I had been thinking about this shot for a while and finally convinced my daughter to pose for it.

EDIT: There is a revised (hopefully improved) version of this on the second page of this thread.




C&C always welcome.

Hahaha, great shot

Nicely posed! Nice technical work from you.

Why that white wall, skirting board and carpet, though? And all-over lighting?

It needs a lightning storm! And strong lighting from one side and top, colors to make her skin look like brass. And all the LEDs glowing!

I would have liked to see her hair loose and wild. And her in a neon lycra body suit, of two different colors for the two exposures.

Oh! You haven't finished yet? Pardon me!

Neil

Great idea (ah, the digital age). The pose is perfect!

Originally Posted by Richard I had been thinking about this shot for a while and finally convinced my daughter to pose for it. C&C always welcome.

Tres bien, mon ami!
I'm gonna still the idea :-)

The photo is wonderful on many levels! Ancient and very 21st century at the sae time. What a great idea.

Virginia

Love it! Very original and creative! Two thumbs up, Richard!

I agree with Neil.

The idea is successful, but the execution could be more dramatic. Primarily if you're going to include the carpet and floor than I think you need to create a sense of depth between the subject and the wall. If a person is next to a wall it's pretty near impossible to not have a shadow, so the shadows shouldn't have been edited out for depth.

Even just pulling her 2 feet in front of the wall would have created some depth.

It's definitely a fun concept and very close to pulling it off.

Jim

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Much appreciated.

Jim and Neil: I agree that the background sucks. My original idea was a little more complicated. Here's a work in progress version of the concept. If you can, ignore the transparency at the bottom--it was not meant to stay that way.

It was amusing, but I backed off from this idea because I was afraid that the Nataraja reference might be too obscure for some people. In any event, the background problem is still unresolved.

Leaving the shadows alone sure would have saved me a lot of time and effort , but I just didn't like the way it looked. I have no lighting equipment--this was shot with a single EX-580 on camera. I didn't have enough space to have her move further out from the wall. On the positive side, I now have some fairly accurate masks that would help in replacing the background altogether.

I may go back to this one if I get a better idea for a background, but in the end I was just trying to be funny and laziness got the upper hand. I don't have much experience with posed shots and I was rather overwhelmed by the number of details involved. It really increased my respect for all you portrait shooters.

Originally Posted by Richard I may go back to this one if I get a better idea for a background,

Yes, it did seem to me you likely wanted to do a lot more with this. Since you have selections, and you like environment shots, why not look through your archives for the right photo to put her in? Or go looking to shoot something new for it? I can imagine an architectural background, something modern and sculptural. Making her the pedestal of a fountain?

Looking forward to seeing your solution. The idea is worth finding one.

Neil

Better or too much?

This is Nice. Looks better!

Cheers!

Originally Posted by pvrsvarma This is Nice. Looks better!

Thanks for the encouragement.

Originally Posted by Richard Better or too much?

Richard,
this is, I think, my first time when I see the famous Mandlebrot set used as an Indian-themed backdrop - and, by Shiva, does it fit! :-)
Did you generate the bg image yourself with something like MatLab?
r35p3c7!

Originally Posted by Nikolai Richard, this is, I think, my first time when I see the famous Mandlebrot set used as an Indian-themed backdrop - and, by Shiva, does it fit! :-) Did you generate the bg image yourself with something like MatLab? r35p3c7!

Cheers, Nik. I'm glad someone recognized it . I had been browsing through images of Hindu art when the idea occurred to me. I think it works visually and (for geeks like us) it adds to the joke. I used WinCIG to generate it.

Originally Posted by Richard Cheers, Nik. I'm glad someone recognized it . I had been browsing through images of Hindu art when the idea occurred to me. I think it works visually and (for geeks like us) it adds to the joke. I used WinCIG to generate it.

Oh, the whole fractals concept got me fascinated since I was a college kid (math major). Very cool beans!

Cool shot. I often wish I had four arms.

If this was what you were imagining, then I think it hits the spot! It's rich and extravagant in a controlled, symmetrical way.

It is certainly very accomplished graphics-wise. Congratulations!

I wonder, though, why the distribution of stars, which is varied so nicely in most areas of the background, suddenly diminishes to nil in the bottom quarter? I think I would have liked to have seen a more gradual taper away to a sparse one or two?

I am a bit surprised, I admit, to see you make this choice of 'decorative' setting for the figure. I was expecting image elements of contemporary, tech stuff. I imagined a mirroring effect, for example, of glowing VDUs, radiating around her.

Best.

Neil

Wow Richard. This just keeps getting better and better. I am so digging that funky background. What a concept. Great job in post there dude!

Thanks David, Neil and Swartzy.

Neil: I did the gradient of the stars with the idea of the heavens being above rather than the figure and pedestal floating in space. In the back of my mind, I also saw a rough sea at the bottom, but I don't have any decent shots of that in my archive and the seas are calm in Madrid right now. I'm also not sure I could pull it off well, so I think I'm going to call it a day on this one.