My first portrait shoot! (56k warning!)

[Canon Fan]

Had my first portrait shoot over the weekend. Went pretty well oveerall I think and there are a couple of shot I know the couple will be very happy with. I learned alot that will help next time and identified a few problems I still need to work on. Just thought I would post a couple of the better ones here and see how everyone thinks I did. I know I need some work in the posig department yet and the light was really harsh in a few (the sun kept breaking out from the clouds at the wrong times! :x ).

Sorry about the watermarks, they were there for the previews I sent them and I didn't re-save files without them

All 8x10" crops . . .

Please be gentle! :blushing:

 

[clemeys]

I think you did a good job especially for your first attempt. You're right, i think some posing would've helped to have her not tip her head back so much. My fav shot of her is the last one where her head is tilted the most down. I love the color and comp of the b/w, but I hate that my eye is drawn to look up her nose. Also, the vignetting? is a lil' overboard imho.

Even though the sunlight is a lil harsh, I still like the coloring, and scenary very much.

 

[Karalee]

Stunning! Some of the best portraits Ive seen on the forum

 

[mentos_007]

ahhh the last one is lovely!!!! great series!!!!

 

[Alison]

The last two are my favorites, very relaxed and comfortable. Did you use a fill flash here? That would have helped the first two to lessen the shadows. Great job for your first try out, and I think the best thing is that you've already said you've learned things to try next time. Learning from things that didn't go quite right is invaluable! I look forward to seeing more of your work!

 

[sunshine]

I REALLY LOVE 3 and 4

 

[michelejo]

I like the last two but particularly the very last--very lovely. I love the colors, the pose, the expressions...I think it's just about perfect.

 

[Sharkbait]

That lady sure did like to lean her head back, didn't she? I could just hear myself in that session... "Okay, bring your chin down a bit...little bit more...once more...chin down just a bit...go ahead and bring your chin all the way down..."


:thumbsup: for your first time out. Love the one of them in the leaves especially.

 

[Canon Fan]

Wow, thanks for the replies everyone, looks like I got a bit of a list here. Hmmm from memory here goes . . .

I did use a my 550EX on the first two, although I had to be careful not to completely blow out the highlights so in the end the fill was not strong at all. In fact, not really strong enough. Plus the light was really WAY too harsh to be shooting in that spot (I should have waited longer for the clouds to come back but they were getting impatient on me )

Tipping her chin may have been my fault. My camera angles, there location(s), and relative size were factors I don't think I properly evaluated before shooting. Also everyone was on a time crunch and quite honestly . . . we were all at a Haloween party LATE the night before . . . Um, it's amazing we were all even awake the day we shot these! :blushing:

Oh ya, the vignetting . . .
It does look a little much on the monitor. However I have learned that the minilab I use to get these printed seems to try and "autocorrect" a little for vignette so I have learned that when it looks almost ridiculous on the monitor, it looks about right in the finished print

I'll try to post some others if I get a little time today.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Christie Photo]

That lady sure did like to lean her head back, didn't she? I could just hear myself in that session... "Okay, bring your chin down a bit...little bit more...once more...chin down just a bit...go ahead and bring your chin all the way down..."

This is about the time I make the joke about her head being "spring loaded."

I think you did fine for the first time out... cetainly mcuh better than my first.

One bit of advice to offer... I wouldn't put a big gal like this in such a "pow" color. It draws attention to her size and exagerates it. The black and white helps quite a bit.

Congrats on yer first!

-Pete

 

[Canon Fan]

This is about the time I make the joke about her head being "spring loaded."

I think you did fine for the first time out... cetainly mcuh better than my first.

One bit of advice to offer... I wouldn't put a big gal like this in such a "pow" color. It draws attention to her size and exagerates it. The black and white helps quite a bit.

Congrats on yer first!

-Pete

Uh huh! That's exactly what I thought when she stepped out of the car wearing it! I just couldn't bring myself to say anything. I had told her ahead of time no t-shirts with writing or designs and nothing too flashy Needless to say I didn't expect bright pink! Oh well we will be shooting again as soon as I have more of my studio equip so we can fix it then

Thanks for the compliments and help again everyone :hug::

 

[Alison]

It's so hard sometimes with clothing! When people ask what to wear I usually suggest white or black shirts with khaki pants or jeans, I figure everyone looks at least decent in one of those

I look forward to seeing more from this series! I wish my first portraits had been even half as good as these

 

[Christie Photo]

It's so hard sometimes with clothing! When people ask what to wear I usually suggest...

Hi, Alison. Yeah. It comes in time. I decided one day that if I'm made responsible for the images I create, then I get to say what I'll work with. I have actually rescheduled when clients turn up dressed for disaster. I started doing this premptive approach after having do "additional photography" (re-shoots) when clients were not satified with their first session. If I'm gonna redo work, I insist I control what I do the first time. It's the first thing we talk about when the session is booked.

I hope this is helpful.

-Pete

 

[Canon Fan]

Hi, Alison. Yeah. It comes in time. I decided one day that if I'm made responsible for the images I create, then I get to say what I'll work with. I have actually rescheduled when clients turn up dressed for disaster. I started doing this premptive approach after having do "additional photography" (re-shoots) when clients were not satified with their first session. If I'm gonna redo work, I insist I control what I do the first time. It's the first thing we talk about when the session is booked.

I hope this is helpful.

-Pete

Wow, food for thought definately.