New photographer looking for some feedback!!

tsweeneyphotos · Mar 16, 2017

Hey guys Im new into photography and im starting to offer some basics services for customers, i've been told alot that I have a natural eye and decided to dive in head first.. Check out my photos on my FB Business page and tell me what you think please!!!!

--P.S. be nice lol

Trisha Sweeney Photography

dennybeall · Mar 16, 2017

No too many photos there. Some of the outdoor shots have lighting of the faces problems but all in all should be acceptable to most clients.

tsweeneyphotos · Mar 16, 2017

Could you go indepth a little bit more with what the issues are when the facial lighting?

snowbear · Mar 16, 2017

Welcome aboard.
Some of these are nice. A couple of things, though: Some of the crops in the children/newborn area are too close, for my taste. The other thing is your white balance. Compare the color images in the Senior portraits and you can see how her color is different. If you work on some constancy in the white balance (preferably in shooting, but adjusting in post) I think a lot will be improved.

tsweeneyphotos · Mar 16, 2017

Thank you!!!!!!

Derrel · Mar 16, 2017

I think you need more photos...more to look at, more types of family photo shots: engagement, senior, wedding, maternity, anniversary, birthday, graduation, whatever, just "more photos" of people. As mentioned, there's a WB is on one photo of a small boy who appears to be on the ground looking uop at the sky, and his face skin tone looks a bit green.

cgleockler · Mar 16, 2017

I'm more of a nature photographer so not too much advice to give but good luck @tsweeneyphotos You have some very nice shots there and definitely a ton of natural talent

hope you do well!

tsweeneyphotos · Mar 17, 2017

I fixed it thank you for the insight!!!! Im adding more pictures as i work on my editing!

tsweeneyphotos · Mar 17, 2017

cgleockler said:
I'm more of a nature photographer so not too much advice to give but good luck @tsweeneyphotos You have some very nice shots there and definitely a ton of natural talent hope you do well!

Thank you so so so much!!!

tirediron · Mar 17, 2017

Okay, there's been a fair amount said about your images; work needed, but that will come in time. What you need to do first is stop playing at business and start one. Do you have the necessary licenses and taxation documents? Do you have insurance? Do you have a business plan? Nothing screams "professional" like a Wix free 'site and a g-mail address. That is NOT going to get you taken seriously. Get a proper domain, associated e-mail address, etc. Yes, that will cost a little money, but not much. A Go Daddy domain and WordPress 'site can be up and running for a year for <$100.

Next get someone to review the text on your 'site. It's full of misspelled words, grammatical errors and a hundred and one other things that scream, "I just got a camera and now I'm a pro!" Your home page is displaying very large images, and does not appear to be fully optimized for all formats. I don't have time to check it on my 'phone, but if it doesn't display correctly on a 'phone or tablet, it's pointless. 70+% of your potential customers will use a small-screen device to find you and if your 'site doesn't work on that... you're out of luck.

Always avoid vertical pages. If people can't see it on their screen all at once, they're likely to miss it. Separate pages are much better. I'm not sure that referring to one's self as a "Masterful Photographer", especially at this stage might not be a little presumptuous. When I look at your services, I'm very confused. Do you specialize in "natural light' (By which I assume you mean ambient), or is that all you offer? Why does lack of a studio mean you can't use supplemental light? I use strobes outside as often as I do inside (in other words, pretty much every shoot). How would you do a cap and gown ceremony without supplemental light? Weddings are a little more than a 'special occasion' and to be frank, I would really, really, REALLY suggest you stay away from that particular minefield until you're a little more experienced.

All that is not to say that you can't do this, but like ten thousand who have gone before you, you're not quite ready yet. There's a lot more to this than simply having a camera and an eye. It takes a lot of equipment and a lot of practice.

Designer · Mar 17, 2017

tsweeneyphotos said:
Could you go indepth a little bit more with what the issues are when the facial lighting?

I didn't see the same issues as did dennybeal, but I have another comment:

Please limit your C&C requests in the future. Seldom do I attempt to offer critique on an entire portfolio or FB Pro page. You will get a much more detailed critique by posting only one photo at a time.

Select your best (or worst) photograph for which you would like to have somebody go over in more detail. There is a thread on here (search function) on "how to post for critique". Here:

How to structure your posts to get critiques on your work (C&C)

He has also written "how to deal with critique", both of which are worth reading.

Back to your FB page: You do have some good shots, but also some that are not so good. As you are attempting to become a professional, it behooves you to know the difference, and show only your best work, and make all your work the best.

I see that you did improve the WB on the little boy lying down, but it is still not right. Some of that is making sure you are looking at the image on a device that has correct color. You can't do anything about other people's viewing devices, but you can fix/adjust/replace your own.

astroNikon · Mar 17, 2017

others have already mentioned the issues but to repeat the glaring problems:
one kid's forehead was green/blue. Though the grass looked nicely green.
loss of detail in some photos

best if you post individual photos here so get specific critique on specific photos.

TamiAz · Mar 17, 2017

You're off to a good start. My advice would be to shoot as often as you can..Practice, practice, practice. The one thing that helped me was really learning about light. Natural and off camera flash. It opens up so many more possibilities and makes a huge difference in your images.