First attempt at senior pics!

[Mikeyb90]

It wasn't until I got home from the shoot that I noticed my camera was only shooting jpegs and not Raw + like I normally have it -_- How it got switched, remains a mystery. And why I didn't double check before the shoot? Beyond me. I think I still managed to grab a few acceptable shots. Here are a couple of my faves.. All natural light still. Let me know what you think!

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[tirediron]

Not a bad set; a few thoughts: I like the concept of the chain-link in #1, but not so much the vignette. I think too facing him away from the sun and using fill light would have allowed him to open his eyes a little more.

In number two, you've cropped his left elbow and in number three all of him from the waist down. The elbow just looks careless, and the waist shot... just not a fan. In the last image, I would have liked to see him placed farther back in relation to the convergence of the leading lines.

 

[Mikeyb90]

Not a bad set; a few thoughts: I like the concept of the chain-link in #1, but not so much the vignette. I think too facing him away from the sun and using fill light would have allowed him to open his eyes a little more.

In number two, you've cropped his left elbow and in number three all of him from the waist down. The elbow just looks careless, and the waist shot... just not a fan. In the last image, I would have liked to see him placed farther back in relation to the convergence of the leading lines.

Thanks for the input! I'm really bad at using the vignette in dead space like that.. I just think it fills the monotony of boring background. Also I don't have anything to do fill lighting and the sun was super harsh until we got on the actual field. With the cropped out body parts, I really don't know when is ok to crop out the body and when it isn't.. You're right with the elbow. And I did that shot quite a few times until I got him all in the frame. But after I put them on the computer that ended up being the best one of them. Next time I do a bridge shot I will try that.. Should I frame with a lot of foreground leading to the subject? or a tighter crop of the subject and the lines?

 

[tirediron]

Try tighter crops rather than vignettes! As far as the lighting; you can make a decent reflector out of even a $2.00 piece of white posterboard! This can make a HUGE difference to the quality of light you're working with. For crops, always avoid cropping 'little bits' like the chunk of elbow, and crops at/near joints (elbows, knees, waist, etc). In the case of the bridge shot, I would again crop more tightly. Just enough of the lines to bring the eye to the subjec,t but not take it past. too much foreground or background in portrait work is rarely desirable.

 

[Mikeyb90]

Try tighter crops rather than vignettes! As far as the lighting; you can make a decent reflector out of even a $2.00 piece of white posterboard! This can make a HUGE difference to the quality of light you're working with. For crops, always avoid cropping 'little bits' like the chunk of elbow, and crops at/near joints (elbows, knees, waist, etc). In the case of the bridge shot, I would again crop more tightly. Just enough of the lines to bring the eye to the subjec,t but not take it past. too much foreground or background in portrait work is rarely desirable.

Gotcha, I actually had the poster board.. Used it for the engagement pictures I did too but it did not give me any good fill. I just ended up with a blown out background to compensate the dark face. I'm working on getting a remote flash setup next but I'm still confused about using them outdoors.. I'll keep the cropping in mind on my next shoot! Thank you!