Sigma 530 Super Flash gelled with a full cut CTO and bounced off an umbrella camera left. SB600 with a Stofen diffuser behind me and to camera right. I flagged it with a Honl snoot just half wrapped on to keep the light off the background.
I used the Nikon wireless TTL to trigger. The Sigma was set to -1.3 EV and the SB600 was set to -3 EV
post-challenge: Nice! Highest scoring portrait in my portfolio.
Statistics
Place: 13 out of 71 Avg (all users): 6.3414 Avg (commenters): 6.8750 Avg (participants): 5.8684 Avg (non-participants): 6.4265 Views since voting: 1618 Views during voting: 499 Votes: 249 Comments: 9 Favorites: 3 (view)
Hello from the Critique Club-
Your entry very obviously fits the challenge well, as is made evident by its placing but also by a solid and obvious use of a chair in your portrait. I like that you took things in a slightly different direction from the standard portrait, and think that the key to making a successful portrait is giving it some sort of direction or make it depict more than just somebody’s face. Overall, I like your photo, but there are a few things that really distract me from the scene as a whole. The first is the strange way that your hair sorta turned into a mat due to the lighting. I’m not sure if there was clipping or what, but I get stuck there visually. The other is the differing color temperatures. I think going with one or the other would have been better. Personally, I think staying away from the warming gel would have benefitted things you’re showing a person who looks hurt and isolated, and cooler lighting is just more sterile and unbecoming of comfort. I would also second geinafets comment to lower the intensity a bit. Oh, and is that a remote in your hand? ;) Timer/other hand recommended.
All in all though, the score is warranted, as you’ve met the challenge in a creative and interesting fashion, and what I’ve noted are minor issues. Good job.
Strong emotion image. The narrow color band also helps, adding to the feeling of distance and retreating from the world into his private place of pain or shame.
I love the spotlight under/behind the chair. I think the side light (photo's right, subject's left) lights too much. If you put it a bit more behind him, it would have given more of an edge light, which would create a slightly darker image that would better fit the title. I think I might have moved the main light more to his side as well, for the same reason. I think there is too much light on him for him to still be considered vulnerable.
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