took this one of kemal last night at the restaurant while we were waiting for dinner. he was so hungry here and that's why the serious look!!!!

i think he looks a bit "gangsta" here...kinda like Al Capone!

do ya'all like how i did this portrait? i forgot to adjust the white balance on this one. made it b/w. blurred the background. then i used a Virtual Photographer filter (Reminisicing). then i colorized and resized.

would appreciate any suggestions and/or feedback on this one!

it was very dark inside...very romantic, cozy atmosphere as we were overlooking the Ohio River.

opened appeture to 2.2.
exp. 1/10 sec.
ISO 64
hand held edit: i know eyes are so important in portraits. ok, you can't see half of his face. does this make for bad compo? i love this image...but then again, i'm quite partial to the subject! :) hard to be objective maybe.

Message edited on: 04/28/2005 21:09

seriously, an excellent portrait! & no, having his face partly in shadow makes it all the better here i like how the glimmer in his eye mimics the glimmer of his earring & this may be reaching, but the tone is much the same as tobacco stain :]

Thanks, Cindy! besides forgetting to adjust white balance, broke another rule of portraiture by not using flash. i did try using flash on a couple of pics i took of him but i just didn't care for that. maybe i just don't know how to use flash right.

you think there's enough light in his eyes? i know it's not much. i'm glad you saw SOMETHING there!!!

now i wish i had taken one with flash to compare. i'll have to remember to do that next time.

yeah...about the tobacco stain...good point!!! i don't think it's reaching! i'm thinking it might have a more yellow cast to it...like this one. this was our 2nd choice.

anyway, kemal loves the first one...says it reminds him of the movie Casablanca.

thanks again, Cindy!!! :)

Message edited on: 04/28/2005 22:58

That's VERY cool. (I love the light in film noir.) I would only lighten his face and hand a bit. And it may function even better without the sepia, in pure black and white. Hm, Kemal never struck me as a guy to wear an ear-stud. :-)

-- erlik

Thanks, Vlatko! Appreciate your feedback! Besides his eyes, his hand was real important for me to get right. Actually i darkened his hand on purpose because it thought it was too bright and it was really bugging me. so what i did was i ran this thru KPT gradient filter. it darkened his hand and i liked how it affected the rest of the image. sorry...i totally forgot i did & neglected to mention it when i was telling my postwork. i loved it b/w and i thought it looked fantastic! almost kept it b/w. i let kemal decide on the toning...which version he preferred. ok, here it it brightened with some contrast added. i also cloned out that light as someone suggested i try to see how it looked. he didn't mention cloning that light part around the ear, but with the rest of it cloned, i figured i should clone it too. keep in mind i just woke up and just finishing first cup of coffee. i know that cloning job is not the best...this is just to see what you guys think. you like it better brightened? oh, kemal has lots of earring studs...a PC, a shuttle we got a the Kennedy Space Center, a rhino...well, lots more! :) thanks again, Vlatko!

i liked the background... made it appear more natural... you'll have a varity of opinion... but in the end you'll choose the way YOU like it! :] trust yourself

HI Sheila, I like the idea to darken the background, but the brightness/contrast isnt exactly what i meant. I hope you dont mind me trying out some stuff on your portrait (well, Kemals... lol). Have a great evening Sheila ! :o) Jeroen

Hmm. I kinda like the original better. See how it has that cross-like composition which stretches from one sweet point to another.

-- erlik

You should try and use selective coloring on JUST the TIP of the CIG! Have that ASH GLOW in its original color! THAT would really set it off and look very cool in my book! My 2.5 cents... L8r! Joe

Thanks so much ya'all!!! i so much appreciate all the feedback, help, and suggestions! Jeroen, i really love what you did a lot! and of course...you and everyone are more than welcome to play with my pictures!!! Joe, FANTASTIC idea!!!! i think it would totally cool too! Vlatko & Cindy...thank you! it's really tuff to decide!!! i love the original a lot, & the original is kemal's favorite, so for now, that's the way we will keep it. but i think i will also do a version like the way you did it Jeroen, and make the tip of the cigarette glow like you suggested Joe! yeah...i'll do it both ways! why not!!! thanks a bunch guys for all your help on this! you guys are awesome! :)

Ooooooooooooooooooooh sexy's back!!!! LOL!!! U know how much I love that portrait! Anyway, my man also has that VERY bad and stinky habit unfortunately!!! Been fighting it for about 2 years now but he just won't give up!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

Pascale, I should connect you to my girlfriend. :-) Anyways, the guard dies but won't give up. ;-))))

-- erlik

Why Erlik?? Is she a "smokers fighter" too or does she need to stop smoking?? I can be a real pain when it comes to convince people they have to quit!! LOL!! ;)

She's in the same position as you. :-)

-- erlik

Oooooooooooooooooooh! I see!!!! YOU r the smoker!!!! Tst tst!!! Now this is bad!!! And man u stink when u just had a fag!!! It makes me sick! He smokes outside but when he comes back into the house, the smell of his breath pollutes the air! It's a nightmare!!! :( I won't give up till he quits though! evil grin