Ken Rockwell, Has Posted A Comparison Sharpness Of Leica 35mm Summicron-M Lenses.

[coup de foudre]

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About fifty years ago I was told by a professional photographer that she (yes, she) always reversed the prints of portraits for customers who commissioned pictures of themselves. She swore she never had a disappointed subject that way.

excuse my ignorance, but how does this make a difference?

 

i am asking this in all earnestness, as i am always willing to learn something new (especially if it is old ).

 

thank you!

[pop]

Faces are never symmetrical. Since the only way you usually see yours is through the looking glass, you will find any image of your face funny or somehow not quite right unless it is reflected.

 

An easy way to test this: take a shot of your own face (taking care to take a straight frontal image). Also take care not to includes external clues which might betray the proper orientation. Look at it on your computer. Flip the image sidewise a couple of times. Pick the orientation which you feel that it represents your face more correctly.

 

Other pastimes include assembling a collage of two left or two right sides of the same face with one side reflected. With some faces, you won't believe it's the same person.

[stunsworth]

excuse my ignorance, but how does this make a difference?

 

That's the way they'd see themselves when they looked into a mirror.

[coup de foudre]

thank you both!

 

the answer was so simple and logical and yet it never occurred to me

 

(can you tell i don't do portraiture?)

 

always lovely to learn something new -- one of the great things about forums so, again, many thanks!

[storybrown]

well, you're always going to learn something or be entertained on the Ken Rockwell website - let it be a lesson

[ho_co]

Ah, there's the rub!

 

... take a shot of your own face (taking care to take a straight frontal image). Also take care not to includes external clues ...

 

 

 

"External clues." Would that include, perhaps, a camera, a watch, a monopod, a lens?

 

 

 

I think the image is Ken's very direct and in-your-face way of saying, "Welcome to my world."

[pop]

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"External clues." Would that include, perhaps, a camera, a watch, a monopod, a lens?

 

One would think so. However, you could imagine that he would not like to leave those out of the image for fear of being called "clueless".

[pop]

the answer was so simple and logical and yet it never occurred to me

 

Here's a "portrait" of someone I hold dear. Its only merit is that it shows the face rather frontally. Which one is the correct one, which one is mirrored?

 

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[jacarape]

Phillip, I find those two images side by side rather disconcerting, but my head seems to like the one on the if there is any logic to that.

[Nicoleica]

Here's a "portrait" of someone I hold dear. Its only merit is that it shows the face rather frontally. Which one is the correct one, which one is mirrored?

 

My best guess would be that the first (Leftmost) picture is the original. (Reasons will be revealed upon request.)

[tomasis7]

Here's a "portrait" of someone I hold dear. Its only merit is that it shows the face rather frontally. Which one is the correct one, which one is mirrored?

 

if you write text on her forehead, I'll tell you

[Xmas]

Hi

 

Lots of animals will go behind a mirror to meet up with their image, wheres some e.g. elephants are more self aware.

 

You will be telling us you dont know why there are mirrors in elevators(lifts)?

 

Noel

[pop]

.. my head seems to like the one on the if there is any logic to that.

 

 

 

You will be telling us you dont know why there are mirrors in elevators(lifts)?

 

Why, to make room for the elephants, of course.

[pop]

My best guess would be that the first (Leftmost) picture is the original. (Reasons will be revealed upon request.)

 

You're quite right. Please do reveal your reason. And please don't say it's on account of the file name or time stamp.

[coup de foudre]

Here's a "portrait" of someone I hold dear. Its only merit is that it shows the face rather frontally. Which one is the correct one, which one is mirrored?

that is fascinating -- thank you for the example!

 

i never realised how something so simple as that could turn an image around so much.

 

i have no idea which is which but would love to know sneaky Nicole's reasoning (consider it a request, N).

 

i personally prefer the left photo, as i think it looks more natural. the one on the right (looks slightly further away?), however, may be more flattering. like i said, fascinating...

[Nicoleica]

You're quite right. Please do reveal your reason. And please don't say it's on account of the file name or time stamp.

 

No, I didn't do anything sneaky like that. I simply looked at the pictures. The reasons were.. Firstly, most people tend to brush their hair to the right, and secondly, the leftmost image appeared to have a little more definition, which pointed towards the righthand picture being an extra compressed generation away from the original.

[LeicaBraz]

When I drink too much I also see double and can't tell which is the real subject.

[pop]

Firstly, most people tend to brush their hair to the right, and secondly, the leftmost image appeared to have a little more definition, which pointed towards the righthand picture being an extra compressed generation away from the original.

 

Thank you, Nicole.

 

The hair really could give it away. This kind of demonstration is usually done either with faces where the hair won't do that or with doctored images where the face is reversed and the hair not.

 

I don't think there's any difference in definition. Both images are the same distance of the common original, with the reverse one just being reversed.

 

What might influence the preference could be the direction of the light or the size of the eyes.

 

Anyway, the picture was just to demonstrate the handedness of the face which it seems to have done.

[Ecaton]

I thought that he used an M-16 mostly.

 

He doesn't use anything below 7 shots per second, biggest calibre possible, so I assume MF.

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Hallo,

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[Guest]

The glasses on the forehead?

Clinton's were mostly a bit to the left and he is left-handed.

It's more likely that your wife is right-handed, Pop