Update from the first senior portraits I shot (also could use some cc)

[Russs]

It was really awkward at first, but overall I think it went well. She gave me $50 for the photos at the end and were shooting photos for about 2 hours at a bunch of different locations and she also bought me food afterwards. I think I should work on posing and directing people better though. (she gave permission for me to share the images)

She was really happy with the photos though and wants to do more photo shoots with me in the future so that's a plus!

Here's the a few shots I thought were the best and please feel free to give some constructive criticism so I can improve!

 

[ac12]

Posing people is HARD. I think you did well. Much better than I could.
I like how the back lighting reflects off the hair, like a hair light in a studio.

Not to be a worry wart, but when on an active RR track you need to be VERY VERY CAREFUL.
If not accelerating or pulling, trains can be surprisingly quiet.
Trains can't stop fast like a car, they take hundreds of feet to stop.
You really need a spotter to constantly keep an eye in both directions of the track.

OK shots:

• Top 2nd from left. Face is in shadow. I would use a reflector or fill flash to lighten the face.
  
• Top right, sitting in the field. My eye was distracted by the RV in the top left. Watch the background.
  
• Bottom left, on RR track. Face is in shadow.
• Bottom middle. Face is in shadow.
• Bottom right. The hair on the left side blends into the tree branches.

• The pix with sky, most of the sky are over exposed or blown out. Maybe fill light will reduce the contrast between the subject and the sky.

 

[Designer]

Overall, not bad!

Except, of course, they all need fill light.

 

[Designer]

Not to be a worry wart, but when on an active RR track you need to be VERY VERY CAREFUL.
If not accelerating or pulling, trains can be surprisingly quiet.
Trains can't stop fast like a car, they take hundreds of feet to stop.
You really need a spotter to constantly keep an eye in both directions of the track.

But if you're not killed, there's always that ol' bugaboo of being arrested for trespassing. Kind of a bummer.

 

[JonA_CT]

I agree with the guys above -- the posing is pretty good, and that fill light would have been a great addition, whether from an off-camera flash or just well placed reflectors.

As far as things you could still play with in PP, I think that they're all a little dark, maybe by as much as a half stop. I'd rather have some highlights blown behind her and get some more evenness to her skin. If you have Lightroom, I'd use an adjustment brush to paint another .30-.50 of exposure on top of just her. I think it would help her stand out in the frame a bit more.

The other thing is your white balance. It's kind of all over the place. She looks too pink in some of the photos and too green in others. A reference shot is always good to help set it, but you should take another look. Assuming you shot in RAW, it's an easy fix.

 

[SquarePeg]

Glad she was happy with your work! The posing is nice and you have captured her connection with the camera. I like the 4th one of these best. Nice setting and background. You didn’t get a lot of background separation on some of these. What AF settings were you using? We’re you shooting on Auto?

 

[Braineack]

Not bad; but they are in need of major PPing.

 

[Derrel]

I think that four of the six are too dark on her and her sweater. Fill light needs to be added, or using Lightroom, "painting on" some dodging will brighten her up.

 

[Russs]

Glad she was happy with your work! The posing is nice and you have captured her connection with the camera. I like the 4th one of these best. Nice setting and background. You didn’t get a lot of background separation on some of these. What AF settings were you using? We’re you shooting on Auto?

I was shooting in aperture priority and I mainly had my iso somewhere between 1600 and 2500. I’d have to get on my computer to check the settings for specific photos though

 

[JonA_CT]

Glad she was happy with your work! The posing is nice and you have captured her connection with the camera. I like the 4th one of these best. Nice setting and background. You didn’t get a lot of background separation on some of these. What AF settings were you using? We’re you shooting on Auto?

I was shooting in aperture priority and I mainly had my iso somewhere between 1600 and 2500. I’d have to get on my computer to check the settings for specific photos though

What did you set the aperture at? Seems crazy to need ISO that high outside during the day. I don’t know where you’re located, but even in the winter you should be able to shoot around 400 ISO with more than acceptable shutter speeds and aperture.

 

[KmH]

By the way, it takes passenger trains at full speed thousands of feet to stop. Freight trains are slower but way heavier and can take a couple if miles to stop.

Basically all the posted images are underexposed to one degree or another.
Considering the ISO you used I suspect you have a bit more to learn about how to use the triad of exposure settings to best advantage.
Camera Exposure: Aperture, ISO & Shutter Speed

As mentioned fill light would have helped separate her from the background by making her brighter than the background.
So I would suggest as another takeaway is increasing your awareness of light direction and quality.
Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere
On-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography
Off-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Photographers
The built-in flash on your camera at low power settings can be used for fill light too.
Strobist: Lighting 101: Introduction

A visual art truism that's been around for over 1000 years is - Light advances, dark recedes - or in modern terms we strive to make out primary subject 'pop' from the rest of a scene.
In other words human eyes tend to be drawn to the brighter parts of an image and if your primary subject is brighter than the rest of the image the subject 'pop' from the background. Pop is aided by a sharply focused primary subject and the rest of the scene not sharply focused.

I chose 1 image and did a quick, dirty edit.
I drew out an oval around her and inside that oval I added 1 EV of exposure, which makes the oval visible.
I then zoomed in on her face/head and dodged (added exposure) some. I had the dodge tool set to 50% opacity and I set the tool options to only add exposure to the mid-tones.
Using Photoshop's Camera Raw filter I then added Clarity (boosts mid-tone contrast & provides a sharpening effect) and Vibrance (only increases the saturation of subdued colors).
Lastly I added a very narrow black border to the frame.

 

[Designer]

Here's the a few shots I thought were the best and please feel free to give some constructive criticism so I can improve!

I think this shot is my favorite of the bunch. Just a quick check of the WB, exposure, and a touch of curves adjustment, then I brought the shadows up quite a lot, and a smidgin of sharpness. I also gave it a different crop because I think you left a bit too much grass on the left side.

 

[ac12]

I think I got it.

• The shots where her face is dark, have the bright sky in the background.
  
  • I am pretty sure that the bright sky is fooling the meter into underexposing her.
• The shots without sky are better exposed.

So, it looks like you need to be aware of the background and how it affects metering.

BTW, I have a similar problem at my local high school gym. The lights on the sign on the scorekeepers desk and the scoreboard, if they are in the frame, will cause the camera to underexpose the players. So I shoot manual, to ignore the lights.

Matrix/Evaluative metering may be good, but can still be fooled.

 

[SquarePeg]

I think I got it.

• The shots where her face is dark, have the bright sky in the background.
  • I am pretty sure that the bright sky is fooling the meter into underexposing her.
• The shots without sky are better exposed.

So, it looks like you need to be aware of the background and how it affects metering.

BTW, I have a similar problem at my local high school gym. The lights on the sign on the scorekeepers desk and the scoreboard, if they are in the frame, will cause the camera to underexpose the players. So I shoot manual, to ignore the lights.

Matrix/Evaluative metering may be good, but can still be fooled.

Try spot metering and then check your results on your screen and adjust accordingly. Note if you're using any of the "auto" modes like A priority or Auto ISO you'll need to adjust using Exposure Compensation.

 

[TheLibrarian]

Excellent. That wasn't so bad. Directing people and in a purposeful way can be difficult if you don't have some go to tricks or poses in mind and more so when you're on the spot trying to come up with something. Having a few things planned can help and even a posing sheet or image search on your phone you can look at for some ideas time to time as you go can help. Light is most important and not what untrained folk think about when they start. Reflectors can cost 10-20 dollars for a set and can get you some light on the face when you need it. The train tracks is my favorite one. I feel there is a leading line of the track bringing you to the subject. She seems a little urban too so seems weird in green fields but when you're in suburbia or the country what do you do. The muddy puddle in the one thats maybe on an earthen dam or spillway is distracting and you could easily move the person away from it. There's a tree branch sticking out on the one against a concrete thing. Just by where it is seems weird not sure if much could have been done about it maybe from a different angle. Not huge problems though. Some soft focus sometimes, you can read/ practice until you're blue in the face and still have trouble getting sharp sharp focus but is an ever present problem for lots of people not to worry too much but be aware. You might try some flat backgrounds next time like walls of various textures and colors filling the whole background. I assume you don't have ridiculous lenses to get creamy background bokeh and maybe its over hyped but it is a thing people do. A kit lens can get some with a very far background and wide open shutter.