This is Alyssa, my second cousin once removed. She was patient enough to pose for some photos Saturday as I tested out a new lens on a cold, grey day down in Galveston. This was taken in the alley near 20th and Strand behind an antique car museum. They have this old painted mural on the wall that's seen better days -- lots of peeling paint, but it makes for an interesting background. Nikon D200, 85mm at f/2.0, off camera flash from the right, retouched in Photoshop with a final layer of OnOne's Phototools Jack Davis Portrait Glow at the end. I had the worst time exposing for her white jacket. I could never balance the exposure for both the face and jacket, ended up overexposing the jacket in the raw file. Thought I'd recover it in Camera Raw, which I did. But in the end, with the glamor glow effect, ended up blowing it out even more. But I like the effect. Goes to show you sometimes cameras are smarter than the dummies pushing the buttons.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Testing Out a New Lens
This is Alyssa, my second cousin once removed. She was patient enough to pose for some photos Saturday as I tested out a new lens on a cold, grey day down in Galveston. This was taken in the alley near 20th and Strand behind an antique car museum. They have this old painted mural on the wall that's seen better days -- lots of peeling paint, but it makes for an interesting background. Nikon D200, 85mm at f/2.0, off camera flash from the right, retouched in Photoshop with a final layer of OnOne's Phototools Jack Davis Portrait Glow at the end. I had the worst time exposing for her white jacket. I could never balance the exposure for both the face and jacket, ended up overexposing the jacket in the raw file. Thought I'd recover it in Camera Raw, which I did. But in the end, with the glamor glow effect, ended up blowing it out even more. But I like the effect. Goes to show you sometimes cameras are smarter than the dummies pushing the buttons.
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Beautiful shot Steve!
ReplyDeleteLove the composition and post-processing work!
Well done!
Barry
That is one sharp lens. Nice job on working with the white coat. I love the background. I'm a little uncertain about the eyes, in particular the whites. They seem a little too white for my tastes.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Steve. Looks like lens, software, camera, and photographer are hitt'n on all cylinders!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, soft light on a gray day!
ReplyDeleteI'm in agreement with Doug about the whites of the eyes being a bit over the top, after Jack Davis finished with them, but I really like the depth of field with this new lens at f/2.0.
Did you see Craig Tanner's new "Foundation Concept" video about lens diffraction? It would be interesting to see how your new lens compares in clarity and sharpness at various f stops. A little softness at f/2.0 may not be a bad thing for portraiture.
See: http://www.tmelive.com/index.php/articles/view/365/17.html