How bad does this look?

[Kirks518]

Does the flare kill this shot? The halo around here head doesn't bother me so much, but that flare line across the lower section really bothers me. When I showed it to the girl (my daughter's friend), she didn't notice it, but it jumps out at me.

Would you leave it like it is, or crop it somewhere to eliminate it?

Thanks!

Mamiya M645 1000s, Mamiya 80mm f/1.9, 1/1000, f1.9, Fuji Acros @ 100ASA, D-76 stock 7.25 minutes @ 68°F

 

[BrianShaw]

Well, what a dilemma. I think the flare is just one of the flaws. The background is another. But the subject is so pretty and natural that a lot of folks would look past the flaws.

I would crop to a head and shoulders.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

It's not too bad - probably because the young woman is so pretty. But if I were to crop it, I'd set the lower edge just a bit below her hair in front.

I don't find the background to be a problem.

 

[bdial]

A crop would work. It also wouldn't be too difficult to burn in the flare. A combination of burning in the flare and cropping so that it's mostly out of the frame would be the easiest.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

On first view all those bright background spectrals are very annoying and intrusive, ergo, there is a lot of competition for the viewer's attention because of the background and the search for a redeeming feature of the model (which appears unsharp). Flare can be and often is included for creative/artistic effect, but in this image the big problem is the visual distraction of background vs an indistinct main subject.

 

[Diapositivo]

I wouldn't mind with the distracting background if the subject appeared perfectly in focus, that would make the background somehow fall in the background. But the subject is not perfectly in focus (or it has some blur of some sort, maybe the flare itself can cause this?) and the eye searches for the subject and looks at the background and then to the subject etc. I think with proper focus that would have worked well.
The large "halo" around her head really makes her look like some saint in a painting, and I think is a nice touch!
Printed at relatively small format and cutting the lower part this portrait would certainly work well. The horizontal white bars on neck and shoulder are visible but not too distracting especially in a small picture. All IMHO.
(At her birthday a nice small tabletop silver frame with this picture fitted in would be a nice gift).

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

It's a great shot, but there is not just the one flare line near the bottom but another just under her face. Focus looks a little unsharp but that could be a s#@+/(@ING issue. Don't worry about the peanut gallery comments.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Does the flare kill this shot? The halo around here head doesn't bother me so much, but that flare line across the lower section really bothers me. When I showed it to the girl (my daughter's friend), she didn't notice it, but it jumps out at me.

Would you leave it like it is, or crop it somewhere to eliminate it?

Thanks!

View attachment 157715

Mamiya M645 1000s, Mamiya 80mm f/1.9, 1/1000, f1.9, Fuji Acros @ 100ASA, D-76 stock 7.25 minutes @ 68°F

If she didn't care, I wouldn't,otherwise I'd try to burn i the lower half

 

[gone]

The flare is a defect, and the crazy aperture bubbles in the background are a distraction. They take all the attention away from the subject. I had a Nikon 85 2 lens that did that, although not to the extent in your shot. It got sold.

 

[removed account4]

Does the flare kill this shot? The halo around here head doesn't bother me so much, but that flare line across the lower section really bothers me. When I showed it to the girl (my daughter's friend), she didn't notice it, but it jumps out at me.

Would you leave it like it is, or crop it somewhere to eliminate it?

Thanks!

View attachment 157715

Mamiya M645 1000s, Mamiya 80mm f/1.9, 1/1000, f1.9, Fuji Acros @ 100ASA, D-76 stock 7.25 minutes @ 68°F

hi kirks518:
nice portrait !
i don't mind the flare or sparkly background, it really isn't too bad ...
i'd burn in the whole image though
( and then more to both the background and bottom)and make sure you develop the print
completely and agitate it in the developer. ... and see how it looks.
the bottom and background don't really bother me as much as the print seems "light" (under developed / under exposed).

 

[Ian Grant]

It's a nice idea, it's part of your learning curve. I I could probably retouch the top flare mark quite easily, and you could make the lower one less noticeable.

Probably more important is to see if you can eliminate the cause of the flare and do some more shots.

Ian

 

[MattKing]

Expression is nice, but the flare is a problem.

Your subject looks to be wonderful to photograph. I'd ask for a chance to re-shoot.

 

[jerrybro]

If she really liked it and I couldn't reshoot, I'd crop just below where the hair ends and burn in what ever remained in the lower left corner.

 

[Kirks518]

Thanks everyone. The roll was just a test roll for a new lens (M645 80mm 1.9). I wanted to start learning the idiosyncrasies of the lens, and to see how the bokeh looked, so I shot everything wide open. Not too keen on the shape of the specular highlights, but it's not bad on 'normal' backgrounds. As for it being a hair out of focus, it may be a scanner thing, or it could be my eyes, or the limited dof. I tried to look at the negative under my loupe, but I still can't tell. I may actually have this image contact printed, and we'll see how that goes,

As for the 'model', she's my daughter's friend, and this was the first time she was willing to let me photograph her, as she lust got her braces off. She really likes the image, didn't notice the lower flare (?!?!), and commented that the 'halo' flare was because she's a little angel. She actually like the specular highlights, and considers it 'blingy' (kids...). Photographing her again shouldn't be a problem, so plans for the summer.

When I was scanning the roll, and saw the preview of this frame, I was like 'wow! this looks great!', but I too saw the softness and flare, and was hoping there was a way to save it from the flare at least. If the contact print shows it to be sharp enough, I'll print a cropped version, and take it from there.

As for me doing any burning etc., I only have a digital darkroom (PS6 & LR5), and I'm not that good at either to pull this one off.