C&C - The Ladies of Prodrift

Paddy@CIRL

This was my first ever semi-proper fashion shoot, so I'll let you guys be the judges.

The brief was to tie in the clothing range with the Prodrift Series brand, to come out with shots that can be used for adverts or online to display the clothing. I think the post work might be a bit too strong, been looking at it for too long so might come back again in a week with fresh eyes and get some fine tuning done.

Shoot details:
Canon EOS 40D w/ 24-105F4 L IS
Canon 580EX & Nikon SB800 with shoot through brollies.
Canon 430EX shot bare for some fill in certain shots.
Big warehouse & Expensive cars that spoke Japanese when I tried to start one to turn the wheel.

Anyways, all feedback welcome

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More can be found on My Flick R

melekalikimaka

great stuff, cant see nada wrong

...except.. the pp makes them slightly zombie looking

Borderfox

Nice work when you can get it Paddy. Good look on these shots that really suits it, real hard edge on the processing. 3 and 4 would be favourites and I will tell you exactly why, the poses are very fluid and match the surroundings very well.

Good job Paddy

challengemaster

Holy Sh...cow..

I love them well done.. 1,2,5 being my favs.

get any of the actual drifting?

Paddy@CIRL

challengemaster wrote: »

get any of the actual drifting?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paddymcgrath/sets/72157606323402197/

challengemaster

Noice.. v. nice indeed.

elven

Damn good for a first shot I'd say.

With critical eyes, I'd be conscious of:

1 - big empty space above her head - although it could possibly be used for text in advertising type situations...

2 - I like - might be nice to see a tiny bit more detail in the blacks though?

3 - she just looks hacked off, and slightly awkward. Not your fault

4 - Try going a bit paler on the skin maybe? The heavy shadows show up the texture and it isn't so flattering. Maybe losing a bit too much of the shoe into the shadows in the footwell too. Watch out for the blue in the split tone of the processing messing with the skin and hair too.

5 - Nitpicky, again, with detail in the shadows. Her legs seem to merge into one black mass at the knees!

Masada

great work, they look very professional.,

ttcomet

1) The diagonal shadow in the top left makes the wall look like it is leaning backwards slightly, maybe try cropping the top a little. The flash on her shoulder is a little distracting, it takes away from her face.

2) I like this one the most. Can you try play with the black level so that her right leg is more distinct form the car.

3) She looks pissed off instead of sultry or pouty or what ever it was she was trying for. The line at the top left and the junction (?) box on the middle right are also a little distracting.

4) I like this one as well. The curves of the seat go well with the curves of her leg. The only thing I would say is that her leg may need air brushing to smooth it out a little.

5) I like this one as well. The bright light on the bottom of the steel shutter is distracting. You seem to have cut off the tips of her fingers as well.

Overall I think they (and the ones on flicker) are good urban fashion shots. I hope they are published for you.

Teferi

2 is my favourite although maybe you could lighten the lower half a little?

3 just looks extremely awkward to me

smash

great shots as usual paddy!

AnCatDubh

Ok. To start with - they are all really good and I guess you know that now. Be very proud of your work - they are deadly.

You've up'd the game around here and i'm going to dig a little deeper than normal to offer critique as you are obviously very serious about this. But remember these are just my observations - i'm not in the media/marketing/graphic industry so be cautioned as you read.

in #1, apart from what elven says about the space above the subject, I find the two task lights(off camera flashes?) slightly overpowering to herself. What grabs my attention is the lights in the first instance, followed by the car, her aesthetically pleasing face. Don't know but would one light have been better – with the two the clichéd term “distracting” comes to mind. To be really critical, there's something funny going on with her T - its just how it is sitting on her - natural i appreciate but it looks like she's got a baton stuck up her jersey (i exaggerate obviously!). I think its probably a large belt buckle which has caused a line to emerge which aint part of her anatomy. If she was a he they're be a juvenile joke going on about being pleased to see you.

No #2 is a nice composition. the junk in the top right corner creates a false join to the car. That part adds nothing to the composition - it doesn't even give a 'garage' feel to it. I think its quite dark and the tone of the colour in the image gives quite a goth/dark feel to it. I've seen these style images used in glossy mags. With the darks and shadows i don't know if they really work but that is probably just me.

The Exif suggests a focal length of 24mm for #3 To critique this i'd suggest that the focal length used is causing a distortion to the interpretation of the image - it has a certain wow factor to it as a result, but as a casualty it becomes slightly less believable. Getting really picky, your lighting setup should hide undesirable shadows. Here i think you've lost some of the detail in those shadows. The black blob stretching from the center of the front wheel to the ground i guess is her hair, but to be cruel, it don't look like anything other than a black blob. The mess on the wall as in #2 is the same here i think - adds nothing to the composition.

In #4 you've opted for a low angle of take. You need to be really careful with these because it is the most unflattering angle to capture people at, and i think its caught you here - the model's right leg just looks yeuchy - saggy and like cellulite that's been polished over in photoshop. Because its the brighter part of the image you are immediately drawn to it. What i'm trying to describe is the inconsistency between what one would expect at the upper part of the leg with what appears lower down – good looking girl that she is and all.

#5 is nice - the blacks on the stockings / boots become indistinguishable from each other though. Again perhaps a type of processing feature than flaw?. I think it loses something in the mix. Again shooting at 24mm (as per exif) causes the perspective of the distance between the model and windscreen where the writing is to be slightly out of proportion but its only minor in this case and I don't think it causes too much grief.

I hope the above helps. In no way is this meant to be negative – I think they are a great set and very professional.

Well done.

Balfey1972

very nice shots paddy. apart from the first which is probably my fav, like others say a slight crop on the top. The others are dark and sultry. i take it that's what you were looking for and you seem to have captured that.

shepthedog

Top quality work here.. The lighting is excellent.. Great style

sturgo

Really great work overall. Well done. As somebody said you've really upped the game here, which is what it's all about.

I'd be a critical of a lot of the blacks. Especially in 2, 4, and 5. They seem to be a little to strong and much of the details gets lost in the shadows. Also the models 1, 3, and 4, aren't doing you any favours. They generally look uncomfortable.

1) Beautiful range of blue tones contrasting with red. Could do with being cropped from the top.

2) Model looks natural and comfortable. Good detail on the face. Skin tones are nice and warm against the cold background. Good contrast here.

3)I think this one could do with being cropped. Great detail though. More emphasis on the car would have been nice. Model looks very out of place.

4) Great pose. Skin tones are good. Lost a lot of detail in the blacks. Some more background would be great. This is my fave.

5) Same issue with the blacks. The car shadow is distracting. Model looks happy.

I hope I haven't been to harsh. Please, keep uploading stuff.