A small seletion of the portraits I have been doing - am I any good? Opinions please

[hellkittenn]

[h=3]I'm 19 years old and first picked up a camera at 12. Since then, I have been pretty darn interested in portrait photography. I stopped taking photos for a couple of years due to leaving home etc but now that I'm 19 now and settled into life enough to have picked photography back up this year. I don't have any formal training because it costs a lot so I have taught myself everything and I know for a fact that my technical ability is seriously lacking. But what I want to know from ya'll here is whether or not you think I have any raw talent at all? I just want feedback from other photographers on my stuff because I don't want to make the effort to get a student loan to study photography if I am a total faux-tographer. I currently use a Canon 450D and the most unfortunate lens for someone who enjoys portrait photography - the Canon EF 38-76 (REALLY shoddy focus, awkward length, average photo quality), but I can't afford anything else. As far as lighting goes, I really have little knowledge. I currently use one silver reflector and nothing else. [/h]
This is my Flickr with a selection of (low res) images that I have taken in the last four years up until now.
Flickr: peartreefarm@xtra.co.nz's Photostream

 

[dvjproductions]

I wish I could see these on this site as I am at work and Flickr is blocked. I will check these out when I get home.

 

[hellkittenn]

(

that's all of em from my Flickr stream - sucks it's blocked at your work!

 

[binga63]

there are some nice pics in there.....................but I will not tell you to go get a loan to study photography... what if you are one of those people who flourish outside of the structured world photography courses where the ideas are set and you have to shoot within those boundaries.I believe there is enough knowledge on the net (this site for instance is crammed full of it) You can comfortably study portraiture studio and natural light from asking the right questions, searching youtube, watching creativelive.com and hudreds of others....and then have money for the real stuff camera gear.....
or
ignore what I have suggested ...........as it is you who decides where and who you want to be in life not others

but enjoy the photos that you take... I enjoy taking mine... you will improve if you have the passion

my 3 cents

 

[hellkittenn]

I really love your advice - thank you! I have an absolute lust to learn these things but I haven't got the motivation to learn them on my own.. I would love to go through courses that teach me how to use studio lighting etc... so I can incorporate creativity with technical skills

 

[dvjproductions]

1) I love it. I question if its fully in focus - I cannot tell due to not being able to see the full sized image. Either way, I think its tied for my fav out of these you posted.
2) I like this shot as well but the shadows on her face are slightly distracting. I LIKE the focus is on the gem on the forehead, but for the composition of the shot I think I would have still focused on the eyes.
3) Too busy, too many things to look at. The gem, the gloves, the fur shawl. It all takes away from your subject in my eye.
4) I love it. I wish it wasn't quite so tightly cropped, but even still where it is at is fantastic.
5) I like this shot. Again I question if the subject is in focus, but I really like your capture of the flying snow. The expression and pose make me think of an Elven scout from Lord of the Rings for some reason.
6) This image is sharp and well composed, however this shot may be pleasing to some but it isn't doing anything for me personally.
7) Pretty much the same thing as what I mentioned for 6.
8) It's dark but it works here. I think this is possibly my favorite out of the group here. The only question I have to ask is what that thing on her neck is? It is very distracting. Also, her hand on her hip is a little stiff while the arm is relaxed.
9) Decent composition, nice colors. I am not a fan of her pose, I would have rathered her shoulder be slightly more square to the camera.
10) I like the composition. Lighting seems to be flat here and again her pose isn't striking me here. Why the hunch?

Over all, I like your shots. You're a young photographer with keen eye and tons of potential. Heck, I would say you're better at capturing the images you want than I am at this point. Good luck with your future projects, can't wait to see more!

 

[Granddad]

You're probably already better than me and you're only 19. Yes, I'd say you have potential. I have potential, too but I don't have as much time left to fulfill it as you do.

I'm with Binga63. My question is, would a really good photographer become a teacher or only a photographer who can't make it in photography? My guess is that there will be a few really good photographers who have a passion to share their knowledge and a whole bunch of the latter types. Check out the course teacher(s) before you saddle yourself with debt and commit.

 

[yioties]

#4 is amazing!

 

[rexbobcat]

Yeah I like #4 as well. It's dark and brooding and quite beautiful. However, I do think that the eyes are slightly over-processed, but even so, great portrait.

I think the ones I like least are the photos of the models looking directly out of frame. There just isn't enough raw emotion for me to connect to them, so they seem kind of vacant.

 

[Braineack]

I really love your advice - thank you! I have an absolute lust to learn these things but I haven't got the motivation to learn them on my own.. I would love to go through courses that teach me how to use studio lighting etc... so I can incorporate creativity with technical skills

I'm 31, picked up my first camera around age 14-15 and I have a lot to learn from YOU.

 

[HoldyourfireAl]

The one with the girl in the snow is AMAZING! I'd hang that on my wall!

 

[Derrel]

You seem to be doing pretty well. Most of these are very subject-centric though. Imagine these shot with a frumpy, middle-aged, overweight woman as the subject...they'd look quite different. You could learn some things any number of ways, but one of the perils of YouTube videos is that the majority of them are done by people who are themselves only beginners or intermediate level shooters. For example, shot #1....her eye placement within the frame, and the "gutter" of space that runs down the entire left side; or shot #2, and the awkward amount of dead space on the left and the head chop; or the cropped-off foot in #3...those are all fundamentals issues, basic posing and compositional issues, that need to be addressed in each and every pose you shoot.

People raving about the Zombie eyes in the B&W shot, #4? Uggg... wayyyy too much. I do like the simplicity of most of the shots though. Having attractive young females dressed up as fantasy characters makes for pictures that are decidedly "arty"...woodland fairy costumes are cute, and of course cute young blonde girls are cute. Not trying to be dismissive of your efforts as a photographer, but I think you would benefit from having some kind of hands-on mentoring or teaching, or at least having a sounding board that could guide you. I think you are approaching the shots with a high degree of creativity, but the technical fundamentals, and the posing concepts, need some work. A lot of people have a difficult time separating the "subject" from the "photography", and they see a pretty young woman dressed in fantasy clothing, and they give the work more credit than it would gain if, again, the subject was a frumpy, middle-aged woman. It's the difference between kitsch, and fine art.

I do think you have potential, but you'll want to learn from people who are truly skilled, and these days, that's become tougher and tougher, as the 'net is crowded with more and more very average-level shooters selling lessons and seminars and products.

 

[DiskoJoe]

Your flickr is almost scandalous. An instant follow!

 

[DiskoJoe]

You seem to be doing pretty well. Most of these are very subject-centric though. Imagine these shot with a frumpy, middle-aged, overweight woman as the subject...they'd look quite different.

Or not.....................................................................................................................

 

[hellkittenn]

You seem to be doing pretty well. Most of these are very subject-centric though. Imagine these shot with a frumpy, middle-aged, overweight woman as the subject...they'd look quite different.

Hey I totally agree with you here and that is something I worry about quite a lot - if my photography is terrible but the good models make it nice, but I'd just like to point out that I purposely scout for the most beautiful models I can find and put a lot of time and effort into styling/makeup etc and post processing to make them look their best so your point becomes slightly irrelevant because I am not going to be shooting frumpy old ladies anyway. But also, actually, I have one woman who shoots with me sometimes. She is nearing 40 and although she is in shape, she has had a child and... gravity happened. She is very weathered in the face. I make her look glamorous. We spend hours dressing her up, makeup, hair, fluffing. We shoot nude erotica and she looks amazing. Frumpy is not an option with me!