Mary Hinsen, BPSA  


Sophia by Mary Hinsen, BPSA

November 2024 - Sophia

November 2024 - Mary Hinsen, BPSA

Original

About the Image(s)

Kapa haka is an important part of the school curriculum here. Children have the opportunity to perform Kapa haka from a young age, developing a pride in their heritage and learning M?ori language and culture. This is an image I shot at the final practice, before Sophia, a shy 11 year old, left to compete in the regional Kapa haka competition. The practice was held in a classroom, so neither good background or lighting! Settings were 1/250 sec, 69mm, ISO1000, f/6.3.

Kapa haka is all about pride and strength. Sophia was feeling nervous, thinking about the upcoming competition. I thought a black and white conversion might help the overall image. Sophia is shy, but there is strength in her eyes. I also wanted to do something about the classroom background.

I selected subject, refined hair, and masked. I used a brush in overlay mode to try to include more of her wayward hair in the selection! I then took a photo of a book cover with abstract koru designs, placed it behind the subject layer, and used a radial gradient to darken the centre (trying to hide the masking sins I just couldn't get right, lol).

I stamped up, used a black and white adjustment layer, then both a curves and a levels layer to selectively dodge and burn Sophia’s face.

I decided to crop just below her shoulders, to focus on her facial expression, but still leave enough of her traditional costume to give context.


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




Georgianne Giese   Georgianne Giese
You did an excellent job of bringing back Sophia's face. I'm glad that you did not smooth out those lovely freckles! Sophia certainly is beautiful. Black and white is the correct persentation for this image, in my opinion.

I found myself wishing that the background were a little lighter around her hair, as it is almost indistinquishable from the background. I understand, however, how hard it is to select such flyaway hair and your decision to blend it into the background seems appropriate.

If anyone has a suggestion on how to effectively select such flyaway hair, we surely would like to see an explaination!   Posted: 11/08/2024 20:03:41



Denise McKay   Denise McKay
This is a charming portrait of Sophia. You've captured a wonderful expression and her vibrant eyes. Converting to black and white works really well in my opinion.

For fun, I took Georgi's suggestion and in Lightroom I masked and lightened the background a bit and added just a touch of color (kind of blue/gray) to see if she stood out a little more. Not sure if it made much of an improvement, but I've attached it anyway, LOL.
  Posted: 11/16/2024 14:27:59
Comment Image



Jan Handman   Jan Handman
What a sweet portrait Mary. You did a great job of turning it into fine art rather than a snapshot. Her eyes have so much expression and her freckles are the best! Well done.   Posted: 11/23/2024 15:23:15



Rita Johnston   Rita Johnston
I agree that you took a snapshot and made it into a portrait. I really like the black and white, and especially the eyes. Good job!   Posted: 11/30/2024 03:02:29



Carol Watson   Carol Watson
I think your choices of the mono conversion, replacing the background and the crop have all elevated this lovely portrait of Sophia.   Posted: 11/30/2024 10:46:49