Matthew Au Naturel | « Inner Joy | Main | Fencing Lines » |
  I am very pleased with these portraits of my husband because he is so damn difficult to take photos of. He gets so paranoid in front of the camera that he starts making all sorts of weird and unnatural expressions. This is why I'm so happy about these (because I managed to catch him without a crazy expression, and he even likes these photos of himself - which is quite an achievement!) I put up two versions hoping to get some feedback about which you prefer. I have really been into black and white lately (can you tell?) so I think I may be unfairly biased toward the second. In the second I used mostly the red channel (which makes skin look very smooth) and added sepia toning. Which do you prefer? Posted by Gaja at May 12, 2005 4:31 PM © All images are copyrighted. Please contact me for permission or licensing. Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: Commentsi think the sepia one looks better! Posted by: obfuse at June 1, 2005 9:56 AM the top, colour one is class, really good dof Posted by: luke at May 27, 2005 2:21 PM i definitely prefer the sepia version, as a "timeless portrait," but the color version has perfect contrast and saturation. it would look good as part of a larger image in a catalog for J.Crew menswear! Posted by: Pei at May 26, 2005 10:35 AM I like the monochrome version better. Congrats on photographing a reluctant subject! :) Posted by: Andreas at May 16, 2005 5:24 PM on the first one he looks more natural, the second one has but a really good retro feeling. i still like the first one better, cuz of the smooth and calm colors.. nice job! Posted by: m.uba at May 16, 2005 10:37 AM I like both, but I like the sepia one more. (It doesn't look magenta or green on the screen I'm looking at right now. It just looks, well, sepia.) Posted by: jcm at May 15, 2005 3:22 PM The colour for me. Posted by: GKP at May 15, 2005 3:28 AM I am usually partial for B&W portraits but in this case I prefer the color version because it preserves the texture of his skin (maybe a different composition in the channel mixer can work better than the standard desaturation, though). I understand what you mean: since I know my wife I have probably managed to make not more than a handful decent portraits of her! Posted by: Massimo at May 14, 2005 8:54 PM Beyond a doubt, the color one is better - very nice job. The monochrome is far too green. If yer goin' for sepia, augment the brown with a bit 'o blue, not green. Posted by: Stephen at May 14, 2005 7:55 PM No question for me......the color!! in this case I think the bw is missing the texture of the skin. If he's as bad as you say, than this is stellar!! Posted by: owl and dragon at May 14, 2005 8:57 AM color one feels better .... b&w version is a little too cold Posted by: Crash at May 14, 2005 7:09 AM Hi Matth Posted by: luis at May 13, 2005 8:46 PM I completely understand about your husband making unnatural faces in front of the camera. My wife has this uncanny ability to blink her eyes EVERY time I take a shot of her. Well, to answer your question... I prefer the sepia print. It brings out your husband's character and personality more. Nice job! Posted by: bruce at May 13, 2005 7:59 PM I prefer the B&W Posted by: Chantal at May 13, 2005 8:43 AM i also prefere the colorportrait because for my felling the sepia pic looks a bit pale...the color of his skin seems to have a little too much magenta?! Posted by: max at May 13, 2005 8:03 AM i think in the b&w version his face actually takes on an unnaturally pale "tone", specifically on the tops of his cheeks and the bridge of his nose (maybe it's just my eyes). i would pick the colour version because of that, and because it has a nice balance between the green background and the colours in his face and jacket. Posted by: jeff at May 13, 2005 5:18 AM this is a wonderful portrait. well done! Posted by: Diana at May 13, 2005 4:19 AM Great portrait, shows character and everything is balanced nicely in the frame. I do prefer the colour in this case, I love the softly contrasting green and reddish hues. The BW is good but, as you say, the red channel makes skin look smooth, but it does this by eliminating a lot of the texture and I think it takes something of the character away. It's a damn fine shot either way, but the colour has more character for me. Posted by: miles at May 12, 2005 11:09 PM I like the b&w conversion. In this instant it's more effective than the original version. Posted by: Terence at May 12, 2005 7:47 PM Indeed, that's quite a nice portrait. I wish someone knew how to shoot natural portraits of myself. ;) I really can't decide which one I like best, I like the green background in the first one and I also think the sepia works quite well on this kind of photos. Posted by: Paulo at May 12, 2005 6:06 PM Post a comment |