Can I get a critique on my portfolio?

[sniper x]

I have to agree with the previous comments about the lighting. While photography ( and video) are somewhat subjective, there are rules. I've been shooting motion picture film, video professionally for over 35 years and teaching classes on camera technique and lighting. The last thing it seems everyone gets right is lighting for the mood of the scene. Work on getting enrolled in some classes and concentrate on lighting. Good luck I do think you have some talent there and do like a lotnof the photos.

 

[TheLibrarian]

Certainly way too many pics in one of the nightlife sets. Gratuitous nipple shots for no good reason and some unnecessary underwear shots. No NSFW option (im at work) so might turn off some clients and does no good being there. It's cool that some girl in a club flashed you but not helpful imo. Bio could use some work, people know they can contact you or will see the links to other albums on flickr no need to tell them. Like resumes though they say to end with call me but i dont think anyone is fooled or compelled by jedi mind tricks. No one but photographers and models know or care about model mayhem, again it could be a link but i dont feel its needed in the bio. Can use symbols for these sites as the link instead of writing out the website names (Add image, insert hyperlink). Weebly sites as far as i know dont come up in internet searches well. Pay for the account there so its not .weebly.com if this is a for real business. Why is the price list a downloadable pdf? Prevents the casual user from looking at them which may or may not be good. Prices could be their own page maybe not visible in the top menu but accessible from a link on the about page instead of a download.

I've seen plenty worse photographers seeming to charge money in another FB group. I've been at it a month and had people offer me money and jobs (i didn't take it). Also 2 shots from the same shoot on the main page, shes gorgeous, they're nice but not pro front page stuff to have 2 of the same person i think... I wouldn't throw in the towel or get an MFA if you dont want one. Also why no kids, wedding, maternity, family they seem to be the bread and butter of most professional photographers? Not something I'm interested in doing either but im not trying to support myself with it.

 

[Benjgf]

Ok, well my site needs some serious work I guess. Thanks for all the info.
I took some advice that I got on here and partnered with a real pro retoucher. I think in the long run it will help with keeping my portfolio more consistent and developing a real style. I would say it's a great improvement so far. Small steps.
I think my problem is that, for a while, I couldn't figure out what kind of photography I wanted to do, so I just tried to put everything on the website. Kind of a dumb idea. And yeah, the dirty nightlife shots probably have turned off some potential clients. I have a marketing degree, but I guess I can't even figure out my own image!
Anyways, I started to make a separate portfolio that is more specifically tailored for hopefully what clients really want to see benfringuello.weebly.com

 

[Benjgf]

Certainly way too many pics in one of the nightlife sets. Gratuitous nipple shots for no good reason and some unnecessary underwear shots. No NSFW option (im at work) so might turn off some clients and does no good being there. It's cool that some girl in a club flashed you but not helpful imo. Bio could use some work, people know they can contact you or will see the links to other albums on flickr no need to tell them. Like resumes though they say to end with call me but i dont think anyone is fooled or compelled by jedi mind tricks. No one but photographers and models know or care about model mayhem, again it could be a link but i dont feel its needed in the bio. Can use symbols for these sites as the link instead of writing out the website names (Add image, insert hyperlink). Weebly sites as far as i know dont come up in internet searches well. Pay for the account there so its not .weebly.com if this is a for real business. Why is the price list a downloadable pdf? Prevents the casual user from looking at them which may or may not be good. Prices could be their own page maybe not visible in the top menu but accessible from a link on the about page instead of a download.

I've seen plenty worse photographers seeming to charge money in another FB group. I've been at it a month and had people offer me money and jobs (i didn't take it). Also 2 shots from the same shoot on the main page, shes gorgeous, they're nice but not pro front page stuff to have 2 of the same person i think... I wouldn't throw in the towel or get an MFA if you dont want one. Also why no kids, wedding, maternity, family they seem to be the bread and butter of most professional photographers? Not something I'm interested in doing either but im not trying to support myself with it.

Sorry!! Hope I didn't get you in trouble at work. I'm going to get rid of the whole nightlife thing. Not much something I'm interested in doing anymore and it probably hurts my image more than it helps. I have done maternity, weddings, and corporate headshots. I just don't know how those things would fit into a fashion portfolio.

 

[Kwenami]

I feel super bogged down when I look at your portfolio-there nothing specialized about it to tell me what you love taking photos of most. You have so many categories that don't really relate to each other or DO related to each other too strongly. I see a few repeats when you look at 'clothing' and 'tear sheets' for example-you don't need this twice, and the lack of diversity makes it feel like you have nothing better to share yet. I don't mind the dramatic head shot lighting as much, but it's like you only used two subjects-you want to show MUCH more diversity of what you can do. Skin tones, facial expressions, styles, etc. The architectural folder looks like you aren't passionate about architecture at all-where are the intense building features, the crazy scale of variety, the textures?

You'll get there, but I feel like these things in particular could use work and would be easy enough to do with more shooting. The organization is just as important as what you're presenting.

 

[Beatles2]

Photographers charge based on their ability , and ability to give what the customer has requested. I have in the past took shots that most people would say what the hell we're you thinking, it's what they wanted. That being said I've seen worse and I've seen better.

Normally I never offer critism unless asked personally, but if I can offer my two cents. Your web site needs work.

 

[fmw]

A very successful marketing executive once told me. "Be something to everybody or everything to somebody. You can't be everything to everybody." For a photographer the key is to be everything to somebody. You need to determine who your potential clients are and then show them work of the sort that they would want to buy. From your images, I can't tell who your target client is.

I did commercial photography some time ago. My portfolio was filled with the kinds of images a commercial account would want. There were no art images, no portraits, no wedding shots. Just commercial shots. Define your target market. Don't try to be everything to everybody. I didn't get my business from the internet. I got it by making sales calls and asking clients for referrals.

I was always better at marketing than photography. I could do the job but not really any better than any other commercial photographer. I just knew who I wanted as clients and went after them.

 

[zombiesniper]

The only thing I have to add is that the blog structure to view you work really sucks for a client. I like that you have separated the styles of work but they should go to an album. Leave the blog structure for a blog.
If I'm looking for someone to take photos I want to see the pics. The blog format initially made me go back and look for a portfolio,

 

[The_Traveler]

I'm not a commercial photographer nor do I sell pictures but I think of myself as having a decent eye for positives and negatives.
When I flip through just the pictures on your index page, probably half have issues that pop out negatively to me.
If I was in a postion to hire, I'd go somewhere else immediately.

The Rembrandt was on purpose.
I appreciate the detailed critique. I guess I'm more into dramatic, fashion-oriented lighting and I'm learning that isn't appropriate for corporate headshots. However, that is what the client asked for because he wanted to stand out in New York City. I also sent him some more "even" photos, but I liked these better.

These don't look like 'dramatic, fashion-oriented lighting' issues, just issues.

Sorry.

L

 

[PersistentNomad]

I'm going to take the advice someone else left on here and start partnering with people who are much better with photoshop than I am.

I sucked at editing when I was using Photoshop, mostly because I hated doing it with that program. Then I found Lightroom, and now editing is one of my favorite aspects about photography. It seriously improved workflow and made the whole process way more enjoyable. So, before you start outsourcing your editing, try that. Or, if you are into outsourcing, I'm down.

As for your portfolio, I agree with others: your images are kind of all over the place, particularly with lighting/style editing. I'm not a professional photographer (yet), but I am a professional critiquer. I've been working as a curator for non-profit spaces for many years and guest lecturer for college art programs, dealing directly with helping emerging artists get off the ground. I specifically disagree with people who are saying don't present these works to clients. How the hell else are you going to land a job if you aren't presenting your work?! But, given that your portfolio is all over the place, less is definitely more. It's better to wow with a few images than visually overwhelm with images that are sub-standard. As a general rule of thumb, many viewers are adverse to images that seem overly worked in post-process, so that can help you eliminate some images right there. Keep the ones with strong composition (which you do have quite a few) and that have a more consistent lighting look.

 

[The_Traveler]

I'm going to take the advice someone else left on here and start partnering with people who are much better with photoshop than I am.

This is not necessarily a bad idea for the actual execution of the editing but you must able to see and understand exactly what you want done.
Before you get all set to send stuff out, I suggest you start posting individual images here for suggestion so you can see how others would proceed on the editing.

For example

At first this looks like an intereseting shot but the bars are distracting because they are so bright.

Darken the bars to put them in their place and it becomes clear that the palm of her right hand is too bright and prominent and her left eye is blocked and her hair is burnt out.
You need to be able to see those things and either reshoot or tell the retouch person what you want.

 

[Benjgf]

I'm going to take the advice someone else left on here and start partnering with people who are much better with photoshop than I am.

As a general rule of thumb, many viewers are adverse to images that seem overly worked in post-process, so that can help you eliminate some images right there. Keep the ones with strong composition (which you do have quite a few) and that have a more consistent lighting look.

Okay, thanks for the comment! What ones do you think are best? I know that it's my work and I'm supposed to be the most critical, but I really would like to have others' points of view.

 

[PersistentNomad]

The red ones are the ones you should definitely cut. They either look way too over processed, are not good quality or just don't really fit in with any of the others and it doesn't give your portfolio a coherent look.
Green are the good ones, or at least good enough to deserve a long-term place in your portfolio (until something better comes along to replace them).
The un-outlined ones are ones that I think you can keep or discard at your pleasure.

 

[Benjgf]

The red ones are the ones you should definitely cut. They either look way too over processed, are not good quality or just don't really fit in with any of the others and it doesn't give your portfolio a coherent look.
Green are the good ones, or at least good enough to deserve a long-term place in your portfolio (until something better comes along to replace them).
The un-outlined ones are ones that I think you can keep or discard at your pleasure.
View attachment 127017

Thank you

 

[The_Traveler]

This one below is really the only one that I can be reasonably certain of why the picture was taken.
IMO, none of the others are close to being 'finished.' (Not that this one is perfect but it looks like an ad for the shirt)