Practice Portrait

schumionbike · May 29, 2007

Hi everyone, this is like the third time I shoot try to shoot portrait. This one is for my mom. I'm still very new to portrait photography, so any tips would be great. Thanks.

File date: 2007:05:28 20:48:29
Camera make: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
Camera model: KODAK EASYSHARE Z710 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMER
Date/Time: 2007:05:23 14:50:47
Resolution: 480 x 640
Flash used: Yes (manual)
Focal length: 6.3mm (35mm equivalent: 38mm)
Exposure time: 0.0025 s (1/400)
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO equiv.: 64
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing

JenR · May 29, 2007

I guess three things bother me about this shot...

1. The background seems VERY busy to me. Can you find another spot to shoot that has fewer distractions?

2. The composition also seems a little off to me. I tend to favor tight crops, but I think you should either move in close for a head & shoulders type shot or move back to get a full body shot. Where her legs are cut off (just above the knees?) seems awkward to me.

3. The light on her face is very harsh. Shooting early in the morning or later in the afternoon will give you softer, more even lighting.

Hope this helps some!

~jen

skieur · May 29, 2007

Your shot is over-exposed and too bright. Shooting under a tree with both the camera and subject in the shade would provide better more even colour or shooting on a fairly bright but cloudy day with minimal shadows.

skieur

JimmyJaceyMom · May 29, 2007

It;s a bit overexposed. Also it is sometimes more flattering when you shoot at their eye level rather than looking up at a person. Maybe that would be better. If that particular spot is special maybe she could sit down in front of the purple bush and you could do more of a head and shoulders portrait and still get her garden in there.

schumionbike · May 29, 2007

Thanks for all the tips and ideas guys. The reason it's crop the way it is was because I was trying to go for a 3/4 lenght portrait but something look a little off. I agree that the picture is busy, i was trying to blurr out the background but I guess you it's hard to blur out the house right behind her cause it's so close, the window on her right is a bit distracting. However, I do like the cloud, the distant houses and tree as the background, maybe I will try for that next time. As far as shooting eye level rather then shooting up, I was trying to make her look taller than she really, she's only 4'11, lol. is but I will definitely try the eye level approach and see what happen.

As for the lighting, I will try to shoot in the shade, I can see why it would work better, thanks for the tip. There was a shadow where she was standing so I turn on the flash to fill it and maybe that explain why the overexposure and add to the hard lighting??