1st chance at pin up, please critique

[Darrin Spencer]

This is my first try at doing some pin up work. Any kind of comments, good or bad would be nice. This is also my first time posting so I hope that I get it right.

[eselby]

A few things - first off, the image is too small to see anything. I did, however, discover that clicking on it gives me a bigger version.

Right away - not crazy about the bed-sheet looking backdrop. I think pulling her a bit further from the backdrop would have been helpful.

The mood and tone of the image are good, but, as Christian Behr says, the devil is in the details. The back of the guitar leaves a visual black hole in the image. Turn the guitar around. The brush in her right hand seems inappropriate for the scene. The piece of cloth in her left hand would have worked better in place of the bruse. In fact....

To be more cheese-cake-teasing pinuppy, I would have posed her without the black shorts, and she could have been using her panties as the boot cleaning cloth.

Show a bit more flesh. Nothing explicit, but the shirt unbuttoned would have helped, too.

There.

How was that?

[Darrin Spencer]

Thanks for the comments, however I guesss I should have explained more about the pic. This is my first time shooting this kind of photography and the lady (Shay) is a big fan of pin up photography. I asked her to bring some photos of artists and when she got to me she said this was her favorite so we tried to create the art but update it a little. The artist was Gil Elvgren and this is one of his many prints. Shay was looking supposed to be looking at the boot that she was shining (that is the reason for the brish). But thanks for the comments and the backdrop isn't a bed sheet, I purchased it from Steve Kaiser Background. And if it a bed sheet it is the most expensive bed sheet I have ever bought. But thanks for the comments. And by the way how do you get your pictures bigger when you want them critiqued?

Darrin

[ViewFinder]

Darrin,

I like it. There may be some small things to improve, but it really grabbed me.

What is so strong in the picture is your model. Her expression. And it is obvious that she is seriously critiquing her work on the boot.

Next strongest thing is the use of color. The blue, her blonde hair, the use of black. All came together nicely.

Good lighting on the model.
The only weaknesses are:
The brush is unrealistic. It's the wrong kind. A shoe shine brush is a soft bristle kind, usually a wooden handle. The brush used is sold with mops and brooms at supermarkets and is a scrub brush.

The background; just smooth it, bring the model further away from it, and light it a little more.

That's all that's NEEDED. If you want to turn the guitar around, it may be a little more interesting.

An overall eye-catching shot! Thank you for sharing it with us.

[terrace]

I am a big fan of pinup myself, and found the image that she is trying to replicate in one of my books around the house.
as I am looking at the 2 right now, the first thing I notice is about the "sultry-ness" of classic pin-up.
You did a very great job replicating the image, and I agree that the backdrop is a little distracting but what is missing most is that special "sultry" or "sexiness"
the original image by Gil does not have her skin showing, however the wardrobe is clingy (and showing her "curves" very well) and her white transluscent panties and barely noticable..just enough to make you want more. and I think the suggestion mentioned above about slightly unbuttoning the top would have been an easy way to make up for the difference (since the curvy classic model is most well endowed in the upper region.)
and the comment about the brush...is just that the brush in the updated image kinda reminds me of the one i use to wash my bathroom tub, rather than shine boots, so a rag/cloth might have made sense, unless of course you could find a brush that looks more like a boot brush (with black worn bristles, you can find at any boot store or military supply)
the guitar does create a black hole in the image. In the original Elvgren you will see that even though the guitar is backward, it is white....the same color as the background, so it doesn't cause any distraction.
Hope to see more pin-up re-makes!!

[StanTom]

I think it is a good photo , especially for a first attempt
I would try to clean up the background in photoshop or erase the whole thing to white

Don't know what the original pin-up looked like but a little more contrast ?maybe?

if you posted this pic from your portfolio then when it showed up , right above it I think is the options to have it clickable or post the original


Above image was shot on white paper background - 2 lights on the background - 1 light in softbox on model with reflector off to right of camera
( yours seems to be on thick carpet in some of the shots in your port, think about something under it nest time - maybe even 1/4" paneling or the like ) so the models feet don't 'sink' into the floor