Hi, everybody this is Craig Tanner for the Mindful Eye and the Daily Critique. We have two images today they were both submitted by Yan who’s an advance photographer from Seattle. And it’s two versions of the same image, so we have this color version and then we have a CP version and Yan says that he shot these images on location at an abandoned dairy farm. This is a location he had worked with before and he has work with this model before in the studio. He saw an image online that inspired him to create this shot. So he returned to the location with this model and he was going for this edgy look that he had seen in that mother photography. And Yan shot with a Cannon mark 31DC full film sensor camera he used an 85 F1.2 cannon lens. And that’s a great lens for these concept portraits full body and an ISO 125 shot almost wide open at F2.5 and exposed the file for 1 60th of a second. Yan also added some lighting here he’s got natural light coming from this windows Yan added on a 600 watts second battery powered pack here that is being modified by beauty dish. And it’s over here to camera right. We’ll talk more about the lighting in just a minute.

And Yan had some interesting remarks in the question and comments part of the submission form. Yan says, first he’s like to know about the framing here relative to the crop. He like the environment of the dairy farm but the also wants the mileage come forward and he just had a question when I crop this anymore and Yan also wanted to know what I though the difference between this color version in the C.P.. Yan says that he prefer the Cp version but then a lot of people that he has shared this images way before the color version and want it does to weigh on that. So let’s get right into it.

I love the versions I really like the way Yan is working this location. I love the way he’s found this spot, he’s move the model into this negative space. She’s using this really beautiful framing it has a great sense of visual unity and harmony. It’s no static you got more information over here; it’s darker over here lighter over here and more contrast over here. I love the rhythm of the idea of the windows this looks like maybe a window into another space not outside but into just another area maybe a barn. And I love what’s that doing it rhymes the overall shape of the framing in this shot, it’s also creating a real powerful feeling of depth on this diagonal. And I think that works really well, I think the poses is great if Yan’s going for these edgy look.

She almost looks like a box standing there, she’s looking straight at us real intense look like a dead of the evening expression. That on the even tail to the head almost fist here but that is combined with most for her weight on this leg. Which naturally creates this feeling S curve with a body overall. And that rhymes this elegance to the quality blind the hair and it’s really needed. Even though we had this edgy confrontational kind of pose, you got these entire straight up and down lines. You have this one bit of movement and I think really adds a lot to the image and this is one take way just in real basic sense you could get from today’s critique. You ‘re photographing people and you want top get away from static, just having people put more weight on one leg than the other. Could be a powerful thing, I think the lighting here is really interesting I want to talk about that.

You know in a traditional sense if we’re shooting some kind of portrait and we have this window light. That the traditional thing it’s kind of schemes scenario might say. Okay you take the beauty dish and you put right over the camera, shoot right under it and it’s a little bit higher than a camera but its coming straight at. And it’ just serves to fill the shadows that are being created from the window light, it’s more of a classic feel like and I would also get more light on to the eyes. It almost looks like Yan he’s not only moved this, typically called a field light over to the right. So it drives shadows across the dominant felling of light moving in from the windows. And it’s also looks seems like it’s up pretty high so their shadows are dropping down into the eye. And that just bleeds me to make a point that we can talk about traditional lighting, we can talk about classic lighting, we talk about great light .We talk about bad lighting but there’s really isn’t such thing in lighting is completely relative to what you’re trying to say as a photographic artist. It’s relative to the kind of mood you’re trying to se.

And so in this case having shadows they cross each other creating really strong drop shadows in the eye if you’re going for an edgy look I think. I just a great choice and it’s working well in the image. When it comes to comparing these two versions, if I’m with Yan, I’ll end liking this version better. The interesting thing abut this version to me its goes away from this original concept. To being edgy to me this edgy kind of casual fashion, this is like a western lifestyle shoot, or something. It’s just has a totally different feeling to it and so from a subjective stand point I like this better because I wouldn’t go here as much as an artist to say the least. This is more lifestyle which is going more of I would create shooting with people.

But from an objective standpoint, I like this image better, because I feel like its more open shadow that you’re getting in the CP version is giving more and elegant quality of line to the model. What‘s happened for me in this representation of this version is that the dark coat here blends with these heavy shadows. Both here and over here and it’s no just a matter losing this kind of elegant feeling. Feeling the movement of line and it’s also starts to create a balance for me just kin terms of the archetype of the shape of this person. The start to expand and its starts to look really heavy relative to the proportion of her legs and also starts to make me feel like the face is not as elegant and the other version where we see the outline, of the torso.

It’s amazing what that does my eye in terms of quality of line on the model and also overall proportional balance. And the mother thing is happen here is just opened up those shadows on the face it’s completely different lighting pattern in the eyes come forward more. Now you don’t get the sense of cross light as much anymore, if I was going to work with this version I personally would open it way up. And the interesting thing is once I do this I think the viewer is going still get this sense of kind of these edgy fashions. Because in the part of the treatment to me seems to be at the background almost seems monochrome and in this seems like a lot of colors for sure. You get red the most powerful color m on the color wheel. Its plays off a blue the red hair the real heavy black of the eyeliner and the eyelashes the black and belt the red and black together so powerful.

To me if we come in and do just a big curbs adjustment. And go for more of the fashion looks on the skin just in terms o f these blown out look. You still got the edgy feeling with the color. And what the pose in all that but he model to me ends up looking a lot more elegant in the space. And from here I don’t think that I would do much of anything else to the image. What’s interesting to me is that in the other version, this starts to be high contrast and I start thinking how about how this get heavy. But here this is so powerful with this colors sitting in this sort of monochrome space. That she just keeps coming forward and it’s a lot edgier. So having these things that aren’t quite so tidied up and having some areas that kind of fall off a little timework a lot better when I go to this version. Kit’s so much softer and so much more unified to begin with. That I start to think about pushing it in the direction of more unified and so I just created a layer where I continue these lines so that you don’t have the fall off here. So do you have more of the unified framing from left to right? I got rid off this little diagonal here.

I tone this way down so it doesn’t compete with now. This much softer feeling of the face and also tone this back here. And I’m going turn that layer on and you’ll see that I didn’t want of other thing to this version because it’s so much other and it’s not as edgy. I skewed this obviously to the left to keep these lines in a space where they fell a little bit more cohesive and unified with the outside edge of the frame. And also to keep here from filling the light she’s a little bit off balance in this direction again this seems so much more unified and so much more cohesive to begin with. And I’m just going to pushing it in hat direction in any aspect. And here I think I would crop this version just over so slightly from the top something like that. And leave it there the main I want people to hear me say is I love both of these versions.

To be honest Yan has don a great job here coming with a concept, working with this location in a beautiful ways. Got beautiful model I think that her gesture and pose and all that’s been manage in a great way. Just too really over all beautiful portrait.

And we want to thank you Yan for being generous enough to share this images with us on the Mindful Eye, Daily Critique. We’d love to hear your comment about this critique thanks a lot everybody.