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[OM] Portrait PP, Objective, or Subjective

Subject: [OM] Portrait PP, Objective, or Subjective
From: Bob Whitmire <bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:25:28 -0400
Esteemed Wife wanted a mug shot for a press release about a new  
service she is offering. I don't do portraits. In the past, she has  
not accepted this answer, and then has not been particularly happy  
with the results. This time I set up a $5 studio in the living room.  
Background is a piece of black foam core, 32"x40". She's holding a  
piece of white mat board to reflect light back from the wall of glass  
that constitutes one of our living room walls. Mid to late afternoon,  
light overcast. Very cool light.

My result:

http://www.bwp33.com/page17/files/page17-1000-full.jpg

For giggles, I posted a link on the Lighting forum at DeePee, and  
asked for comments.

One fellow there offered the following edit of the picture:

http://i.pbase.com/ 
o6/67/398967/1/94507703.cGBTBwVK.ShutterBobpicofwife21Mar08edit.jpg

Objective data:

1. The image does not look as cool on my monitor as it does on the  
web site or DeePee after reducing to sRGB. I'm not sure why this is,  
but while mine is cool, it is less cool than it appears.

2. If I were viewing his and mine on a gallery wall, and I didn't  
know the person, I'm sure I would prefer his just for the warmth.

3. The actual fidelity of subject to photo goes to mine. We are pale,  
northern people still gripped in the icy claws of winter. It's  
supposed to snow here tonight. Yes, she's wearing makeup, but not a  
lot. The hair color in my version is pretty much spot on.

4. The smoothness from pp and the warmth of the skin tones in his is  
very appealing. His rendition, however, causes a yellowness to her  
hair, which some might charitably call blond.

I'm not looking for praise or condemnation or anything in between or  
either of us. I'm wondering about the current state of portrait  
photography in today's environment. I notice in the lighting forum on  
DeePee there seems to be a tendency to turn people into plastic in  
order to give them flawless skin. The more restrained among them tone  
this town and show something which appears to be texture, but there's  
still a smoothness that is unnatural. They all say this is what their  
clients want. Some of them, based on their web sites, appear to be  
making money at this. I know there are some folks here who do, too,  
and that's why I'm posting.

The Question: If this portrait had turned up in your camera, would   
you have offered the client My version, or His version, or allowed  
her to choose from the two versions or some other version I haven't  
dreamed of?

For What It's Worth: Esteemed Wife says my effort this time is the  
first picture she's ever seen of herself that didn't make her want to  
look away. I think she likes it. I showed her the other version, and  
I think she liked that one, too, but did agree that it doesn't look  
like her.

--Bob Whitmire
www.bwp33.com





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