Help needed with shooting a less than pretty model..

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stevewestern

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Right, I was talking to a girl who is physically attractive, but by her admission, has a face that does not and is not going to look good in pictures - partly down to her big and broken nose. She was wondering about having some 'glamour' pictures done that will make her feel good - nothing nude or even semi-nude, but something that will make her feel good about herself and that she can show her family and friends.
This got me wondering. I have never done pictures of this sort, and have not even been asked, but what do you people who are good at this do when faced with a less than perfect model. She is tall, thin, and curvy but has a big conk. How would you pose her to lessen it, while lighting her to show off her shape - long hair might help hide it a bit, but she wants to be recognisable. I don't have any lights, preffering available light, and have never actually tried to hide a feature in a model.
Any thoughts ?
 
How about running it through some specialist software like......NOSE NINJA:lol:
In all seriousness though, just try to angle her so her nose looks okay. If it looks alright in the veiwfinder, just go with it. And dont use a wide angle lens;).
At the end of the day, it is part of who she is.
Dean:)
 
steveinspain said:
Right, I was talking to a girl who is physically attractive, but by her admission, has a face that does not and is not going to look good in pictures - partly down to her big and broken nose. She was wondering about having some 'glamour' pictures done that will make her feel good - nothing nude or even semi-nude, but something that will make her feel good about herself and that she can show her family and friends.
This got me wondering. I have never done pictures of this sort, and have not even been asked, but what do you people who are good at this do when faced with a less than perfect model. She is tall, thin, and curvy but has a big conk. How would you pose her to lessen it, while lighting her to show off her shape - long hair might help hide it a bit, but she wants to be recognisable. I don't have any lights, preffering available light, and have never actually tried to hide a feature in a model.
Any thoughts ?
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I hope you don't take this the wrong way Steve, but photoshop does have a feature in it for fixing nose's that are a bit big or small, and it may make her feel a bit better if used in her shots, after all i guess pro models do it all the time with various features through airbrushing, just a thought.
 
Dino f said:
How about running it through some specialist software like......NOSE NINJA:lol:
In all seriousness though, just try to angle her so her nose looks okay. If it looks alright in the veiwfinder, just go with it. And dont use a wide angle lens;).
At the end of the day, it is part of who she is.
Dean:)
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Beer, Keyboard - Nose Ninja indeed, lol !

'The pictures are fab! Thank you so much Can't wait to see the rest, and that is a girl who doesn't like her pictures saying that haha.'

That was a comment from a session I did with a young girl starting a drama course, now she didn't have a big nose but hated any pictures she had taken before, none of which were by people who knew what they were doing, not that I do really :)

I just tried to make her feel at ease, talk, laugh and generally make her feel good while shooting. As I say I didn't have a big Konk to contend with but with your own vision I am sure you can come up with something.

I am sure it would be difficult for anyone to describe how to light her with not knowing her but if you are like me you see beauty in pretty much everything, how about a test shoot first and see what she likes ?

I am thinking, as you are in Spain, beach, maybe Mountains, warm Orange sunset ?

What are here hobbies, can you depict her in action in her chosen sport maybe ?
 
Ha Ha, Dino F !
tel48 - I guess what you are suggesting is what Just Dave has posted a link to - I am about to take a look - it may be just the job !
dseered - you are saying what I take to be good basic portraiture advice (not meant to be a put down in any way ) but I was just wondering if 'glamour' type photography involved any particular techniques. I may suggest to the girl that we try taking a few pictures, but I would feel that my skills, if any, would be more along the lines of portraits, almost candid as compared to formally posed.
Maybe I am looking for posing help here ??
Sadly, I am not in Spain at present, but savouring the excitement of London by summer.
Not much by way of mountains here or sunsets....!
Just Dave - off to take a look !
 
Yes thats the one Steve, although i seen it in the Scott Kelby CS3 book, it does seem to work well though if used right.
 
posted in the picture sharing section Nudes and glamour - but no images so moving to talk photography.
 
My daughter is just starting a photography 'A' level & her first project is "Hidden / Revealed" which I think suits this nicely :).

Would it be possible to use strong lighting to make good use of the assets that she has while 'blowing' the less desirable features ?.

I've got an image in my head of curves & shadows accentuating the body with the face appearing as more of an outline sketch, more of an eyebrow/jawline hinting/teasing as to her identitiy


If that makes any sense :shrug:
 
Thanks Just Dave - no wind up, but a question posted in the nudes and glamour section as I wondered if there might be specific tips that people who specialise in that type of photography might be able to help with.
I was curious what one would do if faced with that sort of situation - mrgrubby has given me an idea, and Just Dave has pointed me towards a useful bit of processing help.
Any more ideas ?
 
Well if her nose is long, shoot her face on to hide it that way. If it's wide, shoot from the side. If its BOTH, I'm not really sure to be honest...would she be offended if it was photoshopped?
 
Richard - we are getting to the heart of it now - her nose is long, and the end is too big and round, and has a scar on it. She also has sharp features that look hard. I don't see an easy way to make her look good, but that is likely to be down to my limited experience.
Photoshop is a good option, and one I doubt she will mind, but as I said, I am not even taking the pictures yet, just wondering what one would do when faced with a face that may be a problem..
 
Postpone. And keep postponing until after the surgery.
 
download the demo of portrait professional 8 - its £40 if you want the full version.

It has some great features to do with "re-shaping" facial features.

I had a play with it and thought it was excellent, but at this time i dont take enough pictures of that nature to warrant buying it.
 
I know its an off chance but it be possible to see a pic, we understand if the lady dont, then folks might be able to give some more constructive advice, :thumbs:
 
Do you really want to make her into something she isnt or would it be better to make the most of what she has.

Maybe a pair of sunglasses worn low on the nose while peering over the top of them.
 
GarynLea said:
Do you really want to make her into something she isnt or would it be better to make the most of what she has.

Maybe a pair of sunglasses worn low on the nose while peering over the top of them.
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I think foreshortening or something like getting a good angle in camera, to reduce what the lady thinks is not as attractive, then so not so much if any PP or as you suggest sun glasses great idea
 
Steve - my initial thought was to shoot straight on as well.

I think you need to get creative. Both in your approach to the shoot and in your PP of the shots afterwards. Maybe try some B&W conversions with a soft filter in Photoshop - that might lessen the issue.

Also some different / unusual angles may help.

This one of Elle on flickr by way of example. (Click for larger size)



I think it works because it concentrates on her best features - her eyes - and therefore detracts from the less strong parts.

You know, I'd jump at the chance to do this because if you pull it off then she'll be so happy and if not, then, well nothing much lost. I seem to remember you went on a natural light course with CJ (what ever happened to her?) - now's your chance to use what you learned and do your friend a massive favour.

Go for it and get your creative juices flowing.
 
Lets just hope the model doesn't read this, wouldn't help her confidence much would it.

Glad to see we are all physically perfect specimens.
 
i wasn't intended to be cruel. you could just use it to adjust the features that she has some issues with.....
 
I have not read all the replys but i wold not say that editing the photo so that it dose not look like her is the way to go, i think that might make it worse rether than better as Mobile has shown using sunglasses makes a really good looking shot go for that idea
 
I am likely to see her today, so will ask if she wants me to take a picture so I can post it.
I am starting to wonder if I have made a bit too much of her face, but it is all her words, and she is one of those people who are lovely in the face because she is alive and vital, but tells me she always looks bad in pictures. This all started as idle curiosity, but may end up as my first lesson in photoshoping, and creative posing - many thanks for most of the replies, and I'll see if I can get a picture shortly !
 
Photoshop is part of photography but it's not the answer, the answer is to get it right in camera as far as possible and to use Photoshop only for the minimum.

The answer is good lighting, but as you're only using available light the only control you'll have over the lighting is to shoot in soft light, or to use a diffuser to soften it.

The other important ingredient is angle, as several other people have suggested. With the head tilted up slightly the nose will be shortened.
 
sorry but i dont think shes got a big nose at all..
 
Garry Edwards said:
Photoshop is part of photography but it's not the answer, the answer is to get it right in camera as far as possible and to use Photoshop only for the minimum.

The answer is good lighting, but as you're only using available light the only control you'll have over the lighting is to shoot in soft light, or to use a diffuser to soften it.

The other important ingredient is angle, as several other people have suggested. With the head tilted up slightly the nose will be shortened.
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By far the best reply on this thread.

Without knowing the girl in question it's very hard to say, but generally I would say that people would far rather have the attention taken away from their unfavourable features by the techniques of a photographer rather than software.
 
Well, she has let me take a picture of her, is happy to let me share it with one or two but doesn't want it on the forum, so is anyone out there willing to have a quick go and then explain EXACTLY how they did whatever they do to me off-forum ?
Clearly it would mean giving me an email address so I can get the picture to you..

Betty - you are right - it is not as bad as I made it out to be, but I was just going on what she said, and I have not met her more than a couple of times, and never really looked at her as a subject, and Garry Edwards and NorthernNikon - I agree totally, which is part of the reason I am a total beginner to photoshop, but she (the subject of all this big-conk discussion) is actually considering having a small nose job, so clearly a trial run with PP might be a good thing !
She is not English, has no interest in looking on the forum, doesn't even have a computer, so she will not see this thread (I might have worded things differently otherwise) but she is also very honest about her looks, and has no objections to me doing what I am !
The picture i have is just a snap, but it would give me something to work on, and you, ofh lucky processor get the honour of teaching me a new skill. Lucky Me, I hear you gasp !
I guess I'll go with the first 2 people who pm me an email address, if anyone does, and many thanks !
She has said that if she likes what I(or you) do she will be happy to have the before and after pictures put up here later..
 
As someone who always thought she looked terrible in photographs you took some damn good photos of me that I am exceptionally pleased with. You made me relax and laugh and as you already have a sort of relationship with her and she has confided in you about what she perceives as her defect then I think you are more than halfway there.

I'm attaching a couple of pics you took of me so people can see what I mean!

IMG_6020sm.jpg


IMG_6032sm.jpg
 
why don't you use some kind off prop like an umbrella or something that takes your attention away from her face(nose) as said above.....and ask her to dress in something special to make her feel good.

Maybe not to close of a shot as well but have the her in full frame to show of her figure and maybe the scar /nose may not be so much of a problem.

Great idea about using photoshop but could make her feel worse but tactfully you could ask her if its something that would interest her......

Del.
 
Here's a suggestion. If she's after a nice close up portrait shot (amongst the other stuff) why not try one of the half face shots that were in vogue a while ago - where you only see one eye etc. 50% reduction of the offending conk guaranteed then! :D
 
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