Bridal portrait

What mark do you give to this photo?


  • Total voters
    21
Tally Ho said:
Hello doli!

How can a woman's hand be graceful and flowing when it looks like the above hand? It can't, it looks heavy, flat and unflattering. Mind you this is a bridal portrait, and brides are the most beautiful and important women in the world, and IMHO a portrait of one should show them as beautiful and graceful. Now if this were a portrait of a boxer, we would pose and light his hands to look big and menacing.

Before you read my above posting did you know what the word 'photograph' meant? I would guess 75% of the people who regularly use a camera don't know what it means.

Ok lets assume she is 25 pounds overweight. By posing her in the above way, she appears to be 25 pounds heavier. Virtually all of the professional photographers I know recognizes that most women want to appear thinner and more beautiful in their portrait than what they really are. That is why before the portrait they have an appointment with a make-up artist, the nail salon and their hair stylist.

I suppose in my career as a professional photographer I have photographed perhaps 10,000 women. I can't remember even one who wanted to look even one pound heavier. Would you like to be posed and lit to appear 25 pounds heavier in your portrait?

Tally Ho

Yes, I do know what photography means... anyone who too latin could easily break that down...
As for the hand thing, I guess you have a point... but as for the weight thing, I wonder if you have any little bit of humor!!
As a professional photographer, I find that 10,000 women isn't so impressive. Don juan.
 
Tally Ho said:
The word 'photograph' comes to us from two Greek words, 'photo' meaning 'light' and 'graph' meaning 'drawn.' So, a photograph is light drawn, or drawn with light.
Your statement is actually incorrect.
The Greek roots for Photography are:
Photos - light.
Graphikos - write
The literal translation therefore becomes 'writing with light'.

Tally Ho said:
This is my first posting here. Hopefully I will be able to make more positive comments on future images. I most likely will not be a real popular person here because of my critiques, but guess what? No one learns how to take better images with critiques like 'good shot', 'nice lighting', or 'couldn't be better' when in reality the image is poorly exposed, the lighting isn't good and the pose is awkward, myself included.

Tally Ho
The art of a good critique is to not to find fault, but to suggest improvements.
No one learns from people just saying 'D'uh! You've done that wrong'.
And no-one will choose to listen to someone who appears to be bereft of tact.
I would also point out that you are not the only professional photographer on this board, but the rest of us are here to try and help - not score points.
 
(Cut and paste) "Your statement is actually incorrect.
The Greek roots for Photography are:
Photos - light.
Graphikos - write
The literal translation therefore becomes 'writing with light'.

Sorry, YOUR statement is incorrect according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, (Cut and paste) "Greek graphikos, from graphein
Date: 1637
1 : formed by writing, drawing, or engraving." So it can mean drawing or drawn as I originally stated.

Cut and paste) "The art of a good critique is to not to find fault, but to suggest improvements."

I assume anyone reading my critique saw that not only did I point out the problem, "The light in this image is coming from overhead and illuminating her right shoulder, the tip of her nose and her left hand" but I also pointed out what the light SHOULD be illuminating "Unfortunately it is not illuminating her face." Also in my critique I pointed out another problem, "Her shoulders are square to the camera" I also told him WHY one doesn't shoot square into the shoulders, "making her look 25 pounds heavier". Perhaps I should have also stated that he should have turned her body 30 to 35 degrees to prevent the square shoulders look, but I've got to assume they are smart enough to figure some things out on their own.

Lastly, I don't care if some (one, all) see me as lacking in tact. The written word tends to be more 'harsh' than the spoken word, and I don't have time to write and rewrite my postings just in case there is a possibility that someone may or may not be offended or think I'm being too hard. I'm not a yes man, and I'm not trying to score points with anyone here, I'm just attempting to critique an image in which the photographer asked for critique, and I offered it.

Tally Ho
 
wow, what an amazing start to a long lasting career of critiques here at TPF. :chatty: :chatty: :chatty: :chatty: :chatty:
 
Tally Ho said:
The word 'photograph' comes to us from two Greek words, 'photo' meaning 'light' and 'graph' meaning 'drawn.' So, a photograph is light drawn, or drawn with light. The light in this image is coming from overhead and illuminating her right shoulder, the tip of her nose and her left hand. Unfortunately it is not illuminating her face, which is the most important part of a portrait. Her shoulders are square to the camera making her look 25 pounds heavier, her right hand is amputated at the wrist and her left hand is nearly the same size as her entire face. The back of a woman's hand should never be photographed. Only the sides of the hand should show in a portrait. The veil needed to be moved as others have already pointed out.

This is my first posting here. Hopefully I will be able to make more positive comments on future images. I most likely will not be a real popular person here because of my critiques, but guess what? No one learns how to take better images with critiques like 'good shot', 'nice lighting', or 'couldn't be better' when in reality the image is poorly exposed, the lighting isn't good and the pose is awkward, myself included.

Tally Ho


Thanks, you have noted some good points for portrait photography that I may use especially when taking posed portraits.

I can bear such "harsh" critique(s) as long as I can find clearly laid out specific arguments. And you have pointed them out. I appreciate the arguments :)

I have opened shadows on the face a bit to make face look brighter and "appear". The crop of the hand bothered me as well but I do not have a perfect idea how it should be cropped even with a larger picture than this frame. And she wouldn't pose ;-)
 
When I get someone who will not pose as I want them to do, I usually remind them that they hired me to photograph their wedding and I don't feel I will be doing them justice unless I pose them as I feel they should be posed. Then in the same breath, I tell them that I will make them a deal; they can pose themselves any way they want and I will photograph them that way, then I will pose them as I feel they should be posed. They almost always say ok. Shoot both images, then show them both images. Chances are they will hate 'their' pose and like yours but won't say it to your face. By the way, I loved the way you handled the background in your original image. It simply could not have been better looking.

Tally Ho
 
look said:
The fold over her eye - I love candid style and she hates posing - that's where the picture comes from
Lovely bride; beautiful portrait. I'm sure she will love this shot. :thumbup:

I did not notice the fold. Perhaps it is my lack of formal training in the traditional style which leaves me in dark about the some of the comments here. I'm from one of those schools who would love to shoot from the heart rather than coreograph each and every moment of their precious day. This is not to underrate the importance of a traditional grounding. Traditional methods teaches a lot about lighting and the imporatant basics. But I defenitely do not want to be the person who creates wedding albums which look similar (except for the faces) week after week after week after week after week. To me thats a boring 9-5.
But cheers to those who are content with their choices, be it candids or posed or whatever you name it! :thumbsup:
 
Tally Ho said:
When I get someone who will not pose as I want them to do, I usually remind them that they hired me to photograph their wedding and I don't feel I will be doing them justice unless I pose them as I feel they should be posed. Then in the same breath, I tell them that I will make them a deal; they can pose themselves any way they want and I will photograph them that way, then I will pose them as I feel they should be posed. They almost always say ok. Shoot both images, then show them both images. Chances are they will hate 'their' pose and like yours but won't say it to your face. By the way, I loved the way you handled the background in your original image. It simply could not have been better looking.

Tally Ho

Well, well :) There are different styles of photography and candid photos is what I personally like best, namely the natural quality and emotion in them - and that was exactly what they wanted :) So that was a win-win situation even if the photo is not so technically perfect :) So I enjoy taking candid story telling photos showing emotions and action and this is "my justice" so to speak ;)

However regardless of shooting style "right" lighting etc. are important and I apreciate your comments as I learn to "see" or recognise what could be better.
 
Danalec99, I am with you :)
 
I have never been a particularily good candid shooter. For years I seemed to have the inate ability to catch guys scratching their crotches, gals adjusting their bra straps, young girls with spread legs, people shoving huge amounts of wedding cake into their mouths and kids picking their noses, that is why I now usually either tell the subjects straight out I'm going to get a candid shot of them 'for the bride' or point the camera at them then lower the camera and fidgit with the controls long enough for them to prepare to be photographed, then raise the camera and get the shot. I don't have too many throw aways anymore since I began using that technique.

Tally Ho
 
Hi Tally Ho,

'Candids' does not necessarily have to be awkward scenes.

Check these site out... www.JeffAscough.com and www.JoeBuissink.com
These are couple of sites which made me really serious about wedding photography.
 
danalec99 said:
Hi Tally Ho,

'Candids' does not necessarily have to be awkward scenes.

Check these site out... www.JeffAscough.com and www.JoeBuissink.com
These are couple of sites which made me really serious about wedding photography.

Jeff Ascough is absolutely amazing. Beautiful work.
 

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