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Lydia
Lydia
Melethia


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Female Portrait (Basic Editing)
Collection: Challenges 2008
Camera: Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
Location: Wiesbaden
Date: May 26, 2008
Aperture: f/4.5
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/100
Date Uploaded: May 27, 2008

 This is Lydia - she's a coworker of mine and my translator at meetings conducted in German. She's also a Starbucks addict and I ran into her and her husband there on Monday. Had the camera with the 100mm (something about a June fixed lens side challenge) so I sat across from her and pestered her unmercifully. She was a good sport about it. Of course it helps that she's gorgeous! Faults are those of the photographer, not the model. Lighting was natural lighting in the shade, with no really good source for catchlights, unfortunately. Also, I'm still not very good at handholding the 100mm - I'm waiting for Canon to image-stabilize the thing.

Editing - a selective color layer to tone down the reds/magentas a bit, curves, noise reduction, sharpen, resize.

Post challenge - in retrospect, I suppose I should have backed up more and kept her chin in the shot - I suspect people don't like cut-off chins (and no catchlights). I'd be very interested to hear why this wasn't very good, by the way.

Statistics
Place: 84 out of 176
Avg (all users): 5.3488
Avg (commenters): 6.2000
Avg (participants): 5.0896
Avg (non-participants): 5.4231
Views since voting: 1100
Views during voting: 455
Votes: 301
Comments: 15
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 06/05/2008 08:00:13 PM
My .02... Her expression is very genuine, skin color looks very natural. Lack of catchlights would have hurt your score the most--hard to see her eye color and it robs her face of some life. Her smile does a nice job of making up for the missing catchlights but not quite enough. As others mentioned, a little more room around her face would may have been a better cropping choice-the hair helps frame the face and leaving a little room at the top would have been good. I find the missing chin less of a problem. Just my personal preference here>> I usually like the face in the RH third of the frame rather than on the LH side. I'd prefer just a touch of tilt in her head angle as well to move the eyes off of a horizontal plane.

I don't think it is a 'not very good' portrait, as it really seems to show off her personality, it just needs a couple of tweaks from a photographic standpoint.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/05/2008 10:41:58 AM
You captured her beautifully! A real sense of bubbly personality shines through this portrait!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/05/2008 12:43:47 AM
I don't see anything to fault the photographer for. I love how she fills the frame, just wish I could see more of her hair. I love her smile. She looks like a wonderful person to work with, very kind eyes.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/04/2008 11:16:51 AM
She's beautiful. And I love how you've filled the frame with her effervescent spirit and that beautiful mane of hair!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/04/2008 09:14:47 AM
This is a wonderful portrait! So natural and warm. She has a beautiful smile and this pose you captured is so flattering. I love that hair! If you go back to the comments I made in mine, I noted that studio portraits were gonna be the more favored ones. I know those require a lot of work to, but I like the challenge of spontaneous shooting. I think this is what you have here and you did a wonderful job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/04/2008 09:05:24 AM
I think the reason this didn't score as well as it could have is almost exclusively the crop. The chin and forehead don't bother me as much as the lack of space to the left.

But, you're right. She's beautiful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/04/2008 06:12:48 AM
I really loved this one - the joy and simplicity of a great smile
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/04/2008 02:37:10 AM
Lovely bright picture, full of life and happiness.

Love the crop.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/04/2008 12:37:48 AM
She's beautiful. I love the smile and wonderful hair.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/04/2008 12:18:02 AM
I can't fault you for lacking catchlights, given the dark eyes in my own entry. The tight crop makes the face appear squished to me. You did get nice natural light in the hair, giving it a nice texture to contrast with her skin.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
06/03/2008 10:10:50 AM
LOVE the name! *grin*
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/31/2008 12:42:14 AM
missing some catchlight in eyes
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/30/2008 10:59:36 PM
Beautiful lady, great smile, perfect teeth, gorgeous hair... this is a very engaging portrait.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/29/2008 12:35:16 AM
Great composition and photo. I think this is just a good example of fine photography skills.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/28/2008 07:54:44 AM
Fresh and spontaneous with nice lighting and a great crop. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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