Jenna

[JustJazzie]

I got my sister to agree to model for me so I could get a little practice in. She did her own makeup and hair. I tried to use frequency separation on the skin, but I am not sure if I went far enough. I was afraid to take it too far.,,,

I am trying to improve my posing, getting connection with the camera and post work. C&C is truly appreciated!!!
1)

2)

3)

4)

 

[Rick50]

Lighting looks pretty good. Overall OK. I'm no professional so don't get to excited but one of the things I learned is to not have paired body parts like eyes level to the ground. Meaning just a tilt of the head would help. The worst is the bottom one. Just a bad pose so nothing looks good. Straight on shots are more male. I like #3 the best.
OK, so now someone who knows can say something.

 

[JustJazzie]

Lighting looks pretty good. Overall OK. I'm no professional so don't get to excited but one of the things I learned is to not have paired body parts like eyes level to the ground. Meaning just a tilt of the head would help. The worst is the bottom one. Just a bad pose so nothing looks good. Straight on shots are more male. I like #3 the best.
OK, so now someone who knows can say something.

Thanks for you're comments!. I will try to remember that about the eyes. I have several shots of each pose, perhaps I can find one with a better angle.

 

[oldhippy]

Like 4 the best. Seems to complement her best. Ed

 

[Trever1t]

You know, I've never heard that about the eyes, to not have them level to the ground? One thing for sure I always try to get a curve going, an S shape on 3/4 or full length portraiture.

Something I do notice here is the images are just flat. the wardrobe colors are mute as is the background. She doesn't pop from the background. Everything appears 2 dimensional.

#1 her pose is almost directly facing the camera and not as flattering as #2 where she is turned slightly. Also her head is too close to the top of the frame. I literally spend 30 minutes trying to get the right crop. Sometimes I move on to another image if not 100% satisfied and come back later to try again. Crop - composition is 90% of an image in my opinion.

#2 Angle of pose is much better but looks forced. I will use laughter to get my models to loosen up. I usually will have my models stand facing my light (45* off) and then turn their upper bodies (only) towards me. This gives that angle and also makes the light throw a soft shadow on the face.

#3 Looks more natural. I like what you are doing here and this is on the right track.

#4 the angle is ok to me, her head being so far on the left side of the frame is a bit uncomfortable. This would be one where I might use CS to re-create the background, making it much larger and then re-investigate the crop.

 

[qleak]

Not bad. My favorite pose is #3.

#4 something is bothering me about the processing on the face something is just off (maybe too smoothed?). IMHO not enough shadow under her eyes and her cheekbones are a little too blended into the rest of the face colors.

 

[JustJazzie]

You know, I've never heard that about the eyes, to not have them level to the ground? One thing for sure I always try to get a curve going, an S shape on 3/4 or full length portraiture.

Something I do notice here is the images are just flat. the wardrobe colors are mute as is the background. She doesn't pop from the background. Everything appears 2 dimensional.

#1 her pose is almost directly facing the camera and not as flattering as #2 where she is turned slightly. Also her head is too close to the top of the frame. I literally spend 30 minutes trying to get the right crop. Sometimes I move on to another image if not 100% satisfied and come back later to try again. Crop - composition is 90% of an image in my opinion.

#2 Angle of pose is much better but looks forced. I will use laughter to get my models to loosen up. I usually will have my models stand facing my light (45* off) and then turn their upper bodies (only) towards me. This gives that angle and also makes the light throw a soft shadow on the face.

#3 Looks more natural. I like what you are doing here and this is on the right track.

#4 the angle is ok to me, her head being so far on the left side of the frame is a bit uncomfortable. This would be one where I might use CS to re-create the background, making it much larger and then re-investigate the crop.

Thank you! I will revisit the crops, I have plenty of space in the original file, but I tend to lean towards a tighter crop when the background is so boring. I will try to remember your posing tips next time, those seem very useful!

 

[vintagesnaps]

She looks like she's trying too hard, which she maybe was because she's not a model...? I think #4 is the nicest because she looks the most natural, at least the face and upper body, I'm not so sure about the positioning of the lower body.

You seem to have some ability, and are working at it, have you ever thought about taking a class? or is there a camera club that does a studio night? or any sort of art center in your area? Seems like with some professional instruction you could gain a lot in doing this. Depends on what you want to do eventually, this seems fine for fun and practice so maybe if you keep at it you'll get there, but when it's do-able for you some further learning in a setting besides message boards and websites would be beneficial and worthwhile.

 

[JustJazzie]

She looks like she's trying too hard, which she maybe was because she's not a model...? I think #4 is the nicest because she looks the most natural, at least the face and upper body, I'm not so sure about the positioning of the lower body.

You seem to have some ability, and are working at it, have you ever thought about taking a class? or is there a camera club that does a studio night? or any sort of art center in your area? Seems like with some professional instruction you could gain a lot in doing this. Depends on what you want to do eventually, this seems fine for fun and practice so maybe if you keep at it you'll get there, but when it's do-able for you some further learning in a setting besides message boards and websites would be beneficial and worthwhile.

Thanks for your thoughts. I won't be going anywhere in photography professionally, since right now my priority is raising my family. Just enjoying learning what I can along the way. Perhaps in a few years I'll have more time to set aside for an in person class. I'd love to take one, but the nearest city is an hour away, it's on the list for someday! Untill then, I'll cherish what I can learn from the internet and books.

 

[bribrius]

nice work

 

[Rick50]

I learned a few things from this book. I think the eye's came from here.
Amazon.com: Doug Box's Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers (9781584282488): Douglas Allen Box: Books

 

[JustJazzie]

nice work

Thank you!!

I learned a few things from this book. I think the eye's came from here.
Amazon.com: Doug Box's Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers (9781584282488): Douglas Allen Box: Books

I'll look into this, Thanks a bunch!!

 

[frommrstomommy]

I think the lighting is really nice on these.. very flattering. I like those with the darker backdrop best.. compliments her skin nicely!

 

[Rick50]

This might be some help:

 

[JustJazzie]

I think the lighting is really nice on these.. very flattering. I like those with the darker backdrop best.. compliments her skin nicely!

Thank you!

This might be some help:

Yes, this was helpful! I was actually trying to angle her face, but then her eyes would go to the very corner so I kept asking her to bring it back..... This is definitely a huge issue for me, especially on selfies- my eyes are in the corner- or my face is square to the camera. Hmmmm.... Definitely need to figure this out.....