2008 March Pow Wow No. 7 Photo

Photographer’s Note

I posted a scanned photo last night and I had to delete it for a repost in the future due to some oversharpening artifacts. It wasn't doing as well as I thought because it was taken in 1993 and people have the ridiculous notion that old is "bad" and new is "good". If I could someday take a portrait 1/4 as good as 19th century American photographer Edward Curtis (a Native American "documentary" photographer) I would be very pleased. He was as "low-tech" as you could get and he died broke and dispirited. Now some of his originals are worth well over $100,000. He is my favorite photographer of all time.

This nice young teenage Native American girl was kind enough to pose for me in front of a very dark background. I underexposed the ambient light by two stops and used fill-flash for "exposure compensation" (fill flash always adds some sparkle to the eyes also). The people are very nice at this event and it is as safe and family friendly as you can find anywhere. The background was mostly black and I only deleted a few background distractions.

I recieved some feedback about how the dress appears to be sharper than the subject's face. Human faces are the toughest type of photos of all to sharpen and to resize for a small web image. I sharpened the subject's face slightly and added a WS photo. The WS photo looks it has a little too much noise, IMO. Please give me your opinion. Thanks.

pboehringer, zmey, jean11-3, feather, fulvio52, Wandering_Dan, Photo65Net, ahmetgedikli, dareco, Floydian, JPlumb, sevy, Dyerco, gunbud, Gerrit, Tobias__Ortmann, AROBN54, plimrn, jwmunro has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pboehringer (770) 2008-04-15 7:16

Stan,
a great portrait of this young Native American lady dressed in her original wardrobe. The smile that is there gives a radiant impression that emanates confidence and a sense of being proud of who she is. I like the composition with the detail that her left eye is quite in the middle of the image respecting an old painting rule that makes the observer have a better interaction with the person being portraited.
Interesting description on the technical part of lowering it by 2 stops and using a fill-in-flash. Something to think about it and do my own experiments. Obviously the black background is fantastic by allowing the person pop out.
Surprised that an old master like Edward Curtis went broke and would be a rich man nowadays? So many artists go through this! One of the many sad examples are van Gogh that NEVER sold a single oainting while he was alive and as soon as he did his paintings skyrocketed.
Peter

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jean11-3 (2799) 2008-04-15 7:27

Hello Stan,a lovely portrait of a beautiful young woman.The black bg is perfect; no distractions from her lovely face and her very colourful outfit.The textures come across really well too.
Interesting comment from Peter about the composition, and the positioning of the eyes.
I shall have to investigate Edward Curtis, as I was unaware of him.
Tfs, regards Jean.

zmey (7250) 2008-04-15 7:29

hello stan

so, here we go again? ;) black bacground... :)) no, no worries, friend. i was just teasing you. i like it, makes the colorful attire of the model really stand out. amazing detail on the attire on her shoulder in the front, but i cannot help a nagging feeling, the focus is not on her eye, but rather - on her shoulder. hmm... could be it's my monitor here. well, that's just silly technicalities: the portrait is amazing and her smile does make it very special.

with warm regards,
kristaps

ps. i like the technical note about underexposing fill-flashed image. learned something from it :) i have experimented with reading expo from the brightest point in the scene and then underexposing from there. seems to work well in high-contrast scenes, but not as well as your approach.

feather (49860) 2008-04-15 7:37

Wonderful portrait Stan. She would be pleased to get a copy of this. The detail is incredible; we could almost count the wisps on the feather in her hair. There are lovely catch-lights not only in her eyes but on her lips and hair and you have captured a beautiful smile. She stands out very well from the background.
Well done
KAth

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Paolo (40703) 2008-04-15 7:44

Hi Stan, wondeufl colours in the portrait of this beautiful girl.
excellent quality too.
thanks, cao

fulvio52 (8314) 2008-04-15 8:01

Hi Stan,
RADIANT is first thing coming to my mind when looking at this wonderful portrait of yours.
A most beautiful, friendly smile, and all the pride of her Nation in those eyes!
Technically impeccable, and those colors and dark background are a big time trademark of yours.
She strongly reminds me of this young Navajo lady I met at Upper Antelope Canyon last year... I remember feeling humbled by just looking at her eyes. No further explanation needed, I know you know what I mean.
GREAT SHOT!
Cheers,
Fulvio.

rgarrigus (0) 2008-04-15 8:42

Hi Stan,

Another awesome portrait! If I ever break away from my fear of intimacy :) and try portraits your standard will what I strive for.

Cheers!

Bob G.

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Wandering_Dan (3221) 2008-04-15 9:16

Hi, Stan -

A lovely portrait indeed! One thing I am especially taken by is the expression in her face of pride and confidence. It's good to see that after so many years when the US tried to beat (sometimes literally) their culture out of the Native Americans.

I'm just starting to try my hand at portraits, so I will be watching your gallery even more closely!

Best,
Dan

Photo65Net (43084) 2008-04-15 10:10

Stan,
Superb colors in this pow wow picture.
Your exposure control is great, with nice light on her face, which is very important here.
Regards,
JB.

brandstaetter (14114) 2008-04-15 10:30

Very good, Stan,
excellent colours, the background is well chosen to enhance the contrast. Only it seems that the clothes are sharper than the face, but maybe I´m wrong.
Compliments, Chris

mesutilgim (36803) 2008-04-15 13:34

Hi dear Stan,
What a wonderfull portrait.
Very good pov and amazing colors. And as allways very good notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

ahmetgedikli (21901) 2008-04-15 14:08

Hi Stan,
This is a beautiful portrait. The light and colors are excellent. Very well done.
Best regards,
Ahmet

dareco (17104) 2008-04-15 14:53

A beautiful portrait! Very sweet expression. The colors and detail are excellent. TFS

JPlumb (3153) 2008-04-15 23:48

Very nice Stan, she has to be happy with that one. Your process is excellent. I am definitely going to get my flash out and start working (and learning) it. I think the dress should be sharper than the face. In a case like this you definitely don't want to go looking for wrinkles. This isn't a character shot, the face should be soft. Just my opinion of course, but I agree with your selective sharpening process. The colour seen in this shot is awesome, and the black background works very well for this subject.

Thanks, John

sevy (13414) 2008-04-15 23:54

Bonjour Stan,

This photo will stay on TE this time ;-)
The colors and the light were very well managed on this shot and put really in evidence the suit of this girl. Moreover, she seems to feel very well so that her smile is communicative.
Really a nice portrait,

Yves.

Floydian (30970) 2008-04-16 2:07

Hello Stan,

Let me first say that i like it the way you composed it to a very classic pose and look. The black background suits the image well, especially on her clothing which pop out against that black.
People ask me always if i flash on my portraits...the answer is no, i don't believe in that since i am shooting digital. But here what you did i have to make an exception, it looks damn good with the small amount of flashlight..!!!

The sharpness is always a problem, many people struggle with that, a big issue on TE and for most of the poeple who are doing serious post-processing. I think that Kristaps is right that the ultimate sharpness is on her shoulder and not on her face. Giving extra sharpness on her face is going to look weird as we can see in the ws, so here it looks natural and not overdone. What is your opnion about the ultimate sharpness in this picture?

Then there is a line along her face and brown hairy thing (don't no the name in English) in what she is wearing, what are these, contrast lines?

You know what i really like here. Her beautiful smiling face and that superb light on her clothing, that really makes the image in both ways...very good.

I always wonder how people do their portraits in the post-processing. So, i offer a trade. We send each other a RAW file which contains a portrait. We both work on it and at the end we compare and share our knowledge....deal?

Regards, Henk

[2] +

Dyerco (9070) 2008-04-16 7:27

Hi Stan
WOW!!. What a great portrait. You couldn't have picked a better looking subject. I think I prefer your original as it adds a bit of softness to her skin. You've got some natural light working for you to provide some side lighting on her face and top of her head. Very well done.
Phil

gunbud (27851) 2008-04-16 19:14

Hi Stan,
Wow, you did this beautiful young lady justice capturing her gleaming hair and sparkling eye wonderfully. The dark background really bring out her lovely features and the colors and details to her dress are outstanding.
Regards, Tom

Tobias__Ortmann (2589) 2008-04-17 10:06

Hi stan exzellent potrait shot here
great colour very nice sharpness and perfect details
very well done
Toba

AROBN54 (10757) 2008-04-17 13:30

Astonishing. The color, the light, the detail... Not only is she a very pretty subject, you did a wonderful job presenting her warm expression, beautiful native clothing and the black BG is superb. Outstanding shot!! Thanks and take good care,
Shelly

Gerrit (35697) 2008-04-18 1:47

Hi Stan,
fantastic portrait of this charming girl with the shy smile in her fanatstic outfit. The black background works real fine.
Regards, Gerrit

devimeuxbe (55865) 2008-04-18 14:56

Hi San
This portrait is perfect. Not only for the cropping, the colors, the light ... ALso because so smile of the model is so ...
Excellent
Bertrand

ayansadhu (1499) 2008-04-20 21:23

Excellent sharpness & dazzle in this image makes it outstanding
you have managed the light in a big way
well done
thanks for sharing

saigon (5497) 2008-04-21 3:43

bonjour STAN.
j'aime beaucoup votre serie sur les POW POW!
exellent portrait avec votre d300!
amitiés....aldo.

plimrn (19624) 2008-04-21 15:23

Hi Stan,
I thought portrait photographers typically softened the face rather than sharpening it. I do find a pleasing anount of sharpness throughout the portrait; I clearly prefer this one. Still it will be fun to trade portraits with Henk - Kath raved about your work on that marvelous leopard!!!
HLJ, Pat

batalay (20920) 2008-04-22 20:06

Hello Stan,

I like this portrait of the young Native American, composed as a very good portrait painter would do inadvertently, placing one eye on the vertical centerline. In another very good portrait, Aztec Woman, you had done the same thing. In 1998 the British born psychologist/art lover, Christopher Tyler, discovered this center-line principle that made the front page of the New York Times. No art school ever teaches the principle, and yet the masters — from Leonardo to Rembrandt, Van Gogh to Picasso — all intuitively practiced the principle. Take a look at Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine, one of the greatest portraits ever produced.

Warm regards,

Bulent

isabela_sor (42150) 2008-04-25 7:30 [Comment]

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japiey (9493) 2008-04-26 14:32

Dear Stan,

An inspiring image.. like a painting, a Leonardo da Vinci effect in there..
Her moods of expression along with your sensible frame concept makes this admirable. Paint with lights !!!
EXCELLENT.

jp

jwmunro (6575) 2008-06-21 8:03

Hello Stan -

This is a very pretty girl and your portrait is an outstanding reflection - I hope when she saw it she was pleased. Great eye contact, excellent use of the flash, and finished to perfection regardless of the TOS. Bravo, well done.

Thank you for sharing.

John