Engagement session

[jennhunter]

I did an engagement session for my cousin-in-law last weekend. C&C Please

 

[DScience]

I think you need a faster lens. To me, when you take photos in public like this, and the background is completely distinguishable, the subject (the couple in this case) just blends in to the background. That's why pros have pro glass, and that's why their subject in the photos pop and are isolated from the BG.

There are cases where in focused BG is a good idea, but in my opinion it's rarely with portraiture.

I think the last one could be the best, if you edited it a lil better. I think you should up the contrast, and curves / levels so it is more defined. It seems quite flat as it is, but I like it because it has a lot of emotion, it's sharp, and like I was sayi8ng the are very isolated from the BG.

One more thing, it looks like you shot these when the sun was very prominent. I have found that shooting right after sunrise, or right before sunset makes for premium light. It's often referred to as the 'golden hour'.

 

[Inst!nct]

I think you need a faster lens. To me, when you take photos in public like this, and the background is completely distinguishable, the subject (the couple in this case) just blends in to the background. That's why pros have pro glass, and that's why their subject in the photos pop and are isolated from the BG.

There are cases where in focused BG is a good idea, but in my opinion it's rarely with portraiture.

I think the last one could be the best, if you edited it a lil better. I think you should up the contrast, and curves / levels so it is more defined. It seems quite flat as it is, but I like it because it has a lot of emotion, it's sharp, and like I was sayi8ng the are very isolated from the BG.

One more thing, it looks like you shot these when the sun was very prominent. I have found that shooting right after sunrise, or right before sunset makes for premium light. It's often referred to as the 'golden hour'.

i dont think that telling the OP that they need to buy new equipment to get better is the right approach, im sure their lens are adequate as ive looked through her flickr and noticed some decent shots. What OP needs to do is lower the aperture so the couple is more in focus and the background is not, create more bokeh.

Also these shots look very very posed, i was reading in the proffesional photography forum, notice reading not posting , and they were saying that when taking pictures of couples and stuff like this, tell them to do something funny, like "bite each others nose", and that way you get real genuine shots, not these were their heads are angled just the right amount, and their smile is overly cheesy.

 

[DScience]

i dont think that telling the OP that they need to buy new equipment to get better is the right approach, im sure their lens are adequate as ive looked through her flickr and noticed some decent shots. What OP needs to do is lower the aperture so the couple is more in focus and the background is not, create more bokeh.

Also these shots look very very posed, i was reading in the proffesional photography forum, notice reading not posting , and they were saying that when taking pictures of couples and stuff like this, tell them to do something funny, like "bite each others nose", and that way you get real genuine shots, not these were their heads are angled just the right amount, and their smile is overly cheesy.

Maybe they should also shoot at something OTHER than f3.5 - 4 which EVERY shot on flickr are shot at.

 

[jennhunter]

Maybe they should also shoot at something OTHER than f3.5 - 4 which EVERY shot on flickr are shot at.

Nope not EVERY shot.

 

[Inst!nct]

Maybe they should also shoot at something OTHER than f3.5 - 4 which EVERY shot on flickr are shot at.

its fine in every picture then the 3rd one, thats not what OP needs to work on..

 

[Christie Photo]

I think you need a faster lens. To me, when you take photos in public like this, and the background is completely distinguishable, the subject (the couple in this case) just blends in to the background. That's why pros have pro glass, and that's why their subject in the photos pop and are isolated from the BG.

There are cases where in focused BG is a good idea, but in my opinion it's rarely with portraiture.

Well... there's some good advice here, but I think there's a better way to obtain the goal. This is achieved with a longer focal length lens and proper selection of a setting. Choose a setting that is "deep," affording some space between the subject(s) and the background. And, for the record, we call them lenses.

One more thing, it looks like you shot these when the sun was very prominent. I have found that shooting right after sunrise, or right before sunset makes for premium light. It's often referred to as the 'golden hour'.

Again, nearly good advice. Better to shoot while the sun is behind the horizon line, using the sky as the light source. Early or late in the day will provide soft, directional light, as long as you're not working in direct sunlight. And, as you may have guessed, we don't call it the "golden hour"... it's just good lighting for portraits.

– Pete

 

[benhasajeep53 52]

Also remember you can lessen your DOF by moving closer (deppends on what your shooting and the lens). But the closer you are to something the smaller the DOF is for a given setting!! So, even if she was limited to say 4.0 for aperture. She could move in say 5 steps and the DOF woudl be shallower (just an example, deppends on focal length / setting if zoom). Could be 10 steps, or 2. But basically by moving forward or aft you can also affect DOF. So, getting a f/2.8 or faster is not the only answer if indeed it was the issue in the first place.

 

[jennhunter]

Thank you for your constuctive criticism! I appreciate it and will continue to learn!

 

[IgsEMT]

I didn't read other's remarks...

Image1 - subjects are squinting - doesn't look good. Use a reflector or something to block the sun from the eyes. OR just change location.
Image2 - seems to flat. shoot it with less dof or blur the subject around, AlienSkin-Bokeh is a pretty good filter for PS.
Image3 - cute setup. but subjects are over exposed. image you're actually shooting a wedding where bride's dress has details, DO NOT LOOSE THE DETAILS. Same here, they have clothes that they were for a reason (especially females - take a thought and reasoning why wear THIS specific article of clothing vs another).
Image4 - if leaving as is, I'd boost the contrast a bit. For the future, shoot above camera syncspeed with the flash - you won't loose the details in the background (it'll be underexposed a bit) while subjects be lit up - IT TAKES practice to get these shots done right.

OVERALL:
*your images seem a bit cold - perhaps your WB is a drop off OR maybe you like it that way but I'd warm things up (at least that is my flavor).
* You cut the limbs. It is a no-no, generally, unless you are shooting head and shoulders (like shampoo) people want to see their fingers - thus don't cut the limbs.

There is obviously room for improvement, we all have areas where it can be used, in your case, learn lighting. If you really want to improve your skill, learn lighting. Here is one site that explains various lighting patterns pretty well Portrait Lighting

good luck and keep shooting

 

[Brian L]

Keep up the great work jenn. The photos look great! Read some books on portraits and that should fine tune your skills.