Recent Professional Works

[Frank Doorhof]

From a testshoot we did today for a new glamour model.

[2jbourret]

From a testshoot we did today for a new glamour model.

Nice!  I particularly like the two low key/chiaroscuro  images.

[HarperPhotos]

Hello,

Latest shot.

Stats:

Mamiya 645AFDII camera
Mamyia 50mm shift lens
Leaf Aptus 75
Retouching and CGI by Lightfarm Studios

Cheers

Simon

[SecondFocus]

Superb!

A recently published image taken November 09' with the RZ67, shot on Fuji Astia with the 180mm -

[attachment=22861:Japan_Air.jpg]

.

[Frank Doorhof]

Very cool Simon

[MichaelEzra]

Mamiya ZD camera + Mamiya AF 150 F/3.5

[SecondFocus]

That is just beautiful!

Mamiya just did a story about me on their blog and I talked about shooting with the ZD. Great value!

Heavy Lifting With Ian Sitren

Mamiya ZD camera + Mamiya AF 150 F/3.5

[Abdulrahman Aljabri]

Mamiya ZD camera + Mamiya AF 150 F/3.5

Skin texture looks very interesting in this picture, is it a product of lighting or post processing?

[fredjeang]

Mamiya ZD camera + Mamiya AF 150 F/3.5

Ahhh,
I recognise a particular approach influenced by all the renaissance Italian masterpeices you are lucky to have next door.

About the ZD, I've been fascinated in the past by this sort of MF in a dslr design and still am.
It looks like a better gear that I've been reading over the internet.

Michael, recently I visited your site again and I enjoyed many pictures. I even downloaded your batch processing mini software  
I have not tried it yet, but what I liked was that it is just so simple that it might be good.
I so fed up of overpower tech where I'm using only 20% of the specs.

Cheers.

[fredjeang]

A while ago "someone" asked me to surprise him with a raw image.....
So today during the lunch break I could not resist....
Hope you like it.

It's funny, reaching that point in this pro works thread and a reflection comes to my mind.

I said before Frank that this pic is "the Frank's I like most".
What I was trying to express is that when you posts something informal, it just reaches another dimension.
I'm not saying that the more formal works are bad, not at all, but that maybe we should consider that when we shoot for a client, we are not reaching our full potential percetion.
Or in other words, that the pressure to do the best is killing something in the process.

It is curious to realised that when we are relaxed and with no desire to do the perfect shot, we do better pictures. Not kidding.

I read recently something similar in the Mark Tucker's blog about vhis experience in a fashion shot here: http://marktucker.wordpress.com/
then find the "outtake frame recent project" article.

Also remember James Russell talking about this picture with the car, the man who smokes...one of my James favs also and probably the most "anti-assignment".

In fact, these are almost elaborated snaps where it just happened from the highest part of us. When we have a mission, I just feel that suddenly this does not work
But when we start to forget about it, then come the best shots.

Those rules should do the job fine:
-Find a 2K HMI Fresnel from the 2th WW and just bombardate the plateau with it
-Find a model that can handle these lights and burn all the DR in the overall frame
-Fired the AD from the action and send him to play with the I.pad, for that we would need a police
stuff with the words "no trepassing"
-Just don't bloody care any more about the assignment and the campaing and shoot what you want to
-Don't ask the tech if we are in focus every ten seconds
-Shoot as if we where doing Pola testings
-Ask a lot of money for that.

Am I kidding? In part yes, in part...

[feppe]

Mamiya just did a story about me on their blog and I talked about shooting with the ZD. Great value!

Heavy Lifting With Ian Sitren

Good interview with some interesting insight from a pro who is adapting to the requirements of the market. Was hoping to see some shots of vomit-inducing heavy lifting, but I can understand why they chose female physique for this audience

And you can't really go wrong with this level of photography - stunning capture and gorgeous amazon:

Ian Sitren

[fredjeang]

Edit: sorry, posted a snap by mistake in that section that was not an MF shot
and therefore belong to the other forum section.

Confusion repared.

[MichaelEzra]

Skin texture looks very interesting in this picture, is it a product of lighting or post processing?

Skin texture is a result of both lighting and post. I used soft-boxes with grids. For post, besides manual use of healing brush, dodging/burning, etc. I found that Topaz Detail 2 does excellent job in adjusting prominence of various spacial frequencies in the image. In this example I reduced prominence of medium-size variations of skin coloring, this gave an overall even look to the skin. Model had no makeup at all, just a bit of eye liner and mascara.
By the way, this is not a posed portrait, that is one of the reasons I like it so much. It was one of the quick "snaps" in the beginning of the shoot to warm up the model.

Thank you all for your kind words:)

[fredjeang]

Skin texture is a result of both lighting and post. I used soft-boxes with grids. For post, besides manual use of healing brush, dodging/burning, etc. I found that Topaz Detail 2 does excellent job in adjusting prominence of various spacial frequencies in the image. In this example I reduced prominence of medium-size variations of skin coloring, this gave an overall even look to the skin. Model had no makeup at all, just a bit of eye liner and mascara.
By the way, this is not a posed portrait, that is one of the reasons I like it so much. It was one of the quick "snaps" in the beginning of the shoot to warm up the model.

Thank you all for your kind words:)

Michael, are you using the Topaz aimed to web, jpegs or for prints also?

[MichaelEzra]

Michael, are you using the Topaz aimed to web, jpegs or for prints also?

Haven't used it for prints yet, but I think I will. I made a few tests and it also works great for final sharpen when used after Blow Up.
Of course, ACR's sharpening is also suitable for prints and works much faster than Topaz.
Overall, Topaz Detail seems to be suitable for any kind of sharpening.
FYI, Topaz detail has a small color management issue - the "before" image is not color managed... yet.

In the web-size JPG of a full portrait sharpening is a bit overdone just to emphasize the texture present in the full size image.

[fredjeang]

Haven't used it for prints yet, but I think I will. I made a few tests and it also works great for final sharpen when used after Blow Up.
Of course, ACR's sharpening is also suitable for prints and works much faster than Topaz.
Overall, Topaz Detail seems to be suitable for any kind of sharpening.
FYI, Topaz detail has a small color management issue - the "before" image is not color managed... yet.

In the web-size JPG of a full portrait sharpening is a bit overdone just to emphasize the texture present in the full size image.

Thank you.
Yes, I did noticed that the sharpening was a bit overpushed for the size, but in your image it works fine and I think it was a good choice.

Cheers.

Ps: I'm just downloading the Topaz right now in evaluation version.

[feppe]

Skin texture is a result of both lighting and post. I used soft-boxes with grids. For post, besides manual use of healing brush, dodging/burning, etc. I found that Topaz Detail 2 does excellent job in adjusting prominence of various spacial frequencies in the image. In this example I reduced prominence of medium-size variations of skin coloring, this gave an overall even look to the skin. Model had no makeup at all, just a bit of eye liner and mascara.
By the way, this is not a posed portrait, that is one of the reasons I like it so much. It was one of the quick "snaps" in the beginning of the shoot to warm up the model.

Thank you all for your kind words:)

There's an excellent free tutorial on RetouchPRO on applying several "frequencies" of detail with the aim of smoothing out skin without making it look porcelain. The action linked in the tutorial is very good, and one can adjust it easily. You can kill the low-frequency bumps while keeping (or emphasizing) pores, for example. I've had very good success with it. Best thing since D&B which I'm way too lazy to do

Very good portrait from you, as always - agree with Fred that the skin is a bit harsh at this resolution, though. Am on vacation, and looking at it on an uncalibrated laptop at the moment bright enough to sear my eyebrows so I might be just squinting too much.

[Frank Doorhof]

@Fredjeang,
I know what you mean.
Also the model is more relaxed, and because you don't have to sometimes it works.

For me to be really honest it doesn't matter, I teach a lot of those workshops and I feel totally relaxed, also when shooting for customers. HOWEVER when doing free work you will always excel, simply put because you are not forcing yourself to perform.
In the workshops I have to stay within certain borders, I can't freak too much like I would love to, that also gives a certain mood to the images.
The free and fun shots you do in between breaks, just outside etc. are always fresh and different.

I would love to do a bit more free work, but it's so busy I don't have the time at the moment which is a shame I think, but one day it will

A real good view by the way is the PORTRAITS doc with Mario Testino, he says it perfect.
Not literary but in short, he doesn't know anything about photography so that doesn't limit him, he just shoots the PERSON, and that shows.

They are 100% right, when you forget about the technique and just DO IT you wil get so much better results.
Because my main job is teaching that's something I cannot do during my "work" and most clients are hiring me for that look.
For myself I would love to land a gig were I can do 100% free work commissioned, and that will be indeed like that shot with added light to finish it off.
But more relaxed and loose.

This was shot as, it will probably not work (that's what I told the model) and it pushed her just that bit further
It always works for their posing

[fredjeang]

@Fredjeang,
I know what you mean.
Also the model is more relaxed, and because you don't have to sometimes it works.

For me to be really honest it doesn't matter, I teach a lot of those workshops and I feel totally relaxed, also when shooting for customers. HOWEVER when doing free work you will always excel, simply put because you are not forcing yourself to perform.
In the workshops I have to stay within certain borders, I can't freak too much like I would love to, that also gives a certain mood to the images.
The free and fun shots you do in between breaks, just outside etc. are always fresh and different.

I would love to do a bit more free work, but it's so busy I don't have the time at the moment which is a shame I think, but one day it will

A real good view by the way is the PORTRAITS doc with Mario Testino, he says it perfect.
Not literary but in short, he doesn't know anything about photography so that doesn't limit him, he just shoots the PERSON, and that shows.

They are 100% right, when you forget about the technique and just DO IT you wil get so much better results.
Because my main job is teaching that's something I cannot do during my "work" and most clients are hiring me for that look.
For myself I would love to land a gig were I can do 100% free work commissioned, and that will be indeed like that shot with added light to finish it off.
But more relaxed and loose.

This was shot as, it will probably not work (that's what I told the model) and it pushed her just that bit further
It always works for their posing

Indeed Frank.
Don't remember if it was Picasso, but he said: "the task now is to delearn what we have been learning". He was right the old fox!

[haefnerphoto]

That is just beautiful!

Mamiya just did a story about me on their blog and I talked about shooting with the ZD. Great value!

Heavy Lifting With Ian Sitren

Ian, I met you at the Photo Festival, what a wonderful article on your work, congratulations!  Jim