Backlighting - Norwegian friend, Irene

[pj1974]

Hello there friends

Been a while since I've been online (work has been busy, I've been travelling interstate here in Australia for work, and I've had lots of visitors over recent months).

Here is a photo I took recent of my Norwegian friend, Irene. The autumn sun was starting to sink low while a group of us were in a walk in a reserve near my home. So it presented itself as a nice backlit outdoor portrait, with the sun capturing and accenting the highlights in her hair.

Any comments appreciated. Irene was very happy with the photo - I sent a copy to her

Paul

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day Paul

Several thoughts mate...

exposure is good, a good compromise between the shadow on the face & the brightness of the hair
focus is spot on - the eyes are very sharp [well done]
image perspective ... I have a bit of a problem here - the camera is very close to the subject, thus the nose becomes more prominent & takes my eye away from the eyes and the smile

The only way out of the last bit is to move away & use a longer lens, maybe with the lens in the 75-100mm range - and we both know that if you do this, the sun will power straight into the lens ... bugger

If you can try this again, see if you can get a helper to stand between the lens & the sun and use a hat or something to shade the lens while you are taking the photo

Regards, Phil

[calr]

I think this is a beautiful shot. I especially like the way the sunlight makes the hair almost glow. Although the face is in shadow, it looks to me like you may have used a reflector of some type to add light to the face. There are many kinds of reflectors that produce different color effects. The simplest is a piece of white poster board. In my kit of tricks, I have reflectors in silver, gold and white. However, I haven't used them much.

So, tell me, did you use a reflector? This in no way affects the elegibility for the challenge. I am just curious.

Cal

[pj1974]

Hi Phil

I appreciate your feedback (both the positive comments - cheers) and the constructive feedback. I was glad with the sharpness in her eyes, as she has lovely eyes and long natural eye-lashes.

You're totally right about the perspective. This portrait was taken at 24mm... hardly a 'flattering' focal length to use. Thankfully Irene was happy with the photo, even though her nose is accentuated. I remember thinking I should walk back some more, but then I felt the moment would have been lost... and you are right as you wrote the sun would have got into the lens too.

Regards

Paul

[pj1974]

Hello Cal

Thank you also for your kind words. I also love the glow in Irene's hair. She is thankfully a content young woman and happy with photos (not too fussy if 'this or that isn't perfect').

About any 'reflector' - actually it was a 'natural' one! Not planned or intended, but it did help. We were near some ruins (on an evening walk) - on Easter Sunday - as I took this group of friends there who had lunch and spent the afternoon at my home.

One of the old brick ruin walls was behind me catching the light (thus facing Irene), and that provided the natural light / reflection.

You can see the photos of that day here https://picasaweb.google.com/1974.pa...Iua_qnV56TvAw# and two photos before you'll see the wall I'm referring to bathed in evening light.

Cal, hope this answers your question and satisfies your curiousity! Thanks for asking!

Paul