Portraits by Olaf: Before & After

[LocalHero1953]

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A "better" portrait should be considered (IMO) in the context of what the photo is for. If for a business headshot where the sitter is the client, then one ought to consider the sitter's wishes, including the removal of skin blemishes, wrinkles and smoothing the texture. If you are doing it at least partly for your own benefit, or the sitter has given you a free hand to use your artistic sense, then the objective might be to show the sitter's personality, occupation, lifestyle etc, which might include wind-roughened skin, age and experience etc. In my case I am often taking headshots for theatre publicity: sometimes this is of the 'actor', who may ask for physical perfection, but sometimes it is of the 'character', where anything goes, as long as you do not show the evidence of make-up or false beards.

As a general rule, I remove pimples and other temporary skin blemishes, while leaving the permanent ones. But the camera does lie: the M9 especially, and to a lesser extent other digital sensors, would unnaturally emphasise the texture of certain types of skin where the blood vessels are close to the surface, creating a red blotchiness which is not visible to the eye. I have a preset just for this purpose (hue shift red to orange, red/orance luminance lightening, red/orange desaturation). Just because a camera shows it doesn't mean it is 'true'.

And finally, when we see someone and interact with them, their faces are moving, the light on them changes, and our eyes and brains notice certain things. In a static photograph, with fixed light and no conversation, we notice other things, such as certain skin textures and blemishes. Which of these are the correct things to show in a portrait where you are trying to convey something of the real person?

Edited April 6, 2024 by LocalHero1953

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[Olaf_ZG]

11 hours ago, Al Brown said:

Purely advice, not criticism. 
 

What I do with my portraits is “retouch” as much as possible with the light. I always keep the facial features intact as much as I can, and do my best to not change the character of the person/image with post production.

The problem with the Internet is - it is not used to criticism. Everybody just wants praise and ego striking for their work. Sometimes the criticism is the proper drive force strong enough to make you adopt, adapt and improve and start working harder. You are already 90% there.

Since you live in Croatia you will probably recognize this guy. Wrinkles and age become him. Proper styling to emphasize his blue eyes, proper fill light from below and proper use off image space within the photo all contribute to this image. The fill light from below “retouches” and opens up his face just enough.  
Sorry for the low res preview, I am on a trip with shitty internet at the moment.

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Criticism/advice, both happily taken.

I once had a dinner with this guy in Dubrovnik at 2am at the seaside. I just finished a wedding and was asked (by the owner of a record company) to join. Didn’t took any pictures as I was not into portraits.

Back to portraits, I will keep on trying and posting, and keep on looking forward to feedback. My sitters are happy, but then, how often did they made a portrait? It is so uncommon in Croatia.

[Olaf_ZG]

The before and afters only showed what I did in post, but that is only part of the story. Guidance in posing is a very important part which I still need to master. So, the new B&A here I will show a portrait from the start of the session till the final delivered image. Not necessarily the same image.

Furthermore, portrait might be a wrong name, headshot would be a better fit.

[Olaf_ZG]

B&A of Marko. SL2 plus SL lux, one umbrella.

 

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[Olaf_ZG]

Same day, same setup. Small changes in posing make quite a difference.

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[Olaf_ZG]

During my holiday I photographed the local waitress. The first image is from the beginning of the session, her doing her face. The second we are at the end of the session, I am more posing her (and more caring how the light falls).

SL2-s plus 24-90. Changed background in post and small retouch of her face.

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[Olaf_ZG]

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Vedran, sl2 plus lux

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