Submitter's Name:	Jon Mitchell
Title:	Christine
Gear Used:	OM-2n & 50mm f1.8 & Vivitar 4600 Flash.
Diaphragm:	Not sure, but probably f11 or thereabouts.
Shutter Speed:	1/60th Sec.
Film Used:	Fuji (Superia ?) 200 ASA Print Film. Negative scanned using CanoScan Film Scanner (CanoScan 1200 ? - can't remember, I borrowed it !).
Technical Information:	My first attempt at Flash Photography using my OM-2n. Unfortunately the Flash is one I bought as a dedicated unit for my old OM-10, so I couldn't use the full flash functions of either the camera or the flash unit. Flash was mounted on the Shoe 4, pointing up slightly, which could have ended in tragedy as the flash is about twice as big and twice as heavy as the camera !
Digital Technical Stuff:	Borrowed the CanoScan Film Scanner from a friend, and have been rather disappointed with the results. Colours seemed all wrong, and under-exposed, no matter what I did. Have had better results using a print and a flat-bed scanner, but didn't have that available for this one. Specifically, the shadow from the hair is too red on the forehead, the hair is too "golden", and the jumper should be more purple than blue. The original print is rather more realistic.
Subject Information:	My girlfriend, Christine, who seems to think that she doesn't photograph well. Took a lot of persuading to let me take the shots I did, and even more persuading to let me submit any of them ! I like it lots, but I guess I am a little biased !!
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Comment left by: Olaf Greve (no e-mail specified)

The posing was not bad, especially when keeping in mind that she wasn't too eager to do it. The lighting worked out pretty well too. Minor point of improvement: by putting a small reflector somewhere low on the right side, you could have eliminated a few of the shadows, but then again, these shadows are not too big, so they are not too disturbing.

Comment left by: Donald MacDonald (Donald.MacDonald@care4free.net)

Ach, there's nothing wrong with her. Nice picture. Women are all the same about their pictures (at least my wife is). Or else they're complete narcissists. Rather like the hair colour, myself...

Comment left by: John A. Lind (no e-mail specified)

Christine has nothing to worry about with you behind the lens (my wife is camera-shy also). There's a lot to like about this one (I'm a sucker for redheads too). You have a nice catchlight in the near eye, the irises show up nicely in spite of the widely dilated puplis, and her hair is well illuminated without too much light in the highlights. [With a formal pose in a studio a small "hair" or "top" light, typically with a snoot on it, is used to get this.] As you gain experience with informal portraits, watch details about the background in addition to your subject well (the lamp; very minor as it's not very prominent; I've had much, much worse). It's a lot to look at simultaneously. You did a good job of keeping perspective under control and not blowing out highlights working this close with a 50mm and on-camera flash. Her face also retains depth in spite of lighting (as a result of tilting it up slightly). A demonstration of what can be done with just the basics. I'm not bothered that much by the shadows as they're minor. To reduce them would require much more sophisticated setup (using a reflector as Olafo mentions). -- John

Comment left by: Roger (robinsnestphotography.com)

Pretty lady...you have good taste and so does she for choosing a man who likes OM. I think I might pose her a little differently for this shot. Her head needs to be laying more on her left arm, you need to shoot directly into the nose to minimize the nose shadow and make the nose appear straighter and shorter (works well with all women and men regardless of nose size). Use something to reduce flash output and decrease depth of field. Also, need either another light or reflector (white paper will do or aluminum foil crumpled) to put highlights in her hair. I like your image and the love it shows.

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

I like the composition and the position of her head, so I disagree a little with Roger on that. Now it is as if she is looking up because you just entered the room. Nice shot from a nice looking woman who should have her picture taken more often. Next time she will be more relaxed.

Comment left by: Garth Wood (garth@telusplanet.net)

Hmmmmm. I suspect the colour shifts you're seeing here are the result of direct (near-the-lens) lighting, which can make colours look quite different without the normal shadows and gradations the human eye's used to seeing. If the shift was a "constant" one, it should be correctable in Photoshop or another competent image-manipulation program; I tried to do some on this shot, and couldn't get the colours you *described* (though it was easy, for example, to make the jumper alone look more purple, or her hair alone look less golden). By the way, please tell Christine that she's a lovely young woman, and not to be embarrassed by her photos -- in particular, she's a fortunate person to have excellent skin condition and nice classical features; she's a glamour photo makeup artist's dream. ;-)

Comment left by: Alex Neuman (anything you send to the neumanconsulting dot com domain gets forwarded to me)

If you're the Jon Mitchell who lived in Panama for a couple of years, e-mail me. I'd love to catch up. Cheers, Alex Neuman.

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