First photoshoot, first post! Hello!

[FITBMX]

I really like #3 with the tighter crop!
At least you have a model to work with, and your lighting looks good!

 

[darkchild]

not bad for your first time! Keep it up!

 

[Forkie]

I think these are really good for your first go. Your model is STUNNING! Keep her number for when you've had a few more practice runs! I wish I could shoot her!

Your focus, as pointed out is a little soft, but viewing from further away it's actually not that noticeable - I think you have just about got away with it, but next time, use a tripod if possible and make sure your focus is nailed on the eyes. Fire a few shots off for each pose and check them on the computer before editing, pick the one that's in focus. With my portraits, especially if using very shallow DOF, if the focus is on the eyelash instead of the eyeball, it gets ditched.

I always disagree when people insist on portrait orientation for portraits, I have a penchant for intimate, tight horizontal crops on portraits, so I don't see any problem there, but I would advise that if shooting a portrait in landscape orientation, you typically need to be a bit lower relative to your subject's face, otherwise it can look like they're trying to look up onto the cookie jar shelf

For the wide shot, I really like her pose, but because you have that big tree trunk on the left, I'd have balanced out that feature by placing her on the right. As it is, all the "weight" is on the left of the frame and it feels unbalanced because there is not sufficient negative space on the right to counteract it.

I will say though, that your exposure and white balance are spot on for her skin colour and the autumnal colours of the scene.

Overall, you should be proud of this first shoot.

 

[lcaphotog]

What ever you read that said longer lens blur the background more was wrong and/or did a poor job of explaining what the real difference lens focal length makes.

What longer lenses do it magnify the background more and at longer focal lengths the lens field-of-view (FoV) is smaller.
When using a longer lens we have the camera further from the point of focus (PoF).
If we keep the subject the same size in the image frame and use a 200 mm focal length we are 4x further from the point of focus than if we use a 50 mm focal length.
If the lens aperture and subject size in the frame is the same for both shots the depth-of-field (DoF) for both shots is the same. But as mentioned above the FoV is smaller and the background is magnified more but the background is blurred the same in both shots.

Thanks for explaining it! I understand it a lot more now and realize I should have shot with my 18-55mm instead since I wasn't going for a magnified background.

..should I have used an 18-55 instead? I'm planning on buying a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens soon because of my fondness of shooting with wide apertures.

Also, any tips on getting models to pose?

I'm glad to see someone using the 55-200 for portraiture. I think a longer view has less distortion than shorter lenses.

The 50mm is shorter, so be ready for some slight measure of distortion. Larger apertures are not necessary, and could lead to DOF troubles. Always know your depth of field in any situation.

If your model is lacking experience, then it is your responsibility to give direction. You should learn good modeling technique and be able to direct your model.

I'll definitely do some reading on modeling technique. Thank you!

I really like #3 with the tighter crop!
At least you have a model to work with, and your lighting looks good!

Seems like a majority enjoys the tighter crop more! I'll keep that in mind next shoot!

I think these are really good for your first go. Your model is STUNNING! Keep her number for when you've had a few more practice runs! I wish I could shoot her!
Thank you! Yeah she sure is a beaut. She's actually a long-time friend so I should be able to shoot her as practice!
Your focus, as pointed out is a little soft, but viewing from further away it's actually not that noticeable - I think you have just about got away with it, but next time, use a tripod if possible and make sure your focus is nailed on the eyes. Fire a few shots off for each pose and check them on the computer before editing, pick the one that's in focus. With my portraits, especially if using very shallow DOF, if the focus is on the eyelash instead of the eyeball, it gets ditched.
Yeah I learned that since I have trouble focusing through the viewfinder, I'll use live view mode to help me out. I'll pick more in focus pictures next time!
I always disagree when people insist on portrait orientation for portraits, I have a penchant for intimate, tight horizontal crops on portraits, so I don't see any problem there, but I would advise that if shooting a portrait in landscape orientation, you typically need to be a bit lower relative to your subject's face, otherwise it can look like they're trying to look up onto the cookie jar shelf

For the wide shot, I really like her pose, but because you have that big tree trunk on the left, I'd have balanced out that feature by placing her on the right. As it is, all the "weight" is on the left of the frame and it feels unbalanced because there is not sufficient negative space on the right to counteract it.
Oh yeah it does seem off balance. There I was going for the rule of thirds!
I will say though, that your exposure and white balance are spot on for her skin colour and the autumnal colours of the scene.
Thanks
Overall, you should be proud of this first shoot. I am super proud of my first shoot and look forward to my future shoots!

All in all, thank you everyone for your inputs! You guys taught me a lot that I can bring into the next photoshoot.

 

[Granddad]

This forum is better than most college photography courses!

 

[DavidVote]

Also, any tips on getting models to pose? I felt it was hard getting the model to pose in a way i wanted, so I was just letting her do her thing.

I said this in a reddit thread a couple days ago, but whenever I do a shoot with a human subject, I just tell them to do their thing. Whatever feels comfortable to them to build rapport and their confidence with you then ease into more specific instructions.

Comfortable model = good and not awkward pictures.

As for telling them how to pose, I usually just give them a loose demonstration myself. Better yet, come prepared with pictures of poses that you like.

Good luck next time!

PS. The model's skin looks slightly too yellow. In photoshop, open a new selective color adjustment layer and mess with the sliders in the red and yellows and see if you could get a better skin tone.