2nd attempt at portraits

[JWellman]

First my son and now my daughter-in-law. My hat is off to those of you who do this professionally. I don't know how you keep everything together so well. :meh:

It was a fun day but my son commented that he didn't care for Holly 'not smiling' in most of the photos. She told me she hates her smile so what's a person to do?

I think I picked a good location in our historic town. I'm still missing a lot of focus but improper lighting didn't help much. The coffee shop also had yellow florescent lights which was a pain in my newbie butt. All the photos were taken with light provided by the store and by mother nature. I did not use a flash.

Holly has really bad skin so alot of them I was forced to turn black and white (to hide things). A person can only edit so much. I'm working on finding guinea pig #3... I'm determined to get better or die trying.

If anyone gives a crappola...:greenpbl: Here the rest of them.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

 

[Opher]

You are right about the focus being off.... are you selecting your AF points or is the camera doing it for you?
On the first and last im thinking crop in a bit more. And the first one she needs to be farther to the right of the frame

 

[JWellman]

Thanks Opher...Hope I tell you right because the terminology is Greek to me. I have it on Manual Selection (mostly using center focus).

And I did think about cropping the two as you suggested but I wanted the cafe counters and the fireplace in there. :blushing:

 

[DonBruner]

#3 is the best of the set, compositional wise. Just work on that focus thingy and you'll be fine.

 

[Opher]

Thanks Opher...Hope I tell you right because the terminology is Greek to me. I have it on Manual Selection (mostly using center focus).

And I did think about cropping the two as you suggested but I wanted the cafe counters and the fireplace in there. :blushing:

Your terms sound good to me. I tend to use the centre point to. Im thinking im going to switch it up a bit but it works fine for the most part.
Ok now for an advice part. Try to focus on the close eye. Put the AF point on the eye, then half click to "lock the focus", then compose and shoot. Should help you out.

 

[JWellman]

That's what I've been trying to do but I think I just get in too big of a hurry. One of the other things that might help me is to have a decent editor...which I don't have. I've seen what some of the members of this forum have done with my photos using Photoshop. I'm using the crap program that came with my Canon camera. It's all I have right now.

 

[kundalini]

Just a couple of random thoughts on composiotion and poses.

#1 - Looks very suspiciously like a crotch shot. Having her back leg extended slightly and her back arm extended sinililarly would elongate the pose. This would naturally bring her upper body forward and creating a more pleasing form to the pose. Also, an additional touch would have her cross her back foot over her forward foot.

#2 - I just want to look down the front of her blouse. Not a perv, just natural inclination.

#3-6 - #4 is the best shoulder and hand positions, but #3 has the most visual impact on her persona. The "square to the lens" position should be avoided.

#7 - The first thing that jumps out at me is her crossing leg. This is not a flattering position for a woman's leg. Note the "square to the lens" comment previously mentioned. It also dwarfs her head/face which should be paramount in a portrait. Her left hand position looks good, but her right hand is very tense. The tilt of her shoulders is good as well as the tilt of her head.

All in all, pretty good. Like I said, just a few random thoughts.

 

[Opher]

That's what I've been trying to do but I think I just get in too big of a hurry. One of the other things that might help me is to have a decent editor...which I don't have. I've seen what some of the members of this forum have done with my photos using Photoshop. I'm using the crap program that came with my Canon camera. It's all I have right now.

You can do some pretty cool stuff in editing programs but its no substitute for getting it right in camera.
If you start to get in to much of a hurry then step back and take a breath(unless your on a deadline lol). But take your time and you should have no problem getting it.

EDIT: maybe i should let some others reply too... Seems im hoarding the thread.
EDIT2: Just looking at your photos on your site and the focus on most of them is fine. Did you do anything different on these? Slower shutter? or maybe wider aperture?

 

[JWellman]

Thanks so much for the advice kundalini!

You can do some pretty cool stuff in editing programs but its no substitute for getting it right in camera.

So very true and honestly that's what I want to achieve.

EDIT: maybe i should let some others reply too... Seems im hoarding the thread.

Who cares! I need help and they know how to hit the reply button!

EDIT2: Just looking at your photos on your site and the focus on most of them is fine. Did you do anything different on these? Slower shutter? or maybe wider aperture?

Honestly, I wasn't quite sure how to shoot. I grabbed some of the specs that I was using.

Photo #5
File Name IMG_8174.JPG
Camera Model Canon EOS 50D
Firmware Firmware Version 1.0.7
Shooting Date/Time 2/22/2011 4:33:50 AM
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/80
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Spot Metering
ISO Speed 400
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF50mm f/1.8 II
Focal Length 50.0mm
Image Size 3156x4188
Image Quality Fine
Flash Off
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF

Photo #7
File Name IMG_8307.JPG
Camera Model Canon EOS 50D
Firmware Firmware Version 1.0.7
Shooting Date/Time 2/22/2011 7:09:05 AM
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/250
Av( Aperture Value ) 1.8
Metering Mode Spot Metering
ISO Speed 800
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF50mm f/1.8 II
Focal Length 50.0mm
Image Size 3168x4752
Image Quality Fine
Flash On
Flash Type Built-In Flash
Flash Exposure Compensation -2
Shutter curtain sync 1st-curtain sync
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF
Picture Style Standard
Sharpness 3
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space sRGB v1.31 (Canon)
Long exposure noise reduction 0:Off
High ISO speed noise reduction 0:Standard
Highlight tone priority 0 Disable
Auto Lighting Optimizer 0:Standard
Peripheral illumination correction Disable
File Size 13709KB
Drive Mode Low-speed continuous shooting
Live View Shooting OFF

 

[JWellman]

Just a couple of random thoughts on composiotion and poses.

Other than photography classes and lots of trial and errors (I'm sure), is there some sort of 'Great big book of Poses' I can purchase to help me visualize the wrongs and rights?

 

[raryke]

I wonder if there is a big book of poses lol

 

[kundalini]

Just a couple of random thoughts on composiotion and poses.

Other than photography classes and lots of trial and errors (I'm sure), is there some sort of 'Great big book of Poses' I can purchase to help me visualize the wrongs and rights?

My latest purchase was from Ben. He is a master portrait photograher and just an damn nice guy.

Benji's Posing and Lighting Book


It's not a thick text book on How To... and most of the lighting suggestions are for a 5 light setup. But the posing suggestions are good.

 

[JWellman]

I wonder if there is a big book of poses lol

:er: I hate looking at photos on line. Don't they sell decent books anymore?

To make it worse... you never know who's right and who's wrong!

 

[Opher]

Honestly, I wasn't quite sure how to shoot. I grabbed some of the specs that I was using.

Photo #5
File Name IMG_8174.JPG
Camera Model Canon EOS 50D
Firmware Firmware Version 1.0.7
Shooting Date/Time 2/22/2011 4:33:50 AM
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/80
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Spot Metering
ISO Speed 400
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF50mm f/1.8 II
Focal Length 50.0mm
Image Size 3156x4188
Image Quality Fine
Flash Off
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF

Photo #7
File Name IMG_8307.JPG
Camera Model Canon EOS 50D
Firmware Firmware Version 1.0.7
Shooting Date/Time 2/22/2011 7:09:05 AM
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/250
Av( Aperture Value ) 1.8
Metering Mode Spot Metering
ISO Speed 800
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF50mm f/1.8 II
Focal Length 50.0mm
Image Size 3168x4752
Image Quality Fine
Flash On
Flash Type Built-In Flash
Flash Exposure Compensation -2
Shutter curtain sync 1st-curtain sync
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF
Picture Style Standard
Sharpness 3
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space sRGB v1.31 (Canon)
Long exposure noise reduction 0:Off
High ISO speed noise reduction 0:Standard
Highlight tone priority 0 Disable
Auto Lighting Optimizer 0:Standard
Peripheral illumination correction Disable
File Size 13709KB
Drive Mode Low-speed continuous shooting
Live View Shooting OFF

Ok here is one of your problems. Your auto focus is on servo good for sports but thats about it(it is always changing focus to what i thinks it should be).
Change it to one shot so you can lock the focus on the eyes

EDIT: Book????

 

[JWellman]

My latest purchase was from Ben. He is a master portrait photograher and just an damn nice guy.

Benji's Posing and Lighting Book

It's not a thick text book on How To... and most of the lighting suggestions are for a 5 light setup. But the posing suggestions are good.

I just ordered it! I can't wait...thanks kundalini