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Contest Finalist in The Human Eye Photo Contest
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sandypaschall
April 01, 2017
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
ChristyREckhoff
September 15, 2017
Beautiful child portrait! I love the way the eyes pop... Colors and tones are fantastic... Detail is wonderful... Perfect in every aspect... Keep up the amazing work... I cannot wait to see what else you post.
jsschultz
September 30, 2017
Beautiful portrait. You captured her inner spirit. This reminds of an incredible cover photo from National Geographic from years ago.
cherylhealy
June 09, 2021
This is my favourite, but having just discovered your collection, I am loving them all. I could lose hours just viewing all of your photos. You are an inspiration to all. Keep uploading, I'll be a frequent visitor to your page.
Laton1973
July 23, 2023
beautiful blue eyes, great skin tone, the brown background matching her hair, gorgeous
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo is taken in my small home studio, which is in my back garden. It is really a glorified shed, but it is cosy set up to suit my needs.Time
This was under studio lighting conditions, so was shot in the morning, but the daylight did not add to this image.Lighting
I aim to reproduce Rembrandt style lighting to create a fine art, and painterly effect with my lighting. My key light is from one side, using a 120cm Octabox to give a large, soft light source. I use a reflector to add fill and lift the shadows slightly.Equipment
This was shot on a canon 6D with a canon 24-105 F4 L series lens. I used Bowens Gemini 500 Pro studio head, with a 120cm octabox, and a reflector. Occasionally I do use a second studio head to add a tiny bit of fill, but this was just using the one light, and a reflector.Inspiration
This was taken during a regular fine art session, but when I saw the colour of the model's eye's I looked for a scarf that would make them stand out and compliment her colouring. With her dark hair, pale skin and amazing blue eyes, I was compelled to create a fine art portrait of her.Editing
The post production is this image consists mainly of frequency separation to smooth her skin, then some dodging and burning to give the image a more painted feel. I have brightened her eyes, and increased the blue slightly using a curves adjustment layer. I also added a texture to the background, and a slight brown vignette to draw the attention to her face by darkening the edges. After editing in Photoshop, I then use Lightroom to finish off the image, using my own presets which I have developed to give my images a fine art finish.In my camera bag
I have my Canon 6D, and my 2 Canon L series lenses (24 - 105 f4, and 70 - 200 f2.8, with a 2x extender when I need it for wildlife). I am a great supporter of wildlife conservation and sometimes add images of animals I have taken to my portraits as composites. A seldom use a tripod, as I feel it limits my movement. On location, I use a selection of speed lights, so I can control the light. I also use a grey card to set my white balance and a Sekonic 308s to measure the light.Feedback
Set up your lighting, paying careful attention to the light and shadows. I always meter my light, although in the studio it is pretty consistent. I then to a test shot to make sure it is falling as I want it to, before settling in to take my set of image. As I move my model, I adjust the light to suit the new position, paying attention to how it falls on her face. I am constantly tweaking it, to get it the way I want it.