Went out with a friend of mine to take some pictures because she wanted some and I wanted to see how I could do shooting people since I never have before.
Well, I feel that in 1 you can see that both you and she were still on the self-conscious side of your session. Her smile looks all forced. Also I find her make-up quite far on the harsh side (worse even this close up and with the harsh light you had), but that - I understand - is something totally beyond your control as you're not a pro and don't have a make-up artist to blame for it .
The others show her more and more relaxed. The light, however, was not to your advantage, although you probably thought it would be, as you had enough light for short enough shutter speeds. But with this you get very strong shadows, and mostly the eye-brows cast shadows over the eyes that make a person look like a racoon. Fill flash would have been required. That plus a reflector, maybe (but then who am I to speak up, lighting is totally NOT my forte!).
I think that you forgot that the water is a strong reflector and you got more up light than you expected. The one on the bridge is better because she if farther from the surface of the water and you only had to deal with the strong sunlight. It would be hard to use a reflector effectively where were posing her, but an adjustment to her pose to soften the shadows overlaying her eyes might help. Nice pictures overall with small adjustments needed.
Judge Sharpe
i don't like her expression, always the same and quite boring, you should have a conversation or something while you're shooting... work on your composition and lighting (i admit, being by the lake is not easy to get things perfect) -everything else is pretty ok if u ask me.
Thanks everyone! I know I needed a fill flash but sadly do not have a flash yet and I did not even think about making a quick reflector to help myself out.
All the advice will surely help for the next time I go out.
I'm not sure what time of day this was taken but it looks like mid day (bright sunshine). these kinds of shoots are better when the sun is lower in the sky (morning or later in the day). The "golden hours" are going to change your photos!