Photograph of 17yr olds eye for injury claim... best way?

theMusicMan

theMusicMan

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,838
Name
John
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi All

I have been asked by a client to photograph her 17yr old daughters eye that was damaged in a disgraceful attack by a gang who actually fired a paintball into her eye from the safety of their car! Thugs eh! They were caught and punished - though not sure what the punishment was.

Anyway, the Mum took a photo originally and sent this in, but this has since been returned by those she sent it to due to 'insufficient clarity and detail'. So, I have been asked if I'd take the photograph of her eye.

The injury is many months old, but it has left a permanent scar in her eye that is visible. What I am after is advice on the best set up to use to capture this. I don't have ring-flash, but I do have a top class camera mounted Olympus FL-50 flash unit, as well as, of course the built in on-camera flash. I also have several external flash units and slaves that I could use.

Can someone give me an indication of which set up would be best please? Should I use the FL-50, or should I set up one of the studio units...?

Ta all...

UPDATE: Just had an email from the client saying the letter she received rejecting her image suggests not to use flash. I guess this is if it is done by the claimant on a P&S camera...?
 
Just use the available light to best effect, tilt her head so as the scar is outlined, use a reflector to even out the light if needed. May be beneficial to shoot against a dark background too to overemphasise.

Make sure that you use very minimal editing work if any at all, just sharpen, levels, curves & saturation if you really need to (I'd not really edit at all if it were me)
Also ensure all Exif data is embedded in the file for date reference, etc.
 
b@st@ards!

just remember all the things you know about making the model look good
and do the opposite!

very flat lighting, and as above, minimal/no processing

poor kid - hope she gets a big payout
and hope the scrotes get severe justice

I'm not inclined to violence, nor religious,
but maybe the bible was right!

imho
 
I had to photograph an injury for a neighbor. Motorcycle accident, bruises & cuts all down his side and his rear end (guess who came in to the room when he had bent down for this photo - my wife!) :bonk::lol:

Anyway, the sols asked for no flash and original files. So I gave him the RAW file and a printed version of it.

As said above, well lit room, with reflector as required and should be ok.
 
Cheers all... I'll be trying this on Friday.
 
Update: client now asked if I can do this today!!! eeeek...!!

So, tried some experimental shots with Jen (wifey) and the lighting is quite harsh, even with the studio flash on half power and a softbox being used. I can always reduce this to acceptable levels, but I don't really want to see the keylight reflected in the girls eyes. Excuse the ignorance here, but how do I remove this...?
 
If you mean the catchlight then just don't use flash :shrug:
Use natural lighting as suggested & you can't go far wrong :thumbs:
 
Thing is Mike, I have been asked to do this tonight and it's going to be dark or getting dark when they get here.
 
can you bounce the lights off the ceiling or opposite wall?
net over the light to diffuse it?

or - crazy idea
get the subject to face a white wall with the lights behind her
that way the eye(s) can't catch the light
you'll be shooting into the light but you should be able to angle the light to avoid too much flare

do let us know how it goes
 
Ok, try redirect your lighting so as it is not facing the subject & bounce the light from either a reflector or the ceiling - this should soften the already diffused light & balance things out a little. I always find it useful to light the room initially with a daylight bulb too (you can pick them up from art shops if you get a minute) Just watch your WB when shooting in this way :thumbs:

Edit: Make sure to use your modelling lamp to balance where you want your shadows too.
Mike typed faster than me :lol:
 
Cool - and very quick - advice folks, thanks very much. I have a few meetings now until 3:30, and will then try a few more test shots before she appears here at 4:30... eeeeeeek!!
 
... and stay calm!

good luck
 
Assuming you go really close for that/those photos, how about this?

BrilliantQuickDirtyMacroSoftBox.jpg


And, probably superfluous: shoot the eye/face from different angles.

Good luck!
 
Thanks all for the advice, greatly appreciated. I have offered another attempt during daylight hours, but the client seems very happy with this image... at least it clearly illustrates the damage caused by those thugs after they fired that paintball. This is after the operation too!!

bethan_eye-13a.jpg
 
Bloody hell..........poor girl. :(
 
mmcp42 said:
or - crazy idea
get the subject to face a white wall with the lights behind her
that way the eye(s) can't catch the light
you'll be shooting into the light but you should be able to angle the light to avoid too much flare

do let us know how it goes
Click to expand...

Actually, Mike, you will still get a catchlight this way. Remember that the white wall in front of the subject will now act as the main light, and will result in catchlights directly in the middle of the eyes. The size of the catchlights will depend on how close she is to the white wall.

- CJ
 
cjnicolai said:
Actually, Mike, you will still get a catchlight this way. Remember that the white wall in front of the subject will now act as the main light, and will result in catchlights directly in the middle of the eyes. The size of the catchlights will depend on how close she is to the white wall.

- CJ
Click to expand...
Hey CJ - did I do OK then...?:shrug:

I liaised with DiddyDave this afternoon and he suggested I try to put the keylight below her eyes and have her look up slightly - so, this is what I did. Seems to have come out OK. This was a very difficult challenge I must admit.

I could have tried some alternate setups, but the client was happy with this shot and several others.
 
MusicMan, the damage is the white ring in her right eye, correct? I would say the shot you posted shows the damage pretty clearly. I would say, though, that in future cases where you're taking shots of physical damage for insurance purposes that you need to advise the client to wear NO makeup of any kind. Keeping in mind the goal, you don't want the subject's eyes to look at all pretty. You want an honest-to-the-point-of-ugly unenhanced rough image.

As long as the client and the attorneys are satisfied, you've done your job. In this kind of photo, that's the bottom line.

- CJ
 
cjnicolai said:
MusicMan, the damage is the white ring in her right eye, correct? I would say the shot you posted shows the damage pretty clearly. I would say, though, that in future cases where you're taking shots of physical damage for insurance purposes that you need to advise the client to wear NO makeup of any kind. Keeping in mind the goal, you don't want the subject's eyes to look at all pretty. You want an honest-to-the-point-of-ugly unenhanced rough image.

As long as the client and the attorneys are satisfied, you've done your job. In this kind of photo, that's the bottom line.

- CJ
Click to expand...

I have to say that makes very good sense... for want of a better cliche, 'quick and dirty' springs to mind. The worse it looks, the better in this case scenario.
 
theMusicMan said:
bethan_eye-13a.jpg
Click to expand...

That's the outward appearance.
It sucks, obviously. Well, not this photo, of course. But her photos in general need not suffer: simply clone her left eye!

Come to think of it, how about a portrait session with the young lady in which you make her look absolutely stunning, while demonstrating what editing can do. That would be a real boost to her dented self-esteem! She would love you forever. And so would her mum & dad!

But how about the eye's function, Music man? Does it still work?
 
cjnicolai said:
MusicMan, the damage is the white ring in her right eye, correct? I would say the shot you posted shows the damage pretty clearly. I would say, though, that in future cases where you're taking shots of physical damage for insurance purposes that you need to advise the client to wear NO makeup of any kind. Keeping in mind the goal, you don't want the subject's eyes to look at all pretty. You want an honest-to-the-point-of-ugly unenhanced rough image.

As long as the client and the attorneys are satisfied, you've done your job. In this kind of photo, that's the bottom line.

- CJ
Click to expand...
Thanks CJ - great advice there which is much appreciated.
W.Smith said:
That's the outward appearance.
It sucks, obviously. Well, not this photo, of course. But her photos in general need not suffer: simply clone her left eye!

Come to think of it, how about a portrait session with the young lady in which you make her look absolutely stunning, while demonstrating what editing can do. That would be a real boost to her dented self-esteem! She would love you forever. And so would her mum & dad!

But how about the eye's function, Music man? Does it still work?
Click to expand...

Good idea W.Smith, all I can say is that great minds think alike and yes, this is already booked :) I offered, and later this month I have arranged a session for her and her boyfriend.

Re her eyesight: Yes, she can still see through her right eye, but blurred. She has one of those laser operations soon to further remedy this. She won't have perfect sight, but she can see through it and apparently it will get better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top