C&C Please...

BuS_RiDeR · Nov 7, 2011

This is my cousin and her hubby. How can I improve this please.

Setup:
Background: Black cloth backdrop
Camera: Canon 50D
Lens: Canon EF 50mm II
Shutter Speed: 1/250th
Aperture: 4.5
Flash: 1 400ws monolite

tevo · Nov 7, 2011

The wife's hand feels awkward to me, I also think she should be a bit more sideways. Also, soften up the skin tones, and perhaps get the models to wear sleeved clothing. I am finding that the arms are distracting me from what the subject should be - their faces. It is important to take into account what your models are wearing. The shadows also seem kind of harsh, how did you bounce your flash?

BuS_RiDeR · Nov 7, 2011

tevo said:
The wife's hand feels awkward to me, I also think she should be a bit more sideways. Also, soften up the skin tones, and perhaps get the models to wear sleeved clothing. I am finding that the arms are distracting me from what the subject should be - their faces. It is important to take into account what your models are wearing. The shadows also seem kind of harsh, how did you bounce your flash?

Thanks for the input.

As for light modifiers... I used a shoot through umbrella. Eventually I'd like to invest in a softbox (2 really, one of my lights wasn't working right... I think I blew the bulb an didn't have an extra).

DiskoJoe · Nov 7, 2011

They are both kind of pale and pinky. Maybe bw?

KmH · Nov 7, 2011

The pose is not very dynamic or flattering, as far as that goes.

The lighting is kind of flat. There is little shadow modeling of their facial features.

For a standing pose I ask my subjects to stand with one foot closer to, and pointed at, the camera. I want the back foot perpendicular to the front foot, and I demonstrate what I mean as I am telling them.
Then I tell them to 'stand tall' as I demonstrate what I mean, and I tell them that it makes them look more regal.

I ask them to lean forward from the waist sightly, over their belt buckle, and to put most of their weight on their back foot.

PixelDust · Nov 7, 2011

I agree that the lighting is a bit flat. The entire image seems to have a purple/blue cast to it. I think that if they were posed differently, not shoulder to shoulder you might get a better result with more depth. The backgrounds also seems to be a tad to lit up, making it feel even flatter.