Practising portrait-photography

[mdw]

Hello everyone,

I find portrait-photography still very difficult. So yesterday I went to the moorland (I have no idea if this is the right word for it) nearby with a friend of mine to practice my portrait-photography. Weather conditions were quite difficult as it was a clear blue sky, which cause hard shadows and lighting. These are some of the results.

What do you think of them? Tips, suggestions etc. are very welcome!

1.

2.

3.

Then, some black & white conversions:

4. B&W version of 1 (I couldn't choose)

5.

6.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

5 is easily the best, it has a balanced composition, movement, GREAT eye contact, it works. I think it could use a bit more contrast though.

Everything else seems a bit contrived.

 

[The_Traveler]

IMO, these pics altho very nicely framed are underexposed. Thus the color is undersaturated and the contrast is low. I would also crop the first one from the bottom to a 4x5 overall. The length is awkward and is not contributory.

 

[mdw]

Hi!

Thanks for your replies!

These pictures were all taken in RAW. So I've worked on them as well. I've heard it before that they have a low contrast, but somehow I can't fix it. They'll look really fake amd somehow she'll look yellow... Do you feel that the B&W pictures have the same low contrast? Or is it just the color pictures?
And I love the crop you've made! I'm gonna try that as well.

Thanks,

Roger

 

[mdw]

I tried to live number 5 up a bit. Would this be better? Or am I still on the wrong track?

 

[The_Traveler]

My guess is that this would be a great casual portrait.
I would isolate her face and hair from the background and handle them separately. Increase the tonal range in face.

[This isn't worth attempting in the low-res posted version because of the fine hair and similarity in tone between hair and background would make the separation look bad there is already some artifacting in the hair due to jpg compression - in color and high-res, it would be much easier and give a much better result.]


The background is probably OK but the face and hair needs some diddling with.

 

[mdw]

You've got an e-mail!

 

[blatalllic]

Nice pictures...Like yourself Im learning portraits as well....some really good info here!!

 

[Ranger]

3 & 5 are my favorites, the first one I dont like because of the hair in her face.

 

[Andrew T. Mironov]

#5 is by far the best IMO.
She looks relaxed, and makes looking at the picture more comfortable.

Nice shot