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Old 05-25-2004, 03:33 PM   #16
Sharon Knettell Sharon Knettell is offline
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Joined: Sep 2002
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Joan,

The focal length is much better. I did not want to say to much, because your daughter could have, in fact, had a rather large nose. I can see here that she is perfectly lovely and her features are well proportioned.

Two problems:
A: The skin tones are still too dark. Are you metering for her face or the shirt? It is better to meter for the face and let the shirt white out. You can take the same pose and meter for the shirt. The problem with digital is that you cannot burn and dodge, like in the old prints. With standard film, your printmaker can balance the final print. With digital, the information on overexposed light areas cannot be restored.

B: Make sure there are no trees at least 35' (50' is ideal) from where you are working. They can cast a dreadful Kermit like glow to skin and fabric. I know this from bitter experience. When I was first starting out, I was painting a perfectly lovely lady in an evening dress. After hours of keeping the poor thing standing, I could not figure out for the life of me why she was so green. I was mortified! As it tuned out, the trees in my original studio happened to be only 10' from my window. As they were on another property, I had to move my studio to a south facing sun room. Actually, since I am in the Northeast, it has worked out fine.

Don't worry about the missing nostril. Is there some portrait prohibition against that? I haven't heard that one, but then again I have apparently not heard everything! I like that angle the best, but Linda's observation about the 3/4 light is a good thing to follow, especially at that angle. She needs the light more fully on her face. The best light for what you are trying to do is between 10 and 2:00. You photographed her too late.

Hope this helps!
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