Looks very professional!

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Martin.

Hey Dotun, when can I visit the lounge and meet Chloe.

Dotun Ayodeji: lol..she left the lounge right after the shoot

Your going from strength to strength Dee and thanks for the lighting tips.

J

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Johnny, you are always welcome.

Man, Dotun. You're perfecting all this portrait stuff down this to a "T!"

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks for the encouragement Ginnie, I find myself doing more commercial work these days.

Very nice shot! And I love that you told us how it was made as it makes it that much more interesting because then we can learn while enjoying the effect.

Dotun Ayodeji: You are always welcome, thanks Urv.

Technically flawless! (at least as far as I can tell!) I really like the choice to keep her face just slightly more in focus than the rest of her - it really draws attention to her beauty.

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks for the Comment Jewlya.

So beautiful! Very nice!

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks PJ.

Rock on mate !!

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Shakara.

It just goes to show that the compositional rules work - eyes, sharply focussed, smack on one of them for a most pleasing result.

Also I've read recently that make-up is as important as anything else in such a shot and this looks flawless to me. It's clever that the strawberry picks out Chloe's eyeshadow.

It doesn't hurt a bit that Chloe is a real beauty either. How does that song go? Beautiful beautiful brown eyes - I'll never love blue eyes again.

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Colin.

Very professional looking! Nice shot

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks E!

Man, what can I say. Magnificent picture and a magnificent model. I hope the people with dollars also think so - you deserve it.

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Louis, dollar is good but pound is better

I think this is your best work I've seen to date. No nitpicks!

Dotun Ayodeji: Coming from Stan! I will take it and run with it

every time I open your page Dee, you seem to have stepped up a gear! What can I say other than this is commercial pro standard and simply gorgeous. mal

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Mal.

This is superb Dotun.

A great work, my friend! I take advantage of to wish best in this New Year for you and yours!

Fabulous shot bro!

Absolutely beautiful.

thanks for the master class when can i lend the model lol, superb fella.

Beautiful shot!!

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks King.

Beautiful photograph, of a very beautiful model. Such a polished, professional shot. (:o)

This is beautiful dotun, and thanks for the 'here is how 101' I'm definately taking notes

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Laku, you are alaways welcome.

Perfect. Great shot. I see you are entering a whole new level.

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Chinex, you are still MIA

beautiful shot dotun

the soft focus works well here and we have enough detail in the skin of her face to keep us happy

the detail in the face is not perfectly even all round but thats just nitpicking on my part (can't believe i chose a day that stan was silent to do that)

i don't understand how light becomes softer the closer to the subject it gets
i'd always thought it was the other way round

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Dr! if Stan a macro photog says its perfect then I just need to close shop and go home But on the real, what you are seeing is mosty DOF and camera angle. But if you say the details in the skin is not perfectly even, then mission accomplished, i hate to make my images look too even or plastic(except if client wants it) because the human skin is not perfectly even so I take your observation as a plus...thanks again.

Ok lets get back to the drawing board for minute about your question of light, it is pretty fundamental but it's a concept mostly misunderstood but I believe in sharing so ger ready. I will probably have to post this white paper again to reduce the number of questions I get about this same issue.
There are 2 main types of light. Hard Light and soft Light. It is important for photographers to understand light very well before shooting rather than buying expensive camera gear. Like one photographer said, the amount of lights you should buy should depend on how long you've been shooting, so one light per year ...it sounds sarcastic but is true.
Ok back to soft and hard light. As a photographer you want to be able to control 2 things, the quality and direction of light. The quality of light depends on 2 main things - light to subject distance and size of light source. With hard light, your light source is farther from your subject and get hard edged highlights and shadows. Soft light wraps around your subject with soft edges and in this case you have to move your light closer. I get this questiion all the time " so you mean if I move the light closer I get softer light"...answer is yes. An example, is the sun. On a bright sunny day, if you place your subject outside in an open shade with the sun shinning direct, you get hard shadows on the floor and around your subject the only thing you dont get is a wrap around effect. But if the sun was moved in closer(not like you could), you will get a softer light and wrap around effect.
You can simulate this in the studio. Put an object on the table close to your backdrop and move your light far away, you will see the hard shadows on the subject and backdrop. Next move your light closer and closer and you will see the shadows soften and watch the change in midtones. I took the shot with this same technique, it's mostly used by glamour photographers, when the need a soft skin look and less contrasty feel they move the light closer and I mean as close as possible. The quality of light also depends on size of the light source, I will not go too much in this but the larger the source the softer, smaller light sources give you a harder light and more contrasty feel - this is used for more dramatic and bold effect commonly used in the movies. A very good example will be the naked sun on an overcast day. On the other side, if it was a cloudy day, the sun is now behind the clouds, and now the clouds serves as an increased surface area similar to a larger more diffused light source giving you a softer wrap around light on your subject.
In summary, you have to keep this 2 things in mind when shooting in order achieve the your desired results.

Dotun

Absolute quality!!

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Nigel.

aaaaahhhhhh this is truly a magnificent shot Dotun!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about light

pretty looking lady. I like the lighting.

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Rags.

Masterclass, and thus a LIKEY, flawless!!!!

Dotun Ayodeji: Thanks Patrick.

Dotun on fireeeeeeee.

Awesome awesome shot bro.
You de man.

One of my favourite images our eyes have beheld this year

Dotun Ayodeji: lol...I see you poking fun at my comment on Laku's blog. As for my posting, thanks, I wouldn't be able to do it without the old Suby type critiques

Very seductive, well lit, completely professional.

i wish the strawberry was riper

Dotun Ayodeji: lol...

Awesome photo. I like everything about it. well done friend.

Dotun Ayodeji: Thank you very much.

16/10 o.k 20/10

Beautiful and captivating!

Dotun,

I love love love this shot. Hopefully someday, I can take a shot like this My regards to the wify.

Fabulous! This could easily be the cover of a fashion n lifestyle magazine. I like the details visible in this shot very very much. And guess what...she makes me think of the love of my life. Thanks for the marvelous effect this picture has on my state of mind! Be sure to thank the model for me!