Another Attempt at Portraits

[Hof8231]

Same pictures as the first time, just edited differently (and better, I hope) C&C always welcome.

1.

Sam Sitting by SteveH8231, on Flickr

2.

Sam Water by SteveH8231, on Flickr

3.

Sam Holding Hair by SteveH8231, on Flickr

4.

Sam Tree by SteveH8231, on Flickr

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Her dress seems washed out and she, herself, seems really shiny. I think the first one is the most flattering of the set but the color on the dress still seems washed out to me. Pretty girl. It's hard for plus sized ladies like me to look great in photos under even the most ideal situations.

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

1. The strongest of the set IMO (I missed the earlier post); good job on keeping the reflections out of the glasses; nice expression and pleasant pose. Not overly fond of the background; and I think some further post on her teeth (they seem rather yellow) would help. The dress material is a bit of a pain as it's reflecting a lot and looking washed out. A different angle may have helped here.

2. Slightly over-exposed, and not the most flattering pose (avoid posing women with shoulders square to the camera "football shoulders"). The background is very busy and very distracting.

3. Interesting; again the background is buys and distracting, and her dress seems somewhat washed out; perhaps some selective adjustments would help.

4. Nice; I like her smile, but again, she's square to the camera and her hair would really have benefitted from a brushing/combing.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[Hof8231]

Her dress seems washed out and she, herself, seems really shiny. I think the first one is the most flattering of the set but the color on the dress still seems washed out to me. Pretty girl. It's hard for plus sized ladies like me to look great in photos under even the most ideal situations.

C&C per req:

1. The strongest of the set IMO (I missed the earlier post); good job on keeping the reflections out of the glasses; nice expression and pleasant pose. Not overly fond of the background; and I think some further post on her teeth (they seem rather yellow) would help. The dress material is a bit of a pain as it's reflecting a lot and looking washed out. A different angle may have helped here.

2. Slightly over-exposed, and not the most flattering pose (avoid posing women with shoulders square to the camera "football shoulders"). The background is very busy and very distracting.

3. Interesting; again the background is buys and distracting, and her dress seems somewhat washed out; perhaps some selective adjustments would help.

4. Nice; I like her smile, but again, she's square to the camera and her hair would really have benefitted from a brushing/combing.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

Thank you both for the feedback, it's much appreciated! And yeah, I know the dress is a little washed out. I used the Shadows/Highlights adjuster to make her skin less bright and her hair as dark as it actually is (lighting was terrible that day) and the drawback to that was the color of the dress got messed up. What kind of selective adjustments would you recommend?

 

[KmH]

Investigate how lighting styles (even when using available light), and camera perspective can be used to give a 'slimming' effect.

Facial and body analysis are both processes used by portrait photographers to flatter a subject as much as possible.
Facial Analysis in Fine Portraiture- Corrective Techniques

 

[Hof8231]

Investigate how lighting styles (even when using available light), and camera perspective can be used to give a 'slimming' effect.

Facial and body analysis are both processes used by portrait photographers to flatter a subject as much as possible.
Facial Analysis in Fine Portraiture- Corrective Techniques

Thanks for tip, I'll definitely give that a look!

 

[DarkShadow]

The only thing I would add is the watermark that looks like a bell in the top left of photo 1 is rather large and distracting.Kinda looks like you added a bell on the building in the background.

 

[Rebekah5280]

What color was her dress? Red? Peach? I can't tell.

 

[Derrel]

I think the first and second photos show pretty good use of foreground/ background relationship. In the first, we see what looks like a college campus, in the second she's posed in front of a blooming tree, and the background is used as "an element". Those two shots show a good compositional ability.

 

[Hof8231]

What color was her dress? Red? Peach? I can't tell.

Peach. I know the dress looks off in these photos, I'm trying to figure out how to make her skin less bright without compromising the look of the dress. Any tips on that?

I think the first and second photos show pretty good use of foreground/ background relationship. In the first, we see what looks like a college campus, in the second she's posed in front of a blooming tree, and the background is used as "an element". Those two shots show a good compositional ability.

Thank you for the input, I appreciate it! I know I have a loooong way to go, but I feel like I'm making some progress since I started. I'm all self-taught right now and really need to take some classes, but with my face and voice still all messed up I still don't like being around a lot of people I don't know. I need to get over that though because I REALLY want to get as good as I can at photography.

 

[ktan7]

I still don't see any difference in post-editing. Looks RAW still. Are you using a specific type of photoshop action? Or did you just enhance the contrast, exposure, etc.?

 

[Hof8231]

I still don't see any difference in post-editing. Looks RAW still. Are you using a specific type of photoshop action? Or did you just enhance the contrast, exposure, etc.?

Yeah, I've been using levels, curves, and shadows/highlights the most. I'm open to any suggestions on what to do that would be better.

 

[frommrstomommy]

I still don't see any difference in post-editing. Looks RAW still. Are you using a specific type of photoshop action? Or did you just enhance the contrast, exposure, etc.?

Yeah, I've been using levels, curves, and shadows/highlights the most. I'm open to any suggestions on what to do that would be better.

If you show us your starting point we might better be able to help you as far as how to go about that.

 

[Hof8231]

I start with levels then curves then saturation, then brightness and contrast, then shadows and highlights.

 

[frommrstomommy]

I start with levels then curves then saturation, then brightness and contrast, then shadows and highlights.

I mean a visual. .like sooc shot.