While out on the town Monday afternoon shooting pictures with a friend, we stopped by a favorite eating establishment on Beale Street for a glass of wine and a bowl of gumbo. This girl was our waitress, and I was somewhat struck by her distinct facial features. Overcoming my general fear of asking strangers for permission to take their photograph, I asked, and she agreed. We took several with her sitting next to a window. It was fairly dark, but that was all the light that was available at the time. Had to tweak some in Photoshop, mostly to make up for the low light. She is of mixed race, of what combination I dont know, and I found her face fascinating. Being tall and thin, she could be a potential model. What do you think??

A second shot...

She's beautiful Marshall....and I think you did a great job given the circumstances. I'm favoring the first one over the second for composition, and I think it's a more flattering shot. Will you be giving her some of these as prints? I bet she would be thrilled!

I am, therefore I create.......
--- michelleamarante.com

Definitive model material. A classic beauty. My suggestion, set up a shoot with her right away! Great shots too. I love the reflections in the eyes on the first shot. Magick Michael

Michael - Heres a closer look at that eye reflection. You can see a display in the window (old musical instruments and such), with the street in the background. It does give an interesting look to them. Michelle If she answers the e-mail I sent her, Ill make her some prints. Hopefully that will make her want to do more. When we first asked her, she seemed puzzled why anyone would want her picture. But working on Beale Street, shell soon figure that one out!

Wow! What a face...

I hope you don't mind, but I ran this through Neat Image Pro to see if the noise could be reduced. It seems to me to work pretty well. I also tweaked the color a bit, but it is probably not as you saw it.

Again... My apologies for playing with your image, but I couldn't resist.

Alpha

Really good, candid shots of a beautiful woman. This is the kind of woman that can melt me everytime. Natural beauty, minimal makeup (if any), expressive eyes, full lips. Great stuff. Alpha - Hmm, to me the NI Pro went too far on this one. Skind doesn't look natural. Looks more like the overly made up and airburshed stuff you see in magazines. Doesn't give the same natural warmth of the original shot. Then again, that could just be my bias towards less makeup showing through.

Ooops... I forgot...

Neat Image Pro

I agree that it is a bit too much, but It was my first experiment with the program, and done in about two minutes. Seems like a worthwhile tool though :-)

She is beautiful, Marshall! I love the first shot, although it could use more space below the chin. She'll love these shots anyway. Hope you get to take some more pics of her. She has really nice features. :-) (*

Alpha, maybe it did go a little too far, but man, it sure is an effective tool! I gotta check that out. Consider also that you were using a compressed JPEG, and not the original. Due to the low light, I believe I shot it at 400, or at least 200 ISO, and still the original was dark. And BTW, I always am honored should an image of mine inspire someone to mess around with it. And Donald, first thing she said was, But I dont have any make-up on! I said not to worry, she didnt need any.

I don't know, if Alpha, you went too far, it was barely so. I like the adjustment. That is the one I would present to her.

Cool...more discussion on this one. Would hope others would pop in with their opinions. I really like that first one and after seeing Alpha's attempt and thinking about what I said, thought I'd try and see what I could do. I tried, but for some reason, this shot is tougher than I thought it would be to get the right amount of cleanup without stepping over that line or not going far enough (again, all in my humble little opinion). Also, not seeing her in real life my color correction is probably off. But it sure was fun playing with it (I realized recently that even beyond my own photo needs, I really love messing with photos in Photoshop). The problem I have with some of the cleanup software is that they don't distinguish well between noise, grain, etc. and natural/relavent image details. Outside of glamour photography, completely smooth skin tends to freak me out. :) -=>Donald

Oh I like this one a lot, Donald... :-)

Really like the warmth that emanates from this one because of the color cast....and she still has texture on her skin.... Marshall maybe you can get her to sit for you again? She really is just such a natural beauty.....

I am, therefore I create.......
--- michelleamarante.com

Nice job Donald. I agree with your preference for the natural but you have turned her into a beauty queen. I think SHE would love it. Do you have any pointers to a tutorial on how you did it? She is a pretty girl with great eyes, lips and a perfect nose and seemed to be comfortable in front of a camera. Looks like a model to me. But, was the gumbo any good? Did you leave her a good tip?

I love portrait work and can't resist commenting on your good eye and your courage for asking her to pose for a couple. It would take the whole bottle of wine before I could do that...LoL! Her looks are exquisite and you did a fine job portraying that to us, especially in the first one. Alpha and Donald both did some affective improvements. I do prefer Donald's but I'm sure he spent more than just a few minutes on his version. The color correction looks super in my opinion! :)

I congratulate you on your courage. I would have just sat there drooling in my soup. Hope she likes the shots.

Doca - I really didn't do much to the photo. Marshall's original shot was excellent. I really only did 2 things and neither of them revolutionary. I just reduced the grain/noise a bit and then did a color correction (really a color cast correction) to get rid of the blue tint that was going across the whole photo (gives it a cold look). That's it. Like I said, the finished version is due more to the original image than to anything I did. I've developed my own tools and working methods, but I learned and then developed them reading up on the net. Check this site for probably everything you'd want to know about color/color correction: http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/photoshop-tutorials-tips/color-correction-theory.html I don't have a link to any good grain removal tutorials. But my favorite application only technique (meaning not using a 3rd party filter) is to use Photoshop's LAB mode (do a search for grain removal LAB mode and you should get something). -=>Donald

she is a natural beauty! what boldness- with great results! interesting thread- thanks for the link Donald :]

Hey Donald, I do like the warmth of your version, and noticed by overlaying it with the original you also took out a few dark spots in her skin, not that she has that many, but it made her look smoother. I imagine if she had make-up on they would have been gone anyway. The post I made here had no color adjustment, just contrast. Also, I remember the sky was a deep blue here Monday, so the defused light coming in through the window where I shot her is where that blue tint came from. Now, after all this, Im ready to finish it and will place it in the gallery. Wish I had that Neat Image Pro, though. Gotta get that. And Michelle, Im gonna do my best to get a second shoot. Wish me luck. Oh yes doca, the gumbo was the best I've had in a long while, and the best part of my tip was for her to get a portfolio! Thanks everyone for all your input. The final will be better for it, I know. :~)

Beautiful shots Marshall, such a wonderful face...and I admire you your courage in asking the lass if you could take her photo. It is realy cool to see Fred and Donald's variations on the post too...now I just have to ask one thing...what is Gumbo? Pardon my ignorance. ;-)>

Marshybaby, good on you for going for this!!! Great shots!!! I can sympathise with your (and anyone alse's!) angst at whether or not to ask..... I've just done a few days at a trade show. At one of the nearby stands two quite attractive girls were handing out goodies for a company - I thought they were company employees. Anyways, I had my camera for some shots of our stand, and at the end of the show asked one of them if it would be ok to take her pic. Eh? fancy her? ME? dunno what you mean....... anyways, she said yeah. I explained a little of what I was gonna do to the pic (ie. as per my latest stuff) and she was quite interested - turns out she's trying to break into modelling a bit (no chance at catwalk, she's only 5' tall!) and would be interested.... now I've found she actually has a deal with a photographer whereby she just takes a cut of pictures sold with her in them as an alternative to a sitting fee. Hopefully when I've finished the pic she'll dig my work and I'll be able to work out a similar deal...... fingaz crossed! (",)

Attached Link: http://www.pannett.com/gumbo.html#vale

Cam, If there were just one food to represent the entire unique Louisiana Cajon culture, it would be Gumbo. The Cajon culture is an interesting blend of French, American Indian, Spanish, and African American culture. Its a sub-group/culture all of its own. Theres nothing else like it on earth. Everything Cajuns do, they do it at 110%, and then some. Music, party, fighting, romance, dancing, and especially cooking and eating. From the swampy, bayou lands of Cajon country come some of the most exciting recipes on earth, all made with local indigenous ingredients. Jordy, Good luck to you too!

Marshall, you are my hero...thanks for that link!! I have saved those recipes now, Gumbo sounds delicious!! ~ Jordy, good luck buddy. :-)>

mmmm... gumbo, etophe (sp?), the best. Mixtures.