Did my first photo shoot and I'm not pleased

[NikonNewbie]

As said above many were out of focus with a distracting background. Also I feel you need to turn the camera and shoot more vertical. Another thing I noticed is the guy looked like he has a hard time smiling in alot of the shots he looks upset or constipated.

+1...I swear in like 3 of them he looks like he's saying F*** to her...
the ones where they are walking would have been good if they werent walking in fenced in yard...cuz where the hell are they walking to?
I agree the setting was not good, I could see other peoples houses and just backyard debris (electrical boxes etc..) move them out of their backyard...and the ones where you took her in focus and him out of focus...he looks like he's standing like an ape...I dont know...I'd ask to re-try...and make sure the guy takes his morning **** before hand.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Some has potential.. 59 & 60.. and some of the close up kissing. Also, flash would help tremendously too. Just go through these and pick maybe 20 photos or fewer. Personally it was kinda funny scrolling the pics one by one. Almost like Charlie Chaplin movie (slow frame rate). They were walking away toward the fence LOL.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

I would work on subject placement in the future. There is not a sharing of the space in the shots there is a dominance and near centering of the gent in many. So a little more balancing in the frame. :thumbup:

See what you can do to sharpen your focus a little bit. Focus on the eye that is closest to the camera. Or on the eyes if the face is oriented on a more even plane with the lens. That should help a bit.

Don't worry if you took two hundred; of the whole lot you cans till pick out one or two or three that are the best. That's just the way it works out.

 

[NikonNewbie]

I'm not trying to be mean or anything (really, I'm not)..But the woman's clothing isn't flattering to her figure at all. It looks like she's got a bit of camel toe going on.

I noticed that too...and Gunt as well...
she is very pretty and would benefit from a little looser clothing or at least some spanx.

Ted, I think you got the right idea...maybe try a different couple and then go back to them.:thumbup:

 

[8ball]

I have to agree the background is just not right for it. The electrical box and what ever that green plastic thing was just gives it a point and shoot feel. And the walking towards the fence one holding hands just doesn't do it for me its like they are walking towards a fence instead of off into the unknown giving a trapped feelings and a feeling of no where to go IMO.

Keep trying!

 

[rainking]

Wow, thanks! I would have never thought the background could ruin a photo shoot this much. I spent so much time worrying about poses that I didn't t take the time to find a great location. Lesson learned.

 

[ababysean]

ok, first, I don't think you did so bad for your first shoot.
I did not look at any settings, so maybe you could post some and that might help with the focus problem?

2nd, I would suggest not giving the client so many pictures to choose from. There are several photos of the same pose with just slightly different angles. YOU CHOOSE the best one, that is YOUR job as the photographer. I did the same thing in the beginning, thinking well I have no idea what the client would like best, but I quickly found out it makes it way too overwhelming for the client to choose and then they get frustrated and never order.

I would say under 50 pictures would be best, for this type of shoot, if you could limit it to 20 it would be even better.

Watch your backgrounds, I see electrical boxes and hoses and other yard crap in many pictures, shooting at a home setting is fine, but you really have to pay attention to backgrounds.

and yep, the men of these couple type shoots, they want nothing to do with it and often the outcome is the male counterpart looking pissed off, stupid, and just plain rude. You need to coach the male (or uncooperative) client, saying things to make it less "stupid" joke around about how if you just smile or give one or two good faces, this will all be over and your fiance/girlfriend/wife will be happy and you wont have to do this again for at least another few years/weeks/days/until wedding/you get the point.

He just looks like he wants to drop kick her in the face in some of these pictures, and ones where he is throwing up gang signs???? or whatever, I know he is trying to be cool, but he just looks a fool! haha

and I know there is little to do about the clothing, but first thing I notice in most body shots is her ummmmm private parts down under.
I don't think she will find this flattering at all, and there is really no way to say anything nice about that, but I would blame it on the clothing, not on her body/too tight.

I'm assuming she looked in a mirror before the shoot and saw what she liked though, so not much to do about that but maybe she will see it and realize to check better next time for anything funky going down in that area.

 

[sam_justice]

The framing is poor (without being nasty) try getting some nice tight shots - do a google image search on portraits portrait - Google Search as you can see all of the images are tightly shot. This then reduces your completely distracting background.

 

[kundalini]

Kudos to you for getting out of your comfort zone and at least trying. Take on board most of the comments that have been made which address fundamentals that need improvement and try again.

 

[sanpan]

I don't own a DSLR and have been experimenting around with a P&S and a Film SLR. Whatever little experience I have, here is my advice:
1) Shoot in Aperture priority and with f16 or f22. I suppose this will blur out the background so the location won't matter that much.
2) As someone mentioned, also get some vertical shots in. Also get some tight close-ups of their faces close together when they were kissing, she resting her head on his chest, etc.
3) Talk to the guy about sports, cars, bikes, whatever gets him going. Joke about how your own wife/ girlfriend is a pain (without upsetting the lady). This will loosen him up a bit, make him comfortable.
4) Get them talking about the time when they were dating/ courting/ wooing each other.

I can think about these tips at the moment.

Please correct me if I am wrong, guys.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

sanpan...for your #2, you have it opposite. The background and foreground will be much more in focus with those apertures. It is that range that landscape photographers shoot at to capture as much of the scenery in focus as they do.

 

[farmerj]

I've printed these out in a pdf file and keep a set on my backup disk

The Rules Of Good Portraiture

 

[ababysean]

I don't own a DSLR and have been experimenting around with a P&S and a Film SLR. Whatever little experience I have, here is my advice:
1) Shoot in Aperture priority and with f16 or f22. I suppose this will blur out the background so the location won't matter that much.
2) As someone mentioned, also get some vertical shots in. Also get some tight close-ups of their faces close together when they were kissing, she resting her head on his chest, etc.
3) Talk to the guy about sports, cars, bikes, whatever gets him going. Joke about how your own wife/ girlfriend is a pain (without upsetting the lady). This will loosen him up a bit, make him comfortable.
4) Get them talking about the time when they were dating/ courting/ wooing each other.

I can think about these tips at the moment.

Please correct me if I am wrong, guys.

Good advice but F16/22 will not cause the background to blur, the opposite, you need to stop down, I would say depending on what lens you are using and how far away you are, 2.8 to 4

 

[sanpan]

sanpan...for your #2, you have it opposite. The background and foreground will be much more in focus with those apertures. It is that range that landscape photographers shoot at to capture as much of the scenery in focus as they do.

Apologies. I knew I was mixing things up :blushing: . Its easier when you have the camera in hand. Thanks.
Also Thanks to ababysean for explaining it further.

 

[Robin Usagani]

he banned your IP erose...