All right, tear these apart

Lacey Anne · May 9, 2008

I think they're awful.

It was a spur of the moment shoot and as much as I tried to hurry this girl, she took an hour and a half to get there and most of my light was GONE. These were shot after 8pm. I also had no assistant so no one to hold my reflector. I was hoping to bounce my flash off of it, but alas, it did not work out. So, yeah, you can tell me they suck but I'd also like some advice on how to do it better next time. Besides the obvious things I already mentioned.

#1

#2

#3

Lacey Anne · May 9, 2008

Oh yes and they're really soft. I had to jump down to a slower shutter speed and I also didn't have a tripod. Man, maybe I shouldn't have posted them at all!

Pesky · May 9, 2008

I think #2 is gorgeous. There is a vacancy in her eyes that is haunting.

Lacey Anne · May 9, 2008

Pesky said:
I think #2 is gorgeous. There is a vacancy in her eyes that is haunting.

Thank you. I honestly didn't expect any good comments on these! lol! She's sad, yes. The man she plans to marry just joined the Army and is leaving for three years.

jcolman · May 9, 2008

No assistant, no tripod. Did you charge this person a fee for these shots or was this a freebie? If you charged them, then it's your responsibility to ensure that you have all your bases covered.

Lacey Anne · May 9, 2008

jcolman said:
No assistant, no tripod. Did you charge this person a fee for these shots or was this a freebie? If you charged them, then it's your responsibility to ensure that you have all your bases covered.

Nope, the shoot was for me, not her. Not really what I wanted critique on, thanks. I wanted to do a shoot in some nice, golden sunset light. She offered to model for me. She took too long though and the epuipment I had with me for my own purposes was not what I needed for the lighting we ended up with. Trust me, if this was a paid shoot, I would have covered every possible base. As it was, I ran out with her after we saw a movie and I had what I had.

kellylindseyphotography · May 9, 2008

WEll I think your location, posing, and composition are all good. As you said, the main problem is the lighting which you can't fix now. I would be upfront with them and say you need to reshoot.

kellylindseyphotography · May 9, 2008

ah, I See this is not a customer, just something fun you did. Well then, I 'd take it as a lesson learned

Lacey Anne · May 9, 2008

kellylindseyphotography said:
ah, I See this is not a customer, just something fun you did. Well then, I 'd take it as a lesson learned

Thanks, Kelly. No, not a customer. Well, she is, just not for these. I'm shooting her and her family tomorrow but I will have everything I need because I know exactly what, where and when I'm shooting.

jcolman · May 9, 2008

Lacey Anne said:
Nope, the shoot was for me, not her. Not really what I wanted critique on, thanks. I wanted to do a shoot in some nice, golden sunset light. She offered to model for me. She took too long though and the epuipment I had with me for my own purposes was not what I needed for the lighting we ended up with. Trust me, if this was a paid shoot, I would have covered every possible base. As it was, I ran out with her after we saw a movie and I had what I had.

That's cool then. As for a critique, let me suggest that next time try moving the model away from the wall a bit. She tends to blend too much with the background.

Lacey Anne · May 9, 2008

kellylindseyphotography said:
WEll I think your location, posing, and composition are all good. As you said, the main problem is the lighting which you can't fix now. I would be upfront with them and say you need to reshoot.

I'll have more shots from this location tomorrow. It's fabulous! An old, abandoned catholic school. It's called "The Academy". I love shooting there.

Lacey Anne · May 9, 2008

jcolman said:
That's cool then. As for a critique, let me suggest that next time try moving the model away from the wall a bit. She tends to blend too much with the background.

Thank you. I will try that.

Bman · May 9, 2008

I like the 1st one, it's cool looking has a little grunge look to it (which I personally like).

SpeedTrap · May 9, 2008

OK, there are my thoughts. You did very well with the failing light and a reflector

1) Like the composition but he eyes should have been a little more toward the camera, and the way she is holding her hand makes it looks like she has a stump.
2) Could use a bit tighter crop and you cut her off at the elbows
3) The position of her hands are not flattering, they are pushing on her face too much and it is a bit soft.

kellylindseyphotography · May 9, 2008

oh and one other thing that stuck out at me- her eye makeup seems really heavy. i know your sort of going for a "look" here, but maybe scale that back just a tad.