Windowlight Portrait

[JaketheSnake]

This is a portrait I took of my brother for an assignment I am working on.



I am sorry, the colors are off.  Looking at the final image on my computer looks totally different from the way the image looks after I upload it to the image host.  I don't know how to fix this.

[eob]

Colors look perfectly fine on my monitor.

Sometimes, when you process the image in Adobe RGB color space and then you Save For Web in the same color space, the result looks odd when you view that image over the Internet. To avoid that, always convert your image to sRGB color space before saving for viewing over the Internet.

I like this portrait's composition, framing, lighting and even the background (slightly distracting, though). Perhaps I would just reduce the contrast a bit to get more details - especially in shadows. The blue stripe could be stamped out.

[Uroplatus]

I am going to agree with eob the color doesn't look off, especially if you never saw the original 

I like the pose... one thing that would make this photo almost perfect... darken the wicker behind his head from about the part of his hair up. Give it a diagnol look to the slant of his head pose.

Also getting him just a foot from the wicker would help in bluring it a bit, making the background seperate itself form your brother.

The one blue strip, is a bit distracting, but not a deal breaker for me on this photo...  I think its a great shot all around.

[JaketheSnake]

Thanks.  The original is just a little warmer.  The print, view in photoshop, and viewing the file on the computer looks how it should, something just goes crazy after uploading it.  I will try that color space setting and see how that works out.

And with the background it is a big wicker chair that he was sitting in.  I would have pulled him a bit further away from the back but then I could have lost natural, relaxed look. 

But thanks for the positive feedback.

[habakuk]

Much important things have been said, so let me add what I see in addition: I don't see the busy bg as a distraction, the eyes are captivating enough to keep my attention on the face. What I don't like very much is the blend of the hairs into the almost pitch dark part of the shadow right behind his head, on the left side. While this works fine for me on his shoulders, it gives a strange head form.

cheers
®

[eob]

Looking at the final image on my computer looks totally different from the way the image looks after I upload it to the image host.

Here's a tip on how to deal with this problem.

In Photoshop, go to File --> Save For Web. In the resulting window look for a small globe icon at the bottom right. When you click it, you open the preview image in your default web browser. That way, you will see what your JPEG will look like on the net - even before you save it in Photoshop.

In case of transparent GIF images, you can check their appearance on any background you choose in the same Save For Web window. Just look for a small triangle to the right of the Preset drop-down menu. Click on it and choose Background. Then, click the Image option. This will allow you to open the file you intend to use as a background for your transparent GIF.

And remember my previous tip about saving your JPEGs in the sRGB color space...

[ATNO]

I like the photo in terms of the subject, framing, background etc. From there my feedback takes on a little more negative tone. It's just flat.  I just don't think the light coming through the window was quite bright enough to add more shadow detail to the facial features or give a bit of warmth to the skin tones. I've also never really liked these kinds of shots because the lack of 3 dimensional lighting (spot, fill, and back lights) makes the photo look completely 2 dimensional. Just my personal preference more than anything, but I think playing around with some lighting possibilities on that shot rather than relying on only the natural window light might have gotten you a better photo.

[eob]

A little bit of oblique lighting wouldn't hurt, indeed...

[ponykilr]

I think the subject's tone and color would be much more alive if the mesh in the background were a different color or less saturated. I love the "real" look of this portrait. The eyes are dark and captivating.

There is the slightest green tint on some of the edges of the face. Not sure if that is a bad though, It still looks un-contrived and captivates me. It almost looks like Portra NC  or Provia film.

[JaketheSnake]

Thanks.  This was for my portraiture class and the assignment was to use only window light so I wasn't able to use anything else.  And in the print the dark area on the top left of the head isn't that dark so you can see separation in there.  Thanks for your input.