C&C appreciated. First post! Senior pictures

[Kstorm06]

Hello! I'm fairly new to photography and new to this forum! I would love to learn more about photography and what I can do to be better. Any critiques is welcome. Be kind I was asked by a former Youth Group girl I mentored to do her senior pictures. YAY and YIKES!! I was super excited for the opportunity because I loved the idea of getting my feet wet and seeing if I could hack it and how cool is it that she thought of me Yikes in that I dont want to screw it up and this girl is HARD TO READ! This is my first time shooting manual (other than just messing around in my backyard. I used my nikon d3200. Of course the day she took off work to do the shoot was SUPER sunny with crazy shadows :thumbdown: major bummer but we worked with it. I was hoping to capture her personality (which is a little moody but very sweet) and the background. All she asked for in her session was that we go to the beach. I really want to learn from my mistakes and get better! C&C would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks Y'all!

 

[KmH]

The light is really harsh and made her squint.

Direct mid-day sunlight doesn't work real well unless it's diffused.

There is some variance in the white balance and skin tones.

I don't think the composition in the left one works as well as it could. I feel there is to much space in the direction she is looking.
The composition in the middle one is nice, but I think it would work better if we could see her face.
The last on looks a bit to warm (to yellow).

Direction and quality of light have a lot to do with making high quality images.
Many new to doing people photography don't realize that supplemental lighting is usually used outside.

Here is a link that shows how lighting was used outside to make a people photo, Strobist: On Assignment: Kai-Huei Yau's Football Previews

Web sites:
http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-pho...hy-techniques/
Strobist: Lighting 101
How to Photograph High School Seniors

Books:
Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere
Off-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Photographers
Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography
Master Guide for Photographing High School Seniors
500 Poses for Photographing High School Seniors: A Visual Sourcebook for Digital Portrait Photographers

 

[tirediron]

Keith pretty much nailed it!

 

[Kstorm06]

Thanks guys! When we had originally planned the day it was supposed to be overcast, which I expected for nw weather and of course it was SUPER sunny. Thank you for the replies! I'm really wanting to learn from my mistakes so I REALLY apprecaite it!