CC: A Pretty Girl and a Skyline (and a wall and a bench...)

[Whootsinator]

I took a break from exploring abandoned factories to take a few shots for a friend. I don't get the chance to do portraits or 'people photography' very often at all, so I try to improve and make the most of each session I get. I still have a lot to learn and a few pieces of kit to buy for the subject (35mm/50mm f1.8 primes, reflectors/diffusers, and another flash would be nice). Generally I don't care for the results of my portraits, but I figure we are our own worst critics so I'll just let you guys tell me how they look and how to make them better.



UnheardOf_CinciStreet1 by ATK195, on Flickr


UnheardOf_CinciStreet2 by ATK195, on Flickr


UnheardOf_Cinci1 by ATK195, on Flickr

I tried to use some fill flash on this one, but I don't think it worked to my advantage... onboard undiffused/unreflected flash just doesn't cut it.

UnheardOf_Cinci2 by ATK195, on Flickr

Not entirely thrilled with the lines of this picture, but let me know what you guys think.

UnheardOf_Bench2 by ATK195, on Flickr


UnheardOf_Bench1 by ATK195, on Flickr


UnheardOf_Wall2 by ATK195, on Flickr


UnheardOf_Wall1 by ATK195, on Flickr





Thanks for viewing, and thanks for any comments or constructive criticism!

 

[DanFinePhotography]

These are pretty sharp photo's, The bottom 2 look like the light was pretty harsh and left parts of the girl a tad overexposed. Also, a couple of them look like her hands are chopped off so you might want to either crop tighter or looser preferably in the camera(meaning shoot tighter or farther away from the subject)

 

[Whootsinator]

Ah, the missing hands in the top four photos... Yea, I'm up to snuff on photography lingo, so I get what you're saying. I'd rather go with a tighter crop, or honestly just move the camera up a tad. I'll keep it in mind on future excursions, thank you.

 

[israel09]

1 & 3 I like, though I wish her body wasn't straight on against the camera. Maybe just the slightest turn of the torso.

5 I like, but I the background lines on the wall are distracting me. the last two would have great with a short DOF and a tad less harsh light. Still cool though.

 

[Whootsinator]

Thanks, I'll try to keep the torso angle in mind next time. This kind of thing is exactly what I'm looking for guys, keep it coming. Hopefully I can get another chance to do this and put these into practice.

 

[vtf]

really too many to comment on but what I noticed was those I that I think had flash such as # 3, 4 and maybe 6 the harsh shadows were gone and as far as exposure was more even across the shot. Please limit your shots to 3 or 4 and number them for ease.

 

[Whootsinator]

Sorry VTF, I figured the larger the sample base the easier it would be to notice repeated mistakes. Not necessarily looking for exact problems of each photo, just a general 'you seem to keep doing this' or repeated composition mistakes, etc. One time errors become less apparent when viewed in a group.

 

[vtf]

Sorry VTF, I figured the larger the sample base the easier it would be to notice repeated mistakes. Not necessarily looking for exact problems of each photo, just a general 'you seem to keep doing this' or repeated composition mistakes, etc. One time errors become less apparent when viewed in a group.

NP, each pose is different, lighting is different and backgrounds are different. But generally there are some harsh light in some and the backgrounds do nothing to enhance the images, maybe some fill light or reflector would give a more overall lighting of the face.. A lower aperature would blur the back ground out. On backgrounds if it does not enhance the subject it should be changed or blurred by dof for example a beautiful woman in front of a beautiful waterfall should have a greater dof than one that has the subject in front of trash cans (for lack of a better example.). I dont see alot of composition issues except in 2 you cut her elbow and the hands in 4 but overall pretty good I think.
Work on fill lighting and dof imo. Others may disagree.
People tend to overlook those threads with numerous pictures regardless.

 

[Whootsinator]

I was actually shooting about as wide open as I could for most of these, except the skyline pictures. I think I could do a whole lot better with a decent flash and a diffuser, honestly.

 

[JClishe]

I'm from Cincinnati too. When I saw the first photo I thought "hey, that looks like Kroger in the background".

Where do you usually shoot? Urban exploration is what I prefer to do as well but I'm from the Detroit area and haven't learned all the good spots here in Cincy yet.

 

[PenguinPhotoWrx]

Is she happy? She looks totally disinterested in being there. Maybe that's her personality or what you were going for- but she's so pretty- a smile would have improved them drastically, IMO.

If you're happy and you know it, tell your face!

 

[Whootsinator]

I'm from Cincinnati too. When I saw the first photo I thought "hey, that looks like Kroger in the background".

Where do you usually shoot? Urban exploration is what I prefer to do as well but I'm from the Detroit area and haven't learned all the good spots here in Cincy yet.

I've sent you a PM. I don't 'usually' shoot anywhere. I drive around and look for new spots, see one, hop out, snap snap, drive off to a new one.

 

[o hey tyler]

Is that a Budweiser select shirt?

That's really unfortunate.

 

[Whootsinator]

Is that a Budweiser select shirt?

That's really unfortunate.

Read the shirt again.

 

[o hey tyler]

I read it, and it meant nothing to me.

However, I could see the little crown that looks suspiciously like the Bud Select logo, and that raised a red flag.

Care to dispute my observation?