Portraits of my girlfriend, novice photographer C&C Needed

[SJ_PhotoG]

Hi, I'm a somewhat new photographer (6 months) and just received my first off camera lighting kit last week. I would like some C&C on my portraits that I took within the past 3 days. They were taken with the gear in my sig. Thanks for any C&C and taking the time out to view my photos. One thing to keep is mind is that she is very light skinned (porcelain skin) so her skin might appear to be overexposed but it is not. All the best.



















I want to build up my skills in this craft known as photography as smoothly as possible so any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[MLeeK]

Do you have an umbrella or softbox? The flash in these are fairly harsh on a few. THere are a few that are good. Way to many to go through. 5 is my limit when I have a ton of spare time.

 

[SJ_PhotoG]

Do you have an umbrella or softbox? The flash in these are fairly harsh on a few. THere are a few that are good. Way to many to go through. 5 is my limit when I have a ton of spare time.

Umbrella, the flash isn't harsh. If you read my post you would have read that she has porcelain skin aka very, very light skin. If I dial my aperture up so that its letting less light in and lowering the flash's power her skin tone ends up being underexposed. I already tested this as I thought the flash was too much myself but it's set just about right for her skin tone.

 

[MK3Brent]

Umbrella, the flash isn't harsh. If you read my post you would have read that she has porcelain skin aka very, very light skin. If I dial my aperture up so that its letting less light in and lowering the flash's power her skin tone ends up being underexposed. I already tested this as I thought the flash was too much myself but it's set just about right for her skin tone.

Oh sorry, you've got it all covered.

 

[MLeeK]

Do you have an umbrella or softbox? The flash in these are fairly harsh on a few. THere are a few that are good. Way to many to go through. 5 is my limit when I have a ton of spare time.

Umbrella, the flash isn't harsh. If you read my post you would have read that she has porcelain skin aka very, very light skin. If I dial my aperture up so that its letting less light in and lowering the flash's power her skin tone ends up being underexposed. I already tested this as I thought the flash was too much myself but it's set just about right for her skin tone.

No, it's definitely harsh flash. Light skin is skin tone. Harsh flash is harsh flash.

 

[SJ_PhotoG]

Do you have an umbrella or softbox? The flash in these are fairly harsh on a few. THere are a few that are good. Way to many to go through. 5 is my limit when I have a ton of spare time.

Umbrella, the flash isn't harsh. If you read my post you would have read that she has porcelain skin aka very, very light skin. If I dial my aperture up so that its letting less light in and lowering the flash's power her skin tone ends up being underexposed. I already tested this as I thought the flash was too much myself but it's set just about right for her skin tone.

No, it's definitely harsh flash. Light skin is skin tone. Harsh flash is harsh flash.

Well can you point out to me which photos have harsh flash instead of just saying they have harsh flash? Underexposed skin tone doesn't look so good to me but I don't see how any of them have overexposed flash and I'd like you to point them out to me, thanks.

The last picture is a perfect example of what I mean by saying that her skin tone is very light. The image itself is properly exposed (I used available light, no flash) and her skin appears to be too bright when in reality that's just her skin tone. Saying light skin tone is light and harsh flash is harsh is not helpful......thanks.

 

[SCraig]

Umbrella, the flash isn't harsh. If you read my post you would have read that she has porcelain skin aka very, very light skin. If I dial my aperture up so that its letting less light in and lowering the flash's power her skin tone ends up being underexposed. I already tested this as I thought the flash was too much myself but it's set just about right for her skin tone.

As MLeeK said, the flash is harsh. It has nothing to do with skin tone, it is harsh and not diffused. Look at the shadows. They are very well-defined and hard-edged, or in other words: Harsh.

 

[MLeeK]

The last one is fine other than she is orange. The first two are your worst harsh flash. You have some serious inconsistencies in processing. She has everything from orange skin to hot pink to white. THe color in the first two is probably most accurate, but the flash is hard.

 

[SJ_PhotoG]

I'm sorry but I disagree, the shadows appear soft and not well defined......how could they be harsh when I'm shooting at a 40" umbrella reflector in very close proximity to her. Can I just get critique on my composition or something other than exposure, I don't feel like getting into a long/drawn out debate about flash exposure as most of it, is opinionated just like ambient exposure when taking photos using flash.

As for the different color tones, I prefer to keep a warm color tone on the kelvin scale, I'm not looking for consistency here just a nice warm tone. I generally bring the kelvin temperature up and add a slightly warm tint to the highlights in LR.

 

[Derrel]

For a newcomer, I think you're doing pretty well! I liked #8, the B&W look at her from above...kind of a neat shot. #1 is "okay" as well...in some ways it has a very old-time, 1920's-type appeal to it. If these are your first efforts, I'd say you'll make good progress with practice, a bit of study, and some repetitions. Overall, MUCH better than many newcomers can create. Just keep at it. Keep learning about lighting, and theories of how to light.

 

[The_Traveler]

You have no gear in your sig, actually no sig.
I look at the pictures unemotionally and the difference between the shots when she is and isn't smiling is amazing.
When she is 'serious' all the life goes out of her face. She has a short upper lip and this contributes.
Don't shoot from below and get some life in her face.

 

[SJ_PhotoG]

For a newcomer, I think you're doing pretty well! I liked #8, the B&W look at her from above...kind of a neat shot. #1 is "okay" as well...in some ways it has a very old-time, 1920's-type appeal to it. If these are your first efforts, I'd say you'll make good progress with practice, a bit of study, and some repetitions. Overall, MUCH better than many newcomers can create. Just keep at it. Keep learning about lighting, and theories of how to light.

Thank you very much, whats your opinion on shoot through vs reflective umbrellas? I just got into off camera lighting about one week ago and I like the control of light that reflective gives me and the results that it gives me but it seems like many forum goers think that the light quality that it produces is too harsh such as some of the posters in this thread. Do you think that shoot through is softer?

@ TheTraveler, thanks for the advice about the short upper lip and the role that it plays in emotion when doing portraiture photography. This will be very useful in my future portrait sessions and I thank you for that. I only took two shots of her from an angle below her as I learned that from another forum but I still like the emotion that they show. Don't you agree that shots 1, 3, and the last one show emotion? The other shots were taken to get more of a seductive mysterious/no emotion look.

While I'm at it, does anyone have any advice for a good book on portrait? Sort of like a bible for it? I picked up the book Light, Science, & Magic and have learned a TON within the past week but I'm almost finished the book and am looking for a book that is focused more on portrait specific lighting and portrait specifics in general, thanks and I wish the best to all.

BTW I updated my information with the shooting equipment that I use.

 

[amolitor]

I'm not really seeing the sharp shadows, myself. I mean, they might be sharp given the brolly? Which probably means you have the brolly far away, or it's a bad one. For really soft shadows, your diffuser is literally JUST out of frame, the farther away from the model it is, the sharper the shadows.

I'm with Derrel and Lew here -- pretty good. Shoot her from above, and make her smile unless you want her to look angry and badass (in which case, get some leather!)

 

[Derrel]

I normally "prefer" reflecting umbrellas over shoot-through styles. I own both, and have used shoot throughs longer, but have grown tired of them for the most part...I actually "prefer" a specific modifier, the Lastolite Umbrella Box, although I also like 43 inch size "convertible" umbrellas, as well as Speedotron's Super Silver model metallized umbrella for things that are going to be finished as Black and Whites.

"Softness" of umbrellas: the double-diffusion style of the enclosed Lastolite Umbrella Box is *THE* softest umbrella I know of. It's a wonderful choice for using with powerful flash units, like 200 to 1200 Watt-second flash heads; I HAVE NEVER used it with a speedlight. For speedlights, I PREFER reflecting umbrellas: I think their efficiency is better, AND they offer more "control". To me "control" is much more-critical than "softness". SOftness depends on distance and size of the umbrella/source and the distance to the object and how big or small the source is in relation TO THE OBJECT being photographed. I also like some of the Photoflex brand convertibles, espdcially their 30-inchers for use with speedlights. The white interior, black-backed Photoflex Convertible is a GOOD inexpensive umbrella!

 

[The_Traveler]

My opinion follows-

I was a dentist specializing in prosthetics (bridges, dentures, etc) and spent a lot of time looking at people's mouths and lips and it was crucial that their upper lip have the right amount of 'plumpness.' In shot one, her upper lip looks really thin and almost depressed. I wouldn't have even shown that look to a client.
Her 'badass' face just looks emotionless and unattractive to me; I don't think that on her look is flattering, especially compared to the next to the last.
I think it is important to be able to see the best look you can get from any subject and she looks best while smiling even just a bit.