Shortlist and Final Image - MAC cosmetics

Below are the images I shortlisted from the MAC shoot.

It's very hard to select a final image! I hope you'll agree with my chosen photo!

These are unedited, with the exception of the final image at the very bottom.

Some of these are nice photos of Toni, but I've observed that MAC's advertising campaigns don't tend to include smiley pictures. So that helped me pick the one I picked.

I quite like this angle...

This is a risky decision, as this image is a bit over exposed, but I liked the 'High Key' effect and it was rather flattering.

That's why, after much deliberation, I chose it and edited to make it my FINAL IMAGE.

I think it works. I hope you'll agree.

Besides adding the brand name to the photo, I softened the skin, got rid of some lines (such as under the eyes), saturated the lipstick and eyeshadow, increased the contrast on the eyes...

I followed Scott Kelby's step by step portrait retouching techniques, from a seminar I attended last year in London.

I'm pleased with the outcome.

What do you think?

Portrait Shoot - MAC cosmetics

I chose MAC cosmetics as my brand for the portrait shoot.

This was my first time doing portraits in a studio, and it was an interesting experience, from which I learned a lot.

One of the negatives is depending on another person to model for you (as a favour, at this stage), and unfortunately I was let down by my model the night before the shoot.

Luckily, Toni, who was originally going to be my assistant, saved my life by modelling for me instead.

I had to improvise some make up (the previous model is also a make up artist), and it was particularly funny when the fire alarm went off half way through the make over =P Toni was super embarrassed about having to leave the building like that... and I was concerned about how much of my studio time that was going to consume.

As soon as we returned to the building we just cracked on and despite the delayed start, it was enough time =)

I used Canon 450D as usual, Canon 18-55mm lens and borrowed a tripod from Uni, which is more solid than the one I have.

We used 2 Bowens lights, one to each side of the camera, with some massive light boxes on them. No reflectors as I had no assistant anymore and was happy enough with the results.

I was determined to have fun on the shoot too, and asked my model to throw her hair in the air, spin around, jump, all sorts =)

Turns out it's much harder than I thought to get a good photo doing these movements! But it was great to give it a go!
I then decided to swap lenses and borrowed a macro from Uni. What a great idea that was!! I much preferred the photos taken with this lens (I really want a macro lens! Did you hear me, Father Christmas??).

Holding the hair up...

Some of the photos were never really meant to be the final images, but it's all good!

I surprised her by taking some when she wasn't expecting... some are good and spontaneous, some are just funny and not the most flattering lol

Getting closer and closer...

And to finalise, some more jumping around just for fun!

Shortlist and final image to follow shortly.

Product Shoot - Durex

So my other brand was Durex. I went for it because it's another opportunity to be cheeky, funny and hopefully a little clever too.

This shoot followed the vodka shoot (so unless I mention something new, assume it's the same equipment/settings as Smirnoff's).

The tripod had to be changed again, because this time the camera would have to be facing down. It was the first I used a boom tripod, so that was interesting.

So it started with a constant light soft box, but then I changed it onto flash and 2 MUCH bigger soft boxes.

I selected this image because it's not washed out like some others, doesn't have too many creases on the black fabric underneath to the point it's distracting, the packaging doesn't reflect too much light (you can still see what it is and it preserved the colours okay), neither it is too dark.

Lightroom: Crop + Straightening; Brightness: +3; Contrast: +17

I added some text again on Photoshop.

Also, I used the dodge and burn tools over the condoms to try and even the colours a bit - unfortunately I had to use two different brands of condoms on the shoot, Durex and Boots, and they were quite different, both in colour and in form (Boots' is more photogenic lol). But hopefully it's not too noticeable.

I'm pleased with the outcome once again.

The chosen one - Smirnoff

Selected image:

I chose this photograph because it was well focused on the brand name, I liked the lighting on the bottle, the bra shadows are soft, the bottle faces forward and I liked the composition.

Hopefully it's pretty obvious it's a bra!

Lightroom: WB Temp: -8; Clarity: +100; Vibrance: +18

Final Image:

From the beginning I thought of adding text to the picture.

Photoshop: Cropped bottom (to extend it - did you know you could crop to enlarge? I didn't, until now!); clone-stamped the colour to fill the new area, used the healing brush to blend the tones together, with the colour picker I selected the colour from the top corners and painted them on the bottom with low opacity, then used the healing brush again to make it look more natural and less patchy.

Then added the text onto another layer (font: Impact; 72pt, same colour as the Smirnoff letters - colour picked).

I hope the bra now makes sense and the fact that the bottle is half empty.

I am personally pleased with the outcome. I hope others will also like it.

Product Shoot - Smirnoff Vodka

Finally!! And here are the start of my studio shoots, yay!

One of the products I chose to make an advertising campaign for was Smirnoff Vodka.

Below are the contact sheets of my shoot outcome. The bra will make sense on the final image with the text.

I placed the product and prop on a product table and used a Bowens light (on the right) with a snoot. The intensity was 4.2, though it might have started slightly weaker.

I tried silver reflector on the left, and added later a black card to the right.

Shadows and light were too harsh, so I decided to swap the snoot for a soft box. A "polystyrene wall" was also placed on the right. These changes definitely improved the results.

I also tried using both gold and silver reflectors, and must admit I much preferred the silver than the golden tone - I think it worked especially well when bounced the light back onto the name "Smirnoff".

I changed composition a few times, in order to get a varied range to pic from later. I really wish I had borrowed a smaller sized bra for the shoot, as I believe it would have worked better scale wise.

I also had issues focusing on some of the photos.

I changed tripod onto a more solid one which made a difference too.

Studio Lighting Techniques for Portraits

So, continuing on the studio lighting, below are photos our group took in that session with the different techniques:

Butterfly Lighting

Light is high and in front of the subject, creating shadows under the chin and cheekbones.

The name comes from the shadow under the nose, which resembles a flying butterfly (supposedly - to me it's more like a seagull shape lol).

Broad Lighting

The side of the face nearest to the camera is lit.

This suits people with narrower faces, because it broadens them.

Short Lighting

The side furthest away from the camera is lit.

This narrows the face and can be quite flattering, especially when combined with a reflector.

Side Lighting

Pretty straight forward. The light is placed at either side, giving strong contrast on the shadow side.

Hollywood Lighting

Light is placed at a 90º angle from the camera (in relation to the subject).

It has a very bold feel and was frequently used for Hollywood starts' portraits in the old days.

High Key Lighting

Predominantly light tones. Intentionally overexposed. Connotations of purity, innocence and freshness.

Low Key Lighting

A concentration of darker tones. Intentionally underexposed. Connotations of mystery, threat and a certain moodiness.

Please note Rembrandt Lighting was included on previous post.

This post contains some extracts from the handout.

Rembrandt Lighting

Firstly, I'd like to say: I deserve an A+ for effort (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit), but it's my first day in Brazil, it's 28ºC out there, I could be spending my time seeing my friends who I haven't seen in over 2 years, could be with my lovely grandma, but no, I'm in a room doing work for Uni =( Please appreciate my effort, even if I'm still behind!

Okay, I feel slightly better after that =P

Anyway!!

On October 11th we had a workshop on different types of studio lighting for portraits. One of them was Rembrandt Lighting.

Rembrandt Lighting is named after the Dutch painter because he often used this lighting on his portraits.

The key light is placed high up, on the front, to one side of the subject. To the other side of the camera, a reflector or fill light is used, at half-height and half power of the key light. If the model faces the camera at an angle, the key light should illuminate the far side.

The main characteristic of the Rembrandt lighting is that a triangle of light will form under the eye (of the darker side of the face). This triangle should be no longer than the nose and no wider than the eye.

Below is one of our group's photo that depicts this technique:

2 Objects Workshop

Olá! =)

On the same day that we shot all those long exposure images from my previous post, we shot the ones below too.

We were asked to bring in two objects, one of which had to be translucent. We'd use them to understand the difference it makes to use direct light, diffused light, silver reflector, gold reflector, snoot, etc.

Unfortunately I haven't got hold of the original files (after they'd been uploaded onto a Facebook album for us from the group to have access to, the originals were lost), so I haven't got the camera's setting details to share with you on this occasion. However, after looking at the settings of another girl's pictures from my group, it's likely to be f/5.6 ISO 200, with varying shutter speeds.

I'm also choosing keep these in one post only.

The source of constant light is placed on the viewer's left.

On the first 2 photos, the light is direct, which causes the shadows to be quite harsh (the only difference between the 2 is the man's foot).

Then we added a sheet of translucent paper in front of the light which softens it and the shadows - it works much better!

On the next picture, a white card was used as a reflector on the right, making the light bounce back on the man's face.

On the 5th photo we used a black card to emphasise the shadows and increase contrast.

Then on pic 6, a golden reflector was used - you can tell by the warmer tones.

We substituted it with a silver reflector on pic 7.

On the last two, the translucent paper was substituted by a snoot (made by black card).

On the very last, a much tighter whole focuses the light in a much smaller spot.

I can remember I really struggled to get the focus right on the glass cat. The first few were just attempts to getting that correctly.

I also think I adjusted the white balance after the first two, because the colours seem better after the third.

To place the object on top of the black card was a suggestion made by a colleague in order to minimise reflection on the table, but I wasn't keen on it as a lot of the detail of the object is lost once it's against a dark background.

On the 7th image of the cat, a silver reflector was possibly used. Then it was time for the gold reflector, white and black card.

This exercise was very effective, as it became easy to understand the difference it makes when you diffuse light, use reflectors or black cards, etc. It already proved to be very useful, both for objects and for portraits.

Selection from Long Exposure Studio Session

Hello again!

Below are some of the pictures from the studio session I talked about on my previous post.

Some good examples of multiple exposure shots:

3.2 sec at f/5.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Small crop on both sides and top; Fill Light: +17; Blacks: +2; Contrast: +10; Vibrance: +7; Post-crop Vignetting: -100

3.2 sec at f/5.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Slight Straightening; Fill Light: +11; Contrast: +18; Vibrance: +10; Post-Crop Vignetting: -49

lol

3.2 sec at f/5.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on the right; Fill Light: +4; Blacks: +7; Brightness: +7; Contrast: +4

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides; Fill Light: +10; Blacks: +3; Brightness: +7; Contrast: +3; Post-Crop Vignetting: -11

It's a shame about the big reflection on the background =/

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on the left; Blacks: +2; Contrast: +18; Vibrance: +6

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on the right

This is my favourite! =D

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on the top; WB Temp: +5; Fill Light: +8; Blacks: +7; Contrast: +11; Post-Crop Vignetting: -11

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: WB Temp: +3; Fill Light: +5; Blacks: +9; Vibrance: +5; Post-Crop Vignetting: -19

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides; Fill Light: +25; Blacks: +3; Post-Crop Vignetting: -23

Nice one!

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on the left; Fill Light: +9; Contrast: +6; Vibrance: +10; Post-Crop Vignetting: -38

LOL

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on the left

Don't mess with me! ;P

3.2 sec at f/9.0 ISO200 18mm

Lightroom: Crop on the left; Fill Light: +9; Blacks: +12; Contrast: +7

I really like this shot!! The orange light worked VERY well!!

Nice reflection on the table too!

5.0 sec at f/6.3 ISO200 32mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides and bottom; Blacks: +5; Contrast: +2; Clarity: +30; Vibrance: +14

This is interesting too

5.0 sec at f/6.3 ISO200 32mm

Lightroom: Straightening + Crop on both sides and top; Contrast: +15; Clarity: +100; Vibrance: +24

Whoever thought of putting the light under the table - It was a great idea!

5.0 sec at f/6.3 ISO200 45mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides and top; Contrast: +12; Clarity: +40; Vibrance: +13; Post-Crop Vignetting: -66

5.0 sec at f/6.3 ISO200 45mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides and top; Contrast: +5

I love how you can actually see the rays of light here!

5.0 sec at f/6.3 ISO200 45mm

Lightroom: Crop all around (including to remove source of light from frame); Clarity: +8

I love the colours on the background

5.0 sec at f/6.3 ISO200 39mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides and top; Contrast: +14; Vibrance: +8; Post-Crop Vignetting: -27

Very alienish

5.0 sec at f/6.3 ISO200 39mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides and top; Post-Crop Vignetting: -20

Very well executed, Laura!

15 sec at f/6.3 ISO320 34mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides and top; Blacks: +100; Contrast: +100; Spot Removal, Aqua Saturation: -100

I think I did this one

25 sec at f/6.3 ISO320 34mm

Lightroom: Blacks: +100; Contrast: +100

25 sec at f/6.3 ISO320 34mm

Lightroom: Crop on top and right; Blacks: +100; Contrast: +100

Accepting orders on the new 'must have' of the season! You won't find a grater hat! ;P

20 sec at f/5.0 ISO320 34mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides and top; WB Temp: +5; Blacks: +11; Contrast: +3; Clarity: +20

20 sec at f/5.0 ISO320 42mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides; WB Temp: +35; Fill Light: +17; Blacks: +100; Contrast: +41; Post-Crop Vignetting: -27

LOL

I just go for it!

Shame about the framing (top of head cut off)

20 sec at f/5.0 ISO320 40mm

Lightroom: Crop on both sides; WB Temp: +18; Blacks: +49; Contrast: +42; Vibrance: +13; Post-Crop Vignetting: -88

You don't wanna mess with me ²

20 sec at f/5.0 ISO320 35mm

Lightroom: Crop on top and bottom; WB Temp: +5; Blacks: +12; Brightness: +8; Contrast: +17; Post-Crop Vignetting: -72

Phew!

It might not seem it, but it takes me ages to write each post, mainly because of all the info I type (back and forth, Lightroom, Blogger, Lightroom, Blogger... it's making me dizzy! *.*)

Which were your preferred photos and why?

Thanks for visiting! x