# Samantha



## Ozarker (Apr 19, 2016)

Samantha: A very challenging shoot I did last Saturday week.


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## d (Apr 19, 2016)

Hi CFB,

I like the first image of this series (Samantha 2) - it looks like you've caught a candid moment between poses and your model looks naturally happy.

I think the jacket is a little unflattering in the final two shots - the shoulders sit up a little high, making her neck and shoulder area appear a little boxy and stout. Were you working with a stylist, or just yourself and the model?

What did you find challenging at the time?

Cheers,
David


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## Ozarker (Apr 19, 2016)

d said:


> Hi CFB,
> 
> I like the first image of this series (Samantha 2) - it looks like you've caught a candid moment between poses and your model looks naturally happy.
> 
> ...



Hi David. Thanks for the feedback. This was a tough shoot. It was very windy and raining hard off and on most of the day. 

There was no stylist. I can't afford that and the model is a volunteer. It was very hard for me to show her in a good light. 

The first image is the only one I like in the group, though I wish I had remembered to ask her to brush her hair through. I completely agree about the jacket. I think a great big cigar would have looked good there.  She just looks so tough. I need to find a way to take advantage of that.

We will be working together more in the near future so the challenge will be to find flattering poses. I do have a pose book, so we will have to work through some of those.

She does her own makeup, but I think we will start out with just a lip gloss next time. She can always add the lipstick together. Back when I was a young man and I was photographed for black and white the makeup people always used purplish and grayish tones for makeup. I need to research that.

We are still getting to know each other and build trust. She thinks I am an awesome photographer (poor lady) compared to the photographers she's worked with in the past. I am better, but not awesome. The black and white of her looking up is the best of the day. Most others were deletes. Some of that is me, some of that is that she is very hard to shoot in a flattering way. So really, I guess it was all me.

After a few more shoots she will decide whether or not she is comfortable with some fine art style nude and boudoir work. She is already comfortable with implied nudity, though we have not done any of that yet.

This was shot with a single 72" umbrella and a Flashpoint Streaklight 360ws flash. I need to start working with more of my flash units to get rim lighting and etc. I also need to quit forgetting about my ND filters, but they probably would be of no benefit on a cloudy day like that day anyway.

Thanks again d.


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## slclick (Apr 19, 2016)

I agree 1st image is the best, it's really flattering and the b/w tonality is spot on.


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## Don Haines (Apr 19, 2016)

Definitely the first image! Very nice! A wonderful pose and a great capture.


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## Ozarker (Apr 20, 2016)

Thanks guys. I agree completely.


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## Loki (Aug 20, 2017)

Hi!

Also, number one is the best in my opinion. Still, number two is also very nice, I like how it feels soft. Good composition, too!


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## sulla (Aug 20, 2017)

Well done! I like the first 2 pics the most! B/W suits this lighthing excellently!

How did you achieve such an extreme background blur?


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## Ozarker (Mar 3, 2018)

sulla said:


> How did you achieve such an extreme background blur?



Sorry Sulla. I just saw this. The lens was my EF135 f/2L @ f/2 and a flash. The background went on for miles and miles.


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## scottkinfw (Mar 3, 2018)

CanonFanBoy said:


> Samantha: A very challenging shoot I did last Saturday week.



Nice pics, excellent considering your conditions.

My opinion, not meant to troll.

I agree with the others, first and second pics are excellent, and my favs. In looking at the other pics, I think the reason is that her eyes are obscured. So for me, I think her eye makeup is overdone and distracting/unflattering.

This is of course personal, but see what you think.

Scott


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## AlanF (Mar 3, 2018)

Far more views than we get for Bird Portraits. Must be a message there.


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## YuengLinger (Mar 3, 2018)

Agree with the consensus of #1 being best. 

Let me preface my next remark by admitting nobody has ever accused me of being diplomatic. No. 5 should never have been posted unless you were underscoring for us the "challenging" session. It's that bad. The expression is not only unflattering, it's pitiful.

Self-editing, photos or comments, ain't easy!


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## zim (Mar 3, 2018)

YuengLinger said:


> Agree with the consensus of #1 being best.
> 
> Let me preface my next remark by admitting nobody has ever accused me of being diplomatic. No five should never have been posted unless you were underscoring for us the "challenging" session. It's that bad. The expression is not only unflattering, it's pitiful.
> 
> Self-editing, photos or comments, ain't easy!



+1 harsh but totally honest


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## Click (Mar 3, 2018)

Don Haines said:


> Definitely the first image! Very nice! A wonderful pose and a great capture.



+1


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## Ozarker (Mar 3, 2018)

Click said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > Definitely the first image! Very nice! A wonderful pose and a great capture.
> ...



Thank you all. Of course you are all correct. I personally only like the first one, but one never knows what others might think unless they are posted. I did a later shoot with her that went much better. 

I'd have liked to get her at a poker table with a glass of scotch and a cigar. I think that would have fit. She's a sweet young lady.


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## Click (Mar 4, 2018)

...And one last thing; Keep posting, CanonFanBoy.


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## Besisika (Mar 4, 2018)

She is a model with blonde hair, white dress, bright skin color, exposed bright belly. All that prompts for dark background. The first shot becomes obviously the best.
She has a great curvature, flat belly (that's why the outfit) and tall. Her beauty is based on the body. Focus on what makes her beautiful, and that is what you did on the first photo.
Close-up could be OK, but side posing of a full body is the key.
Next time study your model before shooting. That's how you are going to get there. She will adore your photos if you respect that simple guide.
If you want to improve the first shot (it is already a good one), then make her lift her left arm a bit to the front. She (me too) wants to see that great curvature but it is partially hidden by that arm. That is not a booty shot, that is a beauty shot - it focuses on what makes her beautiful - the curvature.


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## YuengLinger (Mar 4, 2018)

Click said:


> ...And one last thing; Keep posting, CanonFanBoy.



+1×10^


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