Submitter's name:	Adam Bolt
Title:	Clarissa
Gear used:	OM-10, 35-70mm f4 Zuiko set at 70mm, Tripod, Toshiba ES-30 Flash, Stocking fabric + rubber band, polarizing filter.
Aperture:	f8
Shutter speed:	1/60 sec manual
Film used:	Kodak TCN400
Subject information:	This was my first real attempt to do a little portrait photography without the distraction of others from the camera club all taking the same shots. Clarissa is a friend of ours and has done a little modelling before. Because of her very strong features (eyes, lips and hair) I wanted to shoot her in B&W. Originally I was going to use the club's studio but I decided that the beach would work well for us and it gave me an opportunity to try fill flash.
Technical information:	This shot was taken in the late evening about 15-20min before sunset, there was heavy cloud but because of the low sun there was still a lot of contrast between the sky and Clarissa's face. At this stage the Sun was slightly behind and to the right of Clarissa as we see her, I wanted a fairly shallow depth of field so I used a Circular Polariser to gain an extra stop or 2. I then took a reading from her face and opened up 1/2 stop to lighten it slightly (f8). I then set the flash with the stocking at a reading of f5.6 to give good even lighting across her face without hard shadows. Tripod was used for a sharp shot. Kodak imaging software was used to add some contrast and also to save in B&W (the original scan had a little sepia in it.)
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Comment left by: Olaf Greve (no e-mail specified)

Lovely portrait, and I think you made a good choice regarding the black and white too (though I normally am more into colour photography).

Comment left by: Jon Mitchell (jon@jonmitch.free-online.co.uk)

A beach, 20 minutes before sunset, in October/November ? Either she's a very hardy girl or you're somewhere much warmer than here ! Seriously, a great shot and I agree with Olaf that the B&W choice has helped to make the photgraph. Nice, subtle use of the flash - the only bright spot being the reflection on her ring (not a bad thing, though).

Comment left by: Roger (robinsnestphotography.com)

Nice B&W shot. Tilt her head a bit towards her right shoulder to improve pose.

Comment left by: Roger (robinsnestphotography.com)

Nice B&W shot. Tilt her head a bit towards her right shoulder to improve pose.

Comment left by: Wiliam Wagenaar (wiliam@zeelandnet.nl)

Nice portrait with subtle lighting. I think she will want (and deserves) a large print of this one.

Comment left by: bbbean (bbbean@beancotton.com)

I thought this was perhaps a still from a perfume commercial. Nice portrait.

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