Craig Callan  


Alexandria  by Craig Callan

January 2022 - Alexandria

About the Image(s)

Exposure - 1/60 sec, f 5.6, ISO 400
Camera- Nikon D90 with Tamron 90mm Lens

This portrait was taken in diffused daylight. The model was in a rocking chair on a white painted front porch with the sun coming from the left. A 42" white reflector was placed on the floor to the right, angled up to provide fill.
The costume is just a piece of fabric found on the remnant table of a fabric store. If memory serves, it was less than $5 for 1-1/2 yds.
The red of the fabric had its saturation increased in Lightroom first, then the image was opened in Photoshop and the cloth on the right side was cloned to remove the fingers of the model's left hand.
The Anthropics Portrait Pro filter was used to change the eye color from gray to green, and to add a window light catchlight to the eye. Moderate skin smoothing and face sculpting was applied as well. The image was also cropped to emphasize the face.


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




David Kepley   David Kepley
Craig, You've captured a wonderful image of a very pretty young woman. I'm certainly no pro when it comes to portraits. Here are a couple of thoughts. The eyes each have a subtle line in the iris that does not look natural. The cloning of her hand was done expertly. I cannot tell where it took place. Great job. I think I would have experimented with some different lighting on your model's face. The evenness of the lighing on her skin seems a little flat to me.   Posted: 01/12/2022 10:22:13
Craig Callan   Craig Callan
Looking closely, I think the left side of each eye is darker than the right. When the catchlight was added, a little bit of the darker side wasn't covered by the catchlight, so it appears as a line against the right side. It may offend some, but I'm satisfied with it.
Your personal feelings about the evenness of the lighting are noted, and for a standard non-glamor portrait I would agree. However, the standards for glamor are different. The goal here is to "flood" the model with light. A brief perusal of the various fashion magazine covers reveals a general preference for evenly lit head shots.   Posted: 01/17/2022 11:19:44



Craig,I like the picture you captured ,beautiful model face,
but I feel the right eye is not balance to the left ,also that
,I feel your effort.   Posted: 01/12/2022 22:40:01
Craig Callan   Craig Callan
Dicky, think you're right here. In my unfamiliarity with the software, I may have overdone the "eye openness" control on the right eye. I will re-do it before I submit to a competition.   Posted: 01/17/2022 11:24:11



Alan Kiecker   Alan Kiecker
I shy away from doing portraits of any sort, so I am totally unqualified to give any real comments here. I do think the green of the eyes does not see like a natural color.   Posted: 01/18/2022 10:55:33



Jo-Ann Rolle   Jo-Ann Rolle
(Group 81)
Craig welcome! Your first image to the group is stunning. I appreciate the story of how the model was framed in remnanet red lace --creative on many levels.

I have no comment on the eyes. I found the red "costume" drew my eyes more to the lips because they were similar to the reflection of the red frame.   Posted: 01/29/2022 22:18:25
Craig Callan   Craig Callan
Thanks, Jo-Anne. I look forward to more creative opportunities with this group!   Posted: 01/30/2022 18:11:03