Studio Portrait Inspiration
I chose the first image as an inspiration because I like the position of the model and how she is looking away from the camera and how there is an even contrast of light on her face. In the second image I liked the way the center of the models face is only lit giving it a darker look and the model is not looking directly at the camera too. The last image the model is looking away from the camera to the upper left corner and the right side of her face is only lit completely.
Studio Portraits
My best Studio Portrait photo is the sixth one where my model, Holly, is sitting towards the left side while her face is turned slightly over her shoulder with her wavy hair covering the right side of her face, giving it a beautiful, dramatic look. The lightning used was natural and it brought out and evenly distributed light upon her face. Also, it was shot at a horizontally straight on point of view. In this portrait, the mood/meaning being conveyed was a dramatic, sneaky, hidden feel since you can't see her full face her hair is hiding herself and her facial expression is kinda sly. I think i successfully used levels to achieve the correct exposure/contrast in all my images since they don't give dull, unappealing look. If I needed to chose one to improve upon I would change the contrast of the fifth photo to bring out the white's a little more since it is slightly dark. My weakest portrait would be the first one because of the way the lights were set up didn't capture the full effect I was trying to reach of the shadow of her pose on the black backdrop. There was one light placed on the right side of her without a cover shinning directly towards her; next time I should play around with the positing of the light to capture a stronger shadow.
Self Portraits
My best self portrait is the fourth picture where my head is titled slightly and my hair is pushed to one side as I am looking down at the rose I am holding. I used natural light for this picture and captured it at a straight on point of view with the help of a tripod. The mood/meaning I was trying to convey was a sad, lonely feel and I did this by keeping a serious face looking down at the rose. Also, I wore neutral colors so the red of the rose would stand out against my pale skin to draw attention. For the most part, I successfully used levels to achieve the correct exposure/contrast throughout my pictures. Although I could of improved on the first picture since the lighting is a bit dark around my body, so I could of brought out a more even contrast. My weakest photo is the fifth one because it isn't the best quality since it is blurry and wasn't shot at the time of day with the strongest natural light.