C&C Outdoor model shoot, natural light

[Dark Anghell]

Please let me know what you think of these photographs. Mainly I want to know what you guys think of the poses and overall composition. I am happy with how the pictures turned out, there was little post processing I had to do and if anything I should have lowered my f stop from 1.8 to maybe 3 or so. Right now I feel that few of the pictures are out of focus even though I used a tripod and high speed. Could be that my camera needs to be calibrated.

All were shot with 50mm f1.8 prime, speed varied around 3000's of a sec (it was very bright out).

Thank you for your critique and comments.

 

[DRoberts]

Two things...
1. When its bright outside you will usually get better results if you slow your shutter speed and increase your aperture. try f8 -11 with your shutter speed around 400 - 500 or slower if you can, and ISO 100 - 200.

2. You need to tighten up on your model. the distance is way to far away to get any detail on her, especially the face. The face is the most important thing. You want it to be clear and crisp with focus on the eyes. All of the space around her doesn't really add to the photo, so I would crop it out.
Next time get real close to her, if you are using the 50. Let us see some detail.

 

[Dark Anghell]

^^Thank you for the pointers! I think she will be overall happy with these initial results and I can practice some more on her.

I will try to come closer and definitely focus on her eyes. Would it be better to use my 18-50mm kit lens and set it to 18-35mm so I can get closer to her?

I still feel that these pictures don't scream fashion. They feel too ordinary and too plain to me. Although I am happy that her hips don't look too wide and the angle for her face looked fairly good.

 

[linpelk]

I like #1 the best. Your model looks really cute and natural. #2, the cars in the background are a bit distracting. It seems like a spot that you could have turned your model to avoid them, but who knows, maybe there is an ugly fence on the other side that was even worse! I love the tree lined street in the last shot. I wonder what it would have looked like if you'd have shot a little more to the right to center her with the trees a bit more. Nice work overall.

 

[Sherman Banks]

Pretty nice shots although I would heed to the advice to get more of her in the shots rather than the scenery. It wouldn't hurt to have some more light on her face too. That 50mm you're shooting with should be perfect for portraits, if you start using the kit lens under 50mm, you'll start getting distortion in the image which is especially noticeable at the low end.

Where are you shooting at here? I only ask because I'm in the Seattle area and don't recognize the setting.

 

[Dark Anghell]

The first location is actually on the corner of a busy intersection, I was trying to avoid more cars by shooting in front of the building or the side opposite the traffic light. Having said that, she was a little self concious about people watching. I definitely want to come back to the place and do more shots with crazier angles and better poses.

The first location is on 25th st one block north of U-Village. The second location was at the main entrance to UW.

I think for a shoot like this, having a reflector would have been more than enough. So that might be my next purchase.

 

[Big Mike]

Not a bad start but there is room for improvement.

Firstly, they do look a little soft. If you were shooting around 1/3000...then it is most likely a focus issue. I'm looking at the photos, trying to see if there are areas closer or farther than the model, that are sharper than she is...but I can't really tell. Maybe have a good look at the full size photos and see if you can tell if there are areas that are really sharp. Cheap lenses like a 50mm F1.8 often have focus issues.

Shooting at a smaller aperture like F8, might alleviate that...but then your background would be more in-focus...which I don't think you want for these types of shots. I'd suggest shooting at F2.8 or F2...something like that...but make sure that you can get the model in focus.

The next issue I see is your exposure. The model is too dark in these images. The last one is getting better but she still has fairly dark shadows. It would be my guess that the somewhat bright backgrounds are affecting your camera's meter, which is leaving the model under exposed. You need to set your exposure for the model and let the background be the part that is left over or under exposed. Or, you could add light (flash, reflector etc) to more evenly match the exposure of the model and the background. As a quick tip, try going up to the model's face and see what settings the camera gives you when you fill the frame with her face. Remember those settings, then when you back up to compose the shot, adjust the camera to those same settings.

I think someone mentioned it, but don't be afraid to get closer or crop tighter. There is a whole lot of background in these shots...and the model takes up only a tiny percentage of the shot.

Also, a little tip for posing. She is already very slim, but you usually want the model to bend the leg that is closer to the camera, not the one that is farther, like she is in the last one.

 

[cdangelo]

I'll be the dissenting opinion and say that I like the additional scenery in the pictures, I think it more fully captures not only the models appearance but the armosphere as well. Which I a;ways found to be important in working with models. I've looked at the photos and am not sure you'd get the same effect if you cropped the surrounding scenery out.

I do think the model is slightly under-exposed and would benefit from a reflector or short flash to brighten her face and reduce shadows a bit.

 

[Samanax]

Please let me know what you think of these photographs. Mainly I want to know what you guys think of the poses and overall composition. I am happy with how the pictures turned out, there was little post processing I had to do and if anything I should have lowered my f stop from 1.8 to maybe 3 or so. All were shot with 50mm f1.8 prime, speed varied around 3000's of a sec (it was very bright out).

Time to read up on the Sunny 16 Rule.

Right now I feel that few of the pictures are out of focus even though I used a tripod and high speed. Could be that my camera needs to be calibrated.

Most lenses aren't their sharpest when wide open. You have to experiment to find their "sweet spot".

How much sharpening did you do in PP?

 

[sburatorul]

Time to read up on the Sunny 16 Rule.

hey didn't know about that. i don't think it is particularly useful nowadays when we have light meters in cameras and priority programs but i will surely try it out

 

[FDSA]

You deserve some credit for staying out of the reflections, I don't know how you did it

 

[Dark Anghell]

Time to read up on the Sunny 16 Rule.Most lenses aren't their sharpest when wide open. You have to experiment to find their "sweet spot".

How much sharpening did you do in PP?

Thank you for the link. I actually did very little sharpening to the model. I did do it to the spheres though to make them look more 3d and more reflective.

I tried to focus the camera on her face whenever possible, but maybe because of the extremely high speed pics came out blurry. I will try reducing that as much as possible next time.

Reflections, the camera was pretty far away from the spheres and also I tried to pic angles that minimized my reflections.

She is being a good sport about it, and wants to take more pictures. I think the next location will allow me to get more artsy and daring with the poses. Its a graffiti wall that has ladders next to it for the artists, etc. The other location is an abandoned/unused warehouse from the 50s. This time I think I will go over some sample pictures with her so she has a rough idea of what I am going for. Might even try to go back to the spheres and take pictures there again. I really want to experiment with them in the dark, so they have light streaks going across...although then there will be reflections of my flash in them.

What do you guys think of this one...I wanted her to get closer to the spheres, but couldn't envision a good pose, so this is the only one I kindof like:

 

[DRoberts]

On the last one I would have focused on her reflection rather than the "face" of the globe. Neat concept.

 

[Bigpopa]

Agreed she is a little far away............

 

[Dark Anghell]

I think I need to experiment with the distance. Seems like some of the fashion photographs are very up close, but others like example below are further away and capture the whole body.

I have a feeling if my pictures were more in focus, they would look 100 times better since you'd be able to see the face and its features.

I will go back to the spheres either this or next weekend and give them a try again. Fingers crossed that none of hem will roll away (they are not bolted down) as she tries to lean on one of them . Also might try different type of clothing...like a dress.