C&C pease on my portrait photography

indioli · Jul 25, 2011

Hi everyone.
I'm looking for feedback on my portrait photography.
Please have a look at these pics, and be as harsh as you like! :/
I've received feedback already about using the camera vertically more and also being aware of cutting hands off my subjects, so any other advice/tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

indioli · Jul 25, 2011

Feedback on number 1 especially. I've had massively mixed review on this one.

EPPhoto · Jul 25, 2011

I don't see a picture ;(

NCAFLeo88 · Jul 25, 2011

indioli said:
Feedback on number 1 especially. I've had massively mixed review on this one.

It doesn't seem to be in focus to me. Not too crazy about neither of them looking at the camera and the look on here face is kinda uncomfortable. Almost looks like a "snapshot gone wrong"

indioli · Jul 25, 2011

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BuS_RiDeR · Jul 25, 2011

Turn the camera... Many portraits look better in portrait orientation.

--- Mark ---

mwcfarms · Jul 25, 2011

I don't mind horizontal pictures. Sometimes its nice to have as a change up. The problem I see with number one other than a bit of soft focus is that they are backlit and this makes their faces very dark. You need to use a reflector or fill flash to balance out that backlit effect. Your outdoor ones look to me a bit underexposed too but Im not on a calibrated monitor so maybe wait till someone else chimes in.

Matt24138 · Jul 25, 2011

The top of his head being cut off bothers me. Other than that I like the photo

elifant · Jul 25, 2011

1. Subjects look a little dark, and not sure why they are looking to the side.
2. Looks soft and blurry
3. Looks overexposed, don't like how his shirt blends to the background
4. Cute nice different angle on a baby shot.
5. The highlights on the skin look a little bright for my taste.

MissCream · Jul 25, 2011

Your chopping off the tops of peoples heads

In the studio pictures your highlights are blown and the pictures are over exposed. In the picture of the man and woman (studio) it looks like his head is just floating there because of the loos of detail in his shirt.

The first one you posted has a bit of motion blur and does need a fill flash.

They aren't awful by any means but there is quite a bit of technical stuff you can work on

indioli · Jul 25, 2011

Thank you all so much for your feedback.
Question... The white backdrop is coming out grey even though I have lighting on it... Do I need to buy stronger lights? What are your opinions on the background being a bit grey. Do you like it or do you think it's a big no no?

The over exposure is entirely my own fault when processing the pictures, trying to whiten the background...

I've been trying different compositions to try to get a bit of a different take on portraits... but clearly I should stick with tried and tested techniques

Lesson learned.
Funnily enough, number 1 was the subjects' favourite of the photo of the photo shoot!

Thanks again everyone!

Scoody · Jul 25, 2011

I really wouls like to know what your settings were on these shots.

elifant · Jul 25, 2011

I didn't really notice it being gray until you pointed it out.

And, to me, if the subjects thought that was their favorite photo, then it's a great photo. You're working for them and making them happy. When I had my daughters 3 month pictures done the photographer told me she would get frustrated from time to time because it seemed like the photos the family liked were ones she found the most flaws in

Scoody · Jul 25, 2011

elifant said:
I didn't really notice it being gray until you pointed it out.

And, to me, if the subjects thought that was their favorite photo, then it's a great photo. You're working for them and making them happy. When I had my daughters 3 month pictures done the photographer told me she would get frustrated from time to time because it seemed like the photos the family liked were ones she found the most flaws in

I had a shoot not too long ago that I absolutely hated how it turned out. I was seriously considering asking the client if she wanted to schedule a reshoot but she loved every single proof I showed her and she bought $200 of prints more than she had originally planned. While I appreciated her money and praise, I still felt that they were not very well done.

RedWylder · Jul 25, 2011

I enjoy number one for the most part. I don't even mind chopping off the top of the heads but I think it would look more balanced if it was cropped tighter on bottom as well. The only other thing is that she seems a little green in the photo. Could be this new monitor too. I really like 5 as well.