty of context without being distracting. Possibly with the exception of the black power leads, particularly the one on the left close to her head. Again, a slightly lower viewpoint looking back up would have moved the plugs down and away from the line of her face; which would have made them less distracting.

And yes, her lab coat looks a bit sloppy.

Edit to add: I also prefer the shot of her by the microscope. Though again I would've shot slightly lower and looking back up for framing the background, and got rid of a couple of the black power leads - particularly the one edge of frame on the right.
 
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Thanks for your comments and to everyone who took the time. It made me realise that they were no good so have been deleted. Please don't think I've done this in a toys out of the pram way, I just don't see the point in keeping them and agonising over them, which I will do. I appreciate each and every comment on them as I them to improve. Think I'll have a think if I'm going in the right direction and re assess. (y)
 
Jayst84 said:
I think it's alright. Expression is nice and she looks relaxed and engaged on the whole. With the exception of her arms as mentioned; left looks a little straight and locked and her right is kind of just hanging there.

Exposure I don't mind, maybe a tiny bit too hot in places. But then I generally 'overexpose' portraits myself. I too find the reds a bit overcooked as Ryan mentioned.

I think you could give the framing a bit of work. She feels a bit lost in the corner, to my eye. A slightly lower viewpoint looking up more would have reduced the headroom, and tidied up the bottom of the frame where you have those blue doors peaking in and the dead space under the bench.

Besides the framing, I think the background and depth of field are fine. Plenty of context without being distracting. Possibly with the exception of the black power leads, particularly the one on the left close to her head. Again, a slightly lower viewpoint looking back up would have moved the plugs down and away from the line of her face; which would have made them less distracting.

And yes, her lab coat looks a bit sloppy.

Edit to add: I also prefer the shot of her by the microscope. Though again I would've shot slightly lower and looking back up for framing the background, and got rid of a couple of the black power leads - particularly the one edge of frame on the right.
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Most laboratory staff don't use a microscope so you introduce a cliche for no good reason doing that. The image was more than fine for what was intended and brought across a more "clinical chemistry" profession look rather than a microbiology/cellular pathology one, which is more than likely closer to the actual ladies profession in the first place judging from the background.
 
James J said:
Most laboratory staff don't use a microscope so you introduce a cliche for no good reason doing that. The image was more than fine for what was intended and brought across a more "clinical chemistry" profession look rather than a microbiology/cellular pathology one, which is more than likely closer to the actual ladies profession in the first place judging from the background.
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Well, it's a setting that includes a microscope, so I don't think we can assume either way. How can you say the background in one of the images represents her job better than the other, when you don't know her?

"More than fine for what was intended", again, all we know is the aim was, "an environmental portrait of her in her lab" so we can assume both were taken in her lab and thus equally relevant.

Finally, I was saying I preferred the image photographically as a portrait. Whether there is a microscope in there or not doesn't matter a great deal - but again as it was in her lab, I can only assume it is relevant. :)
 
Trev Rich said:
Gutted that it's been taken down... really wanted to see this.
Furthermore, how are others going to gain from the criticism?
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This. Gareth, I understand your reasoning, but to help benefit others that want to learn from this free forum as well as yourself, it would be much better if you left the image in place, so those learning can read and compare the comments with the photo to understand what people have said in their critique and why. if everyone removed their photos after a few comments, it wouldn't be much by way of a forum. :(
 
redddraggon said:
So you work in a lab, so you're an expert on all labs?
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Yes to the first part and not biting on the second. Taking a picture of someone in a white coat next to a microscope is a clichéd shot. Some labs don't even use them. For a more generic shot you'd be better putting pipettes in or blanking out bottles/containers (which the op did) as all labs use them. Why intentionally make a shot cliched when the shot is more natural and better without it?
 
Just posting a quick reply as I'm away on holiday and waiting for the shower to be free (it's not quite 8am). Yv, your right, I hate when people take images down after comments and on reflection I should not have done. At least you understood why I did. I can't replace it now as I'm away and I've pretty much deleted all the originals now.

For others info, there was a shot of her next to a microscope that she did use (and let me use).
 
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