Eyes
Apr, 2015Views
739
Likes
Awards
Chatter Award
Contest Finalist in Bold Colors Photo Contest
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Genius
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken at a beach called Honeymoon Island in Florida.Time
It was about 8:30 on a September morning. The model and I had been shooting there since 7:00am. This was one of the last shots we did. The sunlight gets too harsh after around 9:00 in the morning, so we were about to wrap it up for the day.Lighting
The sun wasn't too high in the sky yet, so shadows still weren't very harsh. There was no shade, so this is direct sunlight with some fill flash to camera right.Equipment
This was shot on a Nikon D80 handheld with a Nikon SB-600 flash on a light stand with a translucent shoot-through umbrella.Inspiration
We were walking back to the beach parking lot and there was a bench with a nice sandy background. I suggested doing some shots sitting on the bench. Kayla was wearing a colorful wrap around her waist, and I told her to untie it and pose holding it near her face. She did several poses, and then she put it on her head and covered her face, leaving just her eyes exposed. I zoomed in and knew this would be the best shot of the day.Editing
I used curves to add some contrast to give the colors more depth, then did frequency separation to soften the skin. The final steps were some sharpening on the eyes with the smart sharpening filter to bring out texture and colors, and then some overall sharpening with the unsharp mask filter.In my camera bag
This photo was done a few years ago, and at the time I was using a Nikon D80 and the 18-55 f3.5-5.6 kit lens. I had a Nikon SB-600 flash that I have since replaced with a Godox V860II and two Yungnuo YN560 flashes. It turns out flash units don't like getting wet, which I learned the hard way when my light stand fell over into a puddle and fried my SB-600. Currently I shoot with a Nikon D7000. I still use the less expensive lenses, the 18-105mm f3.5-5.6, the 55-300mm f4.5-5.6 and the 50mm f1.8 prime, all Nikon lenses. I also bring a Zomei M8 tripod, Blackrapid strap, a lightstand and shoot-through umbrella along. The flashes have diffuser domes and they sit on a bracket that I made to enable two flashes on my light stand.Feedback
This shot is zoomed in pretty close to the face. Never be afraid to get too close. They say if you aren't happy with your photography, you probably aren't getting close enough. That's good advice. When photographing people, especially a close up on a face, make sure you focus on the eyes. I always spot focus on whichever eye is closest to the camera. Generally if the eyes are out of focus, the shot is ruined. If the eyes are in sharp focus, you can often get a good shot even if other parts of the face are not in focus.
