When I was working through my shots just after the Bodygraphia symposium I sent a set of low res' previews over to my good friend Jason Kotecha. He liked most of them, some more than others, but his exact comment on this one was:
"This to me is more cheesy 80's Playboy. It's nice but not particularly interesting. Also that arched back is distracting as she looks disfigured."
So, there you have it, no need for any critique on this one ;-)
I'll be posting his favourite (from the small set I sent him) next.
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter plugins (etc) cropped?
comment by Jouna at 01:46 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
I agree with Jason..
comment bySara at 02:03 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
Honestly, photo isn't bad but personally I don't like the way You crop it
comment bydjn1 at 02:14 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
Jouna: yes, so do I, but I thought it was a sufficiently good example of the genre to make it worth posting.
Sara: the image wasn't cropped during post-production, but I take your point.
comment byDan Kaufman at 02:19 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
...actually the first thing that caught my eye here was the skin, so soft, almost a "bronze metallic spray paint" feel. I didn't notice her arched back until I read Jason comment, but I did notice the (well done) cloning out of the skin fold at her back/side near her elbow.
...as far as cropping goes, I've often wondered about the "cut off at the eyes" crop, I've seen it a lot. Sometimes it works...sometimes not...in this case seems to work in that the focus is to the body. include the eyes and INSTANTLY that's where eye focuses. (Which is probably why [you] did the magic slight-of-hand on replacing Iva's eyes in the previous photo.)
comment byNeil Holmes at 02:51 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
This is a loverly shot David, it has a beautiful silky smooth feel to it!
comment byNicki at 03:19 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
Amazing Dave, what I like here is he chromatic touch and of course the crop. It's really Playboy like, seems that you found now a new business? ;)
comment bydjn1 at 03:26 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
Dan: thanks.
Nicki: no, I don't think I'll be shooting any more Playboy images - it's not something I'd like to become known for :)
comment byRob Smith at 05:36 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
I like the way you've handled the translation of tones to b/w - especially on the skin.
comment byrob jaudon at 06:32 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
Love the tone work and the glowing of the skin. I like it much more than the original.
comment by Michael at 07:26 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
Usually in the morning I take a cup of coffee at work and have a look at the various blogs I follow. Luckily I did not do that today...(or the previous days, for that matter). I'm with Jason on the "cheesy 80's" but I have good memories of that period and therefore I do like it. Love the toning as well, that is definitely not 80's. Miss August 1984 was for sure in color :) Another point, she seems to have very, very long fingers. Is that natures gift or a result of stretching the picture?
comment byLightningPaul at 07:45 PM (GMT) on 31 August, 2010
This is really beautiful. It's a nice piece of fine art. Just the bright tree is drawing a little bit too much attention.
comment byJohn at 12:39 AM (GMT) on 1 September, 2010
Sorry, but that "cheesy" take of Jason's seems to me to be strictly the eye of the beholder, because this is an excellent example of a fine art nude. I would never have even thought of a Playboy connection, and I've been a subscriber since 1957! I particularly like the skin technique, which is perfect and truly YOU in terms of skill and artistic merit. Well done! On the other hand, sorry, but I must say I wasn't fond of any of the cage themed shots...
John
comment by Daily at 06:29 AM (GMT) on 1 September, 2010
she looks disfigured//
I see the reason for that is the healing that is done on her back. Still magical toning.
comment bydjn1 at 11:27 AM (GMT) on 1 September, 2010
I love the tones, even the crop works well. I see what Daily means about the healing though, something doesn't quite sit right. Keep up the great work.
comment byMQPhoto at 02:40 PM (GMT) on 4 September, 2010
When I was working through my shots just after the Bodygraphia symposium I sent a set of low res' previews over to my good friend Jason Kotecha. He liked most of them, some more than others, but his exact comment on this one was:
"This to me is more cheesy 80's Playboy. It's nice but not particularly interesting. Also that arched back is distracting as she looks disfigured."
So, there you have it, no need for any critique on this one ;-)
I'll be posting his favourite (from the small set I sent him) next.
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
plugins (etc)
cropped?
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
115mm
f/2.8
1/160
aperture priority
+2/3
evaluative
400
no
RAW
ACR
Bokeh
no
I agree with Jason..
Honestly, photo isn't bad but personally I don't like the way You crop it
Jouna: yes, so do I, but I thought it was a sufficiently good example of the genre to make it worth posting.
Sara: the image wasn't cropped during post-production, but I take your point.
...actually the first thing that caught my eye here was the skin, so soft, almost a "bronze metallic spray paint" feel. I didn't notice her arched back until I read Jason comment, but I did notice the (well done) cloning out of the skin fold at her back/side near her elbow.
...as far as cropping goes, I've often wondered about the "cut off at the eyes" crop, I've seen it a lot. Sometimes it works...sometimes not...in this case seems to work in that the focus is to the body. include the eyes and INSTANTLY that's where eye focuses. (Which is probably why [you] did the magic slight-of-hand on replacing Iva's eyes in the previous photo.)
This is a loverly shot David, it has a beautiful silky smooth feel to it!
Amazing Dave, what I like here is he chromatic touch and of course the crop. It's really Playboy like, seems that you found now a new business? ;)
Dan: thanks.
Nicki: no, I don't think I'll be shooting any more Playboy images - it's not something I'd like to become known for :)
I like the way you've handled the translation of tones to b/w - especially on the skin.
Love the tone work and the glowing of the skin. I like it much more than the original.
Usually in the morning I take a cup of coffee at work and have a look at the various blogs I follow. Luckily I did not do that today...(or the previous days, for that matter). I'm with Jason on the "cheesy 80's" but I have good memories of that period and therefore I do like it. Love the toning as well, that is definitely not 80's. Miss August 1984 was for sure in color :) Another point, she seems to have very, very long fingers. Is that natures gift or a result of stretching the picture?
This is really beautiful. It's a nice piece of fine art. Just the bright tree is drawing a little bit too much attention.
Sorry, but that "cheesy" take of Jason's seems to me to be strictly the eye of the beholder, because this is an excellent example of a fine art nude. I would never have even thought of a Playboy connection, and I've been a subscriber since 1957! I particularly like the skin technique, which is perfect and truly YOU in terms of skill and artistic merit. Well done! On the other hand, sorry, but I must say I wasn't fond of any of the cage themed shots...
John
she looks disfigured//
I see the reason for that is the healing that is done on her back. Still magical toning.
Thanks everyone :)
I love the tones, even the crop works well. I see what Daily means about the healing though, something doesn't quite sit right. Keep up the great work.
Beautiful
Great picture, nice colours.