Couple portraits for C&C

[Josh66]

Still kind of new at portraits... Still working on composition & posing...

Let me know what you think.

Making a conscious effort to not shoot everything in portrait orientation:

One more:

Both with Canon 85mm f/1.8 @ f/5.6.

 

[Billhyco]

she kinda looks caught off guard. idk. i would work with the fly away hair in post...that would clean up the photos slightly.

 

[Josh66]

Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard to clean up the stray hairs... Thanks.

Man... Now it's starting to look like her hair is more in focus than her eyes... Is it just me, or are you seeing that too?

 

[themedicine]

I can see it a little. Like her eyes are "in focus" just not the sharpest spots, almost like the part for her bangs is the sharpest spot.
Just curious, is there a backlight here? The only reason I would think there could be is because of the two different colors for the backgrounds, but you could have just moved her. haha. If there was a backlight, maybe you could pull her forward some to separate her from the background, only because they look a bit flat, and maybe thay could fix it.
I do like the second one better, but its good to see some horizontal too!
good work man

Oh, and it does kinda look like shes staring through something instead of AT something ya know? maybe have her look at you for a couple! I dunno. haha

 

[Josh66]

Thanks.

No backlight. Working with a single 580EX II, handheld a foot to a foot-and-a-half above the camera. Background (for both) was a bedsheet (all I have to work with at the moment). Changed the background color in LR with the 'Color' adjustment brush.

I can't remember exactly, but I want to say that subject-to-background distance was about equal to subject-to-camera distance (I wanted to avoid shadows on the background, and with only one light - that was the easiest solution).

I'm kind of a noob with the flash, so I'm still learning... I might have to play around with it a little more. ...Still trying things.

 

[themedicine]

hey dude, completely understand and Im right there with ya. haha. Are you using the flash in manual mode or ttl? If you are using manual, try shooting with a different shutter speed aperture combo. I see you were shooting f/5.6 at 1/200. Maybe try f/8 at like 1/200. The background would be darker and your subject would remain the same, maybe that would make her pop more!
just a thought.

 

[Restomage]

Don't like em. Poses seem super akward and it's not so much you as it is her.

 

[Josh66]

Thanks - I'll have to try that.

I shot these in TTL, but what you're talking about shouldn't be too hard to pull off.
Just a matter of finding the right power...within my reach, I think, lol.

 

[themedicine]

yea, just remember that the flash sync speed is probably like 1/250, so the more you stop open up your aperture the faster you can make that shutter roll, but 1/250th is probably the limit, although that can sometimes be fudged if you're lucky. haha

 

[Josh66]

Sync speed for my camera is 1/200th, but the 580EX II has High Speed Sync - which I haven't really messed with yet. I think it should work at any shutter speed though.

The manual says that it fires a series of pulses at speeds beyond the sync speed since both curtains are never fully open at those speeds. I'll have to play around with it later.

 

[Moe]

In addition to what's been said, something that bugs me is that her neck seems more exposed than her face. I'm sure this is because of makeup, but you should be able to remedy that in post. Her arm sticking up in the second one is a little bothersome. Other than that, pretty decent. Keep it up!

 

[Josh66]

her neck seems more exposed than her face. I'm sure this is because of makeup, but you should be able to remedy that in post.

Yeah, it probably is because of the makeup, and you're right - should be a pretty easy fix.


Thanks for the feedback, guys.

 

[Paparoksguitar]

Don't like em. Poses seem super akward and it's not so much you as it is her.

I really really agree. Its a well light shot, but her pose/facail expression is just odd. i can't figure out exactly what was going on.
If you just have her move her head back towards the camera she'll have a very feminine S curve going on and i think it'd really help number 2.

 

[Josh66]

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll keep it in mind next time.

Like I said, still working on composition & posing.

She's not a model or anything, so it's not like she automatically knows what pose to make, and I don't really know what pose to put her in, lol.

I guess to start, I'll have her mimic poses from magazines or whatever...

 

[themedicine]

Josh- in regard to your high speed pulse flash on you the 580exII. It will work, but you will lose alot of power using that. Just something to keep in mind. IE you wont be able to shoot at 1/2 or probably even 1/4 power with that. Of course, that depends on your power source...damned variables. haha