Possible Professional Portrait?

[jonib101]

I'm 16, and I've been interested in Photography for years now. I've been hands on for 1 year, and I'm ready to take it to the next step. Are these pictures "professional" looking enough that I could call myself a professional and start my own business?

 

[jonib101]

Also, If anyone has any critiques, tips, adivce, or just comments, please share. I'm looking to improve myself.

 

[Timothy]

in the 4th and 5th images they seem a bit too bright, my eyes get drawn to the forehead and the nose/cheeks
also in the 3rd image it looks as though the focus is on the nose, instead of the eyes, which it should always be in portraits.

personally i think the dof is a bit too shallow and perhaps you should have stopped down the apature just a stop or 2.
also there are a few people round here who aren't fond of cutting of the head, which doesn't mean it can't work well, in the 3rd image it looks decent, but in the 5th i think it seems to be a bit too much chopped off.

 

[JackRabbit]

That guy has no idea what he is talking about. And to answer your question, probably not. You need a whole helluva lot more experience before you should start charging people. Just judging from the photos you posted in this thread, you could still use a whole bunch more on location training. Just keep shooting for the fun of it and eventually people will see that your work is excellent and they will hire you for paid jobs

 

[Ady]

I think the composition/framing is good in the pics but all could do with a little more DOF, particularly #4 where the bottom half of his face is blurred. Practice practice practice and look at lots of pro portraits to get ideas and compare to yours. Think about lighting and what you can do PP with reddish sking tones/blothches, etc. Good luck and keep shooting.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Im not sure what I am seeing then. I think all of them are too deep.

I think the composition/framing is good in the pics but all could do with a little more DOF, particularly #4 where the bottom half of his face is blurred. Practice practice practice and look at lots of pro portraits to get ideas and compare to yours. Think about lighting and what you can do PP with reddish sking tones/blothches, etc. Good luck and keep shooting.

 

[Ady]

Im not sure what I am seeing then. I think all of them are too deep.

I think the composition/framing is good in the pics but all could do with a little more DOF, particularly #4 where the bottom half of his face is blurred. Practice practice practice and look at lots of pro portraits to get ideas and compare to yours. Think about lighting and what you can do PP with reddish sking tones/blothches, etc. Good luck and keep shooting.

How do you see it as too deep when on number 2 the lips are focused but the tip of the nose is out?

 

[Robin Usagani]

because she didnt focus it on the closest point? If she had focused on the nose, everything will be crisp with that much DOF. Doesnt matter how deep your DOF is, if you have something in front of your focus, it will be blurry.

 

[Ady]

because she didnt focus it on the closest point? If she had focused on the nose, everything will be crisp with that much DOF. Doesnt matter how deep your DOF is, if you have something in front of your focus, it will be blurry.

Not sure what camera she used but with a DX sensor & 50mm lens from a distance of 84 inches to the focal point (nose) at f/2.8 there would be 3.87 inches in front of the nose in focus so how can you say something in front of the focus will be blurry?

 

[Robin Usagani]

I meant between focal point and your lens. Look, all I am saying is if I had taken the first picture, I would have blurred out the background and the subject will be crisp. Thats why I said the DOF is too much.

 

[Ady]

I think I see where you are coming from but it is not a given that the subject will be crisp as with shots like this where you are shooting quite wide to get the blur effect from usually fairly close then the total DOF can be as little as 1 inch or less which is enough to have parts of the face in focus and other parts out. It is very much a balancing act hence my advice for practice practice practice.

 

[Christie Photo]

Are these pictures "professional" looking enough that I could call myself a professional and start my own business?

I want to break apart these two questions:

1) Are these pictures "professional" looking enough that I could... call myself a professional?

2) Are these pictures "professional" looking enough that I could... start my own business?

For your first question, I say not yet. Someone here said, "Practice, practice, practice." I say you need instruction, instruction, instruction. Learn lighting and posing. These two go hand-in-hand. Even if your style will not be creating poses and light, knowledge of them will allow you to recognize good existing light and direct your subjects so they move into good poses.

Start you own business now? Sure! You seem to have a good, natural sense of composition and your technical is adequate. There is a market for what you're doing now... a good one. I suspect there are MANY more photographers of your caliber than those who can call themselves pros. Remember... being a pro is all about proficiency and not merely getting paid.

Good luck!

-Pete

 

[Looking Glass Photo]

definitely too wide of a lens, it feels like the person is wrapping around the frame. but nice shots other then that!

 

[bigtwinky]

The focus is off, the cropping seems a bit too tight in the frame, the exposure is off, the posing is not very appealing to the models. Basic elements like these need to be 100% mastered before going into business.

Keep on shooting

 

[jonib101]

Thank you everyone for commenting. I'm using a point and shoot camera.. no interchangable lens. All of these are edited, and I think that's why the DOF looks a little strange. So maybe I need to work on my editing rather than my DOF? Here are the originals