The simplistic cover girl shot is one of my biggest sellers. Sitting, standing, horizontal or vertical the aim of course is simplicity (like a cover shot) a great little tip for the front on shot. To avoid slimming in postproduction pull the elbows back when posing. Sitting nice and tall, elbows back, long neck, lifting up and chin pushing forward and down.
As you can see my client is sitting on the ottoman with a grey painted poly board turned on to its side as a backdrop. Hands are resting on the ottoman elbows back shot and cropped horizontally.
One window from the right, reflector on the left. Normally I would crop tight in camera but I wanted to show the elbows. The fan of course is my favorite thing. Oh and my Black n White. Apple U desaturate to BW (set up as an action of course) Apple M curves for contrast mid mark, down on the darks, up on the lights. Because I like my Black n Whites with contrast.
N.B Now there are a million ways to do BW digitally, this is MY preferred option. Feel free to list in comments how you do it. This is not the BEST way it’s MY way. I also add a warm layer of yellow and red or Rad Actions Cinnamon toast and dial the layer back. It’s not so much sepia as a warmer BW again that’s my preference.
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Sue,
The thing I like about this is the sheer simplicity of it all. From the window light & reflector combo to the easy post production techniques you’ve shared. It’s something that anyone can try and achieve without too many hastles.
As for my choice of B&W conversion, I prefer to use NIK Silver Efex but your method is certainly very achievable with great effect to the over all image.
Thanks for sharing again.
Cheers,
Matt
I use a preset in LR to convert my photos to BW, but your way is just as easy and it allows for more control over the finished product. I like that, and I’m eager to try it. These tips are so simple, yet extremely effective. I’m just over the moon with your work and the way your techniques have changed the way I photograph. Thanks Sue!
Just beautiful . .. love the warmer rendition of B & W . .. always more compelling for portraits in my mind . . . true B & W is too cold for me.
Fantastic Sue, love it, so simple and so elegant
As always great info, I love warmer B&W photos too. Thanks Sue!
I can’t imagine that you ever take a crap image! These are gorgeous. Thanks for the tips. I too prefer a warmer black & white. I am just really starting to feel what my style is and that it is fine even when it deviates from the “status quo” of normal or general populace acceptance. Thank you for helping me to realize this. I have recently taken a step back from almost all blogs, (except yours of course) , facebook fan pages etc to really get back in touch with what I shoot, and how I edit that feels most authentic for/to me.
My workflow is slightly different because I work from lightroom to PS so I use the ACR in LR. All the corrections, as you show here, in PS. And as said before, I love the simplicity of the setup. BTW, the Creative Live sessions were awesome!
Love that you made a point to say it’s “MY” way! You rock!
Great descriptions of you black and white process. I think I usually add a little more contrast to mine by bringing the black and white limits in quite a bit.
Love how your setup is so so simple and yet you manage to create such beautiful portraits. Who’d have thunk just a grey wall, a reflector and a fan could produce such stunning results. The equipment manufacturers would certainly make you believe otherwise.
Thanks for sharing your priceless nuggets of wisdom and experience. We are all so appreciative of your kindness!!
Thank you for sharing another part of your workflow. I specially like that you show how much you bring out of your model. In the first picture she doesn’t shine but when you walk her through to get that spark in her eyes.. It is magic!
I personally still struggle with the B&W. I think that my problem is that I am still not able to look at a picture and tell what would be the best for it in B&W
Chaos method: I have a set of lightroom presets, so I go through the preview of many of them. When I get one that is going in the right direction I take that one, then tweak it, add a veeeeery little of sepia toning to warm it up.
I prefer my BW with a hint of warmth, too. Your work continues to amaze and inspire! Thank you, Sue!
So good to have you back on the blog! You’re changing lives by sharing, motivating, and caring. Thank you for that.
Hi Sue! This is beautiful! I was just wondering a simple question about the ottoman…what size is it? I have been looking for one to use after I saw you on CreativeLive!
Thank you so much for sharing Sue…. as always another amazing shot!
I have been wondering how you get your b&w’s looking so beautiful..thx Sue. AND I love the fact that your background is a piece of painted poly!! Choice!!
Sue, try Gradient Map. It’s SUCH a simple way to convert to B&W and it hardly ever needs tweaking. IMAGE – ADJUSTMENTS – GRADIENT MAP (make sure the Black and white box is selected).
LOVE the aura of the grey background!
Is there any particular paint that works the best on the poly? I just picture it absorbing, but I suppose it really isn’t very porous: home interior paint?
I absolutely love this shot!
Can’t wait to listen to you here in Dallas!! I watched every second with you on Creative Live and found a true teacher to guide me… now I just need to follow and do the assignments. Thanks so much for your creative inspiration!!
love that you shot these at 1.8. I attended a workshop five or more years ago, and learned a great BW conversion method for super contrasty BW’s that I still use. Desaturate in photoshop ( the horror!!) Duplicate the layer and then set the new layer to ‘soft light’. Great result. Add the cinnamon toast on top if you’d like.
Love the feel of this image and the natural retouch. It’s authentic. Great work.