<<< o >>>Libby 21 comments + add yours
chromasia.com

My task for today, other than a whole heap of stuff I needed to get finished, was to take a decent shot of Libby, my wife. In the past I've taken shots of her that we've both liked, but this one needed to be a head-shot, in colour, with her looking both professional and natural.

So, we headed down to the North Pier and took a whole range of shots. When we set off the light was quite flat - which I much prefer for natural-light portraits - but by the time we got started the sun had come out and the light was quite harsh. So this one was taken in the shade, behind one of these structures, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. More importantly though, Libby likes it too.

On an unrelated matter: my apologies for not posting much over the last few days but I've been finishing off my latest tutorial – LAB Color mode: part two. If you're interested you can read a bit more about it here:

.../tutorials/online/lcm2_info.php

captured
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
10.51am on 2/6/08
Canon 1Ds Mark II
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
140mm
f/5.6
1/320
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
no
RAW
Lightroom
minor
 
3x2 + people [portraiture] + no print
comment by csj@id7.co.uk at 08:35 PM (GMT) on 2 June, 2008

LIGHTROOM? L:IGHTROOMMMMMO .... have I got another convert?.... lovely shot of LIbby by the way.... telll me how you find it.... csj

comment by Martin at 09:42 PM (GMT) on 2 June, 2008

A real beauty!

comment by Jennifer at 10:24 PM (GMT) on 2 June, 2008

Lovely light in her eyes, well found bit of shade :-) PS: nice to see you LIbby!

comment by Marcie at 10:27 PM (GMT) on 2 June, 2008

Beautiful portrait. Simple. Clear. Great smile and sparkle in her eyes.

comment by zebrilhas at 10:31 PM (GMT) on 2 June, 2008

Maybe a little cleaning on the edges of her hair or it's my monitor?

Despite that a good portrait!

comment by Kevin H. Stecyk at 10:44 PM (GMT) on 2 June, 2008

Positively beautiful David. Gorgeous shot and an equally gorgeous model!

Very well done! : )

comment by jkm at 03:30 AM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

Nice to meet you Libby! She looks lovely, serene and 'sane'! How is that possible with six kids around the home? Really lovely shot and most importantly of all 'she likes her own portrait'. Congratulations!

comment by miklos at 04:17 AM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

Hi Harmony Sr.

comment by miklos at 04:17 AM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

I actually meant to say Rhowan.

comment by miklos at 04:18 AM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

... but i guess they both hold true.

comment by Leicca at 04:25 AM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

Great shot. (La Gioconda smile.... ;-) )

comment by djn1 at 10:23 AM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

csj: I'm not a convert in the sense that I'd use Lightroom in place of Photoshop, at least not for my personal work, but I do use it for event photography. In this instance I used it browse the 50 or so shots we'd taken and then exported the one we liked to Photoshop.

zebrilhas: I did do a bit of tidying up around the edges - that could probably have been done a little more carefully.

jkm: bear in mind that it was just the two of us at the time. Had I taken the portrait at home I'm fairly sure she would have looked a little less sane :-)

miklos: Libby looked a lot like Harmony when she was little, but both Rhowan and Harmony do share a lot of her characteristics.

comment by jelb at 02:49 PM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

Bonjour,
Great exposure and treatment..bravo!

comment by birgit at 03:54 PM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

a real good business portrait!

comment by Max at 06:27 PM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

Beautiful portrait, David. Great colors and soft feel to it. You're a lucky man! I have to say though, I don't quite agree with the cropping. I know about the rule of thirds, etc, but something just doesn't feel quite right to me here, unless the space to the right is being left open for some text, like for a magazine or something.

comment by Bill at 07:50 PM (GMT) on 3 June, 2008

First, thank you for linking the other photos as you told your story. I found it made for more an enjoyable story when I looked at those linked photos. Second I have to say this is wonderful portrait of your wife Libby. Love the soft colors; her head is slightly tilted at an angle with a hint of a smile and the background that is just color.

I would love to read the post processing steps involved in this photo in one of your tutorials.

comment by YETi at 07:59 AM (GMT) on 4 June, 2008

Now all we need is a decent portrait of you :) The one posted along with your trip to Dubai reminded me of a serial killer :/ Sorry

comment by Reuben Chircop at 02:03 PM (GMT) on 4 June, 2008

Yes it is clearly a nice shot, crystal clear, clean and sharp. The eyes, the subject of all are perfect and that slight smile in her face is wonderful. nice shot

comment by djn1 at 10:52 PM (GMT) on 4 June, 2008

Thanks all :-)

comment by reklamebilleder at 05:53 PM (GMT) on 11 June, 2008

very nice and clear

comment by $h0@z at 10:58 PM (GMT) on 16 June, 2008

your wife - she is well fit - i would definatly!