Ella Schreiber, QPSA, APSA  


Cool Gram by Ella Schreiber, QPSA, APSA

June 2018 - Cool Gram

About the Image(s)

Another Character from the Renaissance Festival … a lady that was in costume and dressed to the 9's … she told us she was a grandmother… hard to believe… in any case, this was shot with a CS camera using an 18-400 lens @ 83mm, F8, !/125, ISO 320. In post camera processing, I removed the background b/c it was busy and distracting, she was wearing “creative” contact lenses … where one of her eyes was red, the other green… I had to change both eyes to something most people can relate to, NIK silver Efex was used for B/W conversion, sharpened, a vignette added, cropped, and s 2 px stroke added. I titled this image Cool Gram & hope you think she is as cool as I do.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
11 comments posted




 
Excellent Ella !!!!! I'd love to see the original as well !

Darrell   Posted: 06/01/2018 17:30:12



Ella Schreiber   Ella Schreiber
Hi Darrell: Thank you for your nice feedback...Please don't jump when you see the original... It was a L O T of work to get her to look like this... I quickly found out, people had difficulty relating to those strange contact lenses... so, I changed her eyes, and used a program to smooth her skin a bit (a lot)and removed that long stringy hair, which seemed distracting.   Posted: 06/01/2018 18:17:55
Comment Image



Peter Clark   Peter Clark
Hi Ella - top class portraits seem to be your forte at present and this is another fine example which I like very much - up to a point! Your processing is spot on - the mid grey background so necessary and the treatment to the face has given it the look of porcelain while retaining some tonal variation to keep the shape and moulding in that area.

So far so good, but I feel that the blotchy nature of the shoulders, etc does not sit well with the facial tones and requires similar attention.   Posted: 06/02/2018 08:09:23
Ella Schreiber   Ella Schreiber
Peter, thank you... she was full of freckles and, I know I need to work on her shoulders etc... again, that will be lots of work since she has that necklace... but, will do. Thanks again for your feedback.   Posted: 06/02/2018 14:57:25



 
Very well done Ella. You did an exceptional well on her face! In addition you did very well removing the background. I agree the freckles on her shoulders, as Peter pointed out need some work. I would as well suggest you work on her right eye a little, it appears a little turned out to my eyes.   Posted: 06/07/2018 15:46:20



John Gilkerson   John Gilkerson
The image was very impressive even before you showed the original.
Transforming an already attractive woman to something amazing is quite a feat.
All in all an excellent portrait.   Posted: 06/11/2018 16:23:45



 
Hi, Ella!

I agree with colleagues. The portrait was very successful. Super! I'm not a big fan of strong skin retouching on the face, but it's all subjective. Well done!   Posted: 06/15/2018 07:23:19



Stephen Levitas   Stephen Levitas
(Group 32)
Hello Ella,
This shows a lot of skill at transforming the original. Your group colleagues have already commented about your model's shoulders that need a bit of work to match the job you did on the skin of her face.
What I want to note here is that images can go in many interesting and valid directions. Your finished monochrome indeed shows a "Cool Gram," especially with the pretty much professional care you took of her skin, making her look about 30 years old.
On the other hand, there might have been the choice to portray an active but somewhat aging woman (around 60), whose facial lines have marked her with life's experiences.
Both possible. Both legitimate. Yea, creativity.   Posted: 06/15/2018 16:22:09



Ed Ries
I really like what you have created with the image. The color version is much less interesting to me. Nicely converted.   Posted: 06/15/2018 18:58:55



Ian Chantler   Ian Chantler
Hi Ella
Firstly many congratulations in your recent success in the PSA PID Individual Portrait comp so glad you entered and here's an example of why you had that success and why you will continue to have success with your portraits in the future.As you know I do a lot of portraits at U.K. Comic Cons and coloured contacts are a major feature of the people I photograph but never had a person with 2 different coloured ones hope that does not catch on!You did a remarkable job with the background the exposure is spot on with a great tonal range and its pin sharp especially on the eyes were it needs to be, this is purely my personal opinion only but I agree with Stephen I would rather the skin left alone and not smoothed as I think the original shows character but that is my personal taste and I am not the author,but a superb portrait I think you have another winner on your hands Ella.   Posted: 06/17/2018 12:48:33



Ella Schreiber   Ella Schreiber
Hi Ian: thanks for your feedback... Many of the characters at the Renaissance Festival are quite interesting... wearing contact lenses that can give you a fright is fairly common...however, considering entering this into competition, I do believe that changing out the eyes to reflect a more "normal" appearance would site better with most judges as well as younger skin tonality. If, this were a male subject, I do believe the wrinkles and freckles would be more acceptable in competition... just my opinion   Posted: 06/21/2018 15:08:40