Would love some feedback on my recent fashion/model shoot.

Scarlett7 · Aug 8, 2014

Hey,

This is my first post here - eek!

Photography has always been a huge love of mine. I love shooting models, weddings and other bits and pieces.

I've been travelling and recently found myself living in Bucharest, Romania. An aspiring model contacted me and asked me to do a TF shoot with her.
We had a great time and had a professional makeup artist on board too.

I just wanted some feed back from you guys, primarily advice on how to improve, but also what you like about it - if you do that is!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/abigailscarlett/14671726137/in/set-72157645864168320
https://www.flickr.com/photos/abigailscarlett/14671605699/in/set-72157646274390894
https://www.flickr.com/photos/abigailscarlett/14671616248/in/set-72157646274390894
https://www.flickr.com/photos/abigailscarlett/14878144333/in/set-72157645864168320
https://www.flickr.com/photos/abigailscarlett/14855158681/in/set-72157646274390894

Thank you ever so much!

Abigail x

tirediron · Aug 8, 2014

Welcome to TPF!

C&C per req:

1. I like the idea of this image, but I would have preferred her either in front of the fountain or further image left. I would also like to see the bright lights in the background either toned down significantly, or removed altogether. On the technical side however, this image suffers badly. It is extremely noisy (I suspect you increased exposure in post somewhat), and there's over-exposure on her coat and blocked shadows on her boots. Looking at the EXIF data, why did you not slow the shutter-speed to 1/60 or even 1/45 and drop your ISO by 1 - 1 1/3 stops? That would have helped a lot with the noise.

2. The LH image is significantly under-exposed, and I find the crop at her arms/wrists a bit awkward. I very much like the RH image, bu I think this one should have been shot in landscape orientation to show more of the bubbles. If you are going to use very large apertures (with resultant shallow DoF), ensure you focus correctly. In this case the collar of her vest is in focus as is her near cheek, but softens considerably by the time you get to her far eye.

3. This one is a swing and a miss IMO. You've got her very square to the camera ("Football shoulders") and her she looks bored. Not sexily disinterested, just plain bored. As well, her chest is at least a half-stop brighter than fer face, and since the eye is naturally attracted to bright over dark, it means the viewer is drawn to her chest area over face. As well, the bright, linear background elements are a further distraction.

4. Again, very noisy due to high ISO, and the distracting background lights don't help, but the image is overall a very pleasing one. It does SCREAM for some fill in the eyes; if we could actually see some colour there, this would be a great shot.

5. I love this image, BUT... crop off the the LH HALF of it... all that pink does nothing to help it, and again her face is soft due to missed focus/shallow DoF, but the pose and attitude is great. As with #4, some fill in the eyes/face would have taken this from nice to outstanding. The tape on her breasts is very annoying; I wish that had been removed.

Overall, I like the set, and I think you've got some good, solid images here. What you have to work on is your lighting. All of these would have been vastly improved with even a single off-camera speedlight in a soft-box, a set-up you can put together on eBay for <$200.

Just my $00.02 worth - YMMV
~John

chuasam · Aug 8, 2014

Watch your model's expression especially the eyes.
They seem a little dead. Get her to squint a little and to seem more alive.
Watch the poses, you want to elongate the model to make her seem slimmer and more elegant.
Watch your white balance, the colours seem a bit off in a few of the images.
Feels a bit too contrasty for my liking but that's more a matter of taste.

slackercruster · Aug 8, 2014

Nice...like em!

LWPhoto · Aug 8, 2014

Romania, wow! I like the images - they're a little harder than my style but I get what you're going for. They seem clean and the colors are nice. After reading the first critique, I can kind of see his suggestions. But, they weren't things I noticed with my un-trained eye

Fabulous work - keep it up! I look forward to seeing other images!

- Lindsey Wilson
www.lindseywilsonphotography.com