Engagement Session

shinycard255 · Jan 11, 2013

So I am not really a portrait person, I do mostly commercial tabletop, but had a friend of mine ask me to do their engagement portraits for them and I couldn't resist.

C&C is very welcoming (I know what some of the issues are, but would like feedback from some professional portrait photographers).
I want to improve in the portrait realm (also, sorry for the horrible watermark)

1)

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3)

pixmedic · Jan 11, 2013

the first thing I noticed was the shadows. needs flash.
on #2 the sun is hitting the side of them and the glare is very unflattering.
I like the poses on #1 and #3, but they really REALLY need more lighting.
to me, the color looks good (maybe a LITTLE cool) and the exposure looks ok. Focus is good. I think the cropping is pretty good as well, except for #2 where they appear to just be hanging out in some empty field. crop that one in tighter.

overall, nicely done.

Robin_Usagani · Jan 11, 2013

The sun is so annoying on 1 that she looks like she is biting a strip of gum in her teeth.

Patrice · Jan 11, 2013

Not bad! Last one is the best of the three. The second one (in the field) is a throw away. Shooting in the open with bright sunshine is a challenge without fill flash or reflectors. The shadows are too harsh and the framing is bit wide. Somethings wrong with the shadow on the ground on that one (the second photo), the sun should be casting a shadow to their left.

CA_ · Jan 11, 2013

The vignette is really distracting. Less is more with vignetting.

shinycard255 · Jan 11, 2013

pixmedic said:
the first thing I noticed was the shadows. needs flash.
on #2 the sun is hitting the side of them and the glare is very unflattering.
I like the poses on #1 and #3, but they really REALLY need more lighting.
to me, the color looks good (maybe a LITTLE cool) and the exposure looks ok. Focus is good. I think the cropping is pretty good as well, except for #2 where they appear to just be hanging out in some empty field. crop that one in tighter.

overall, nicely done.

Yeah, more light is one thing I noticed as well. I was borrowing a coworker's Canon 580EX Speedlight and was fumbling around with it during the shoot. I'm more comfortable with strobes than I am speedlights. I doubt the location I was shooting at would have let me use a strobe with a softbox since the photos were taken at a public zoo. I can see the photos being too cool now since you mentioned it. I'll pay more attention to overall skin tone from now on while in PS

#2 is my least favorite. I also need to work on posing better, but that will come with time

Robin_Usagani said:
The sun is so annoying on 1 that she looks like she is biting a strip of gum in her teeth.

HA! Didn't even notice the "gum" before. I know the sun is annoying in #1, that's the only thing I really don't like about it

shinycard255 · Jan 11, 2013

Patrice said:
Not bad! Last one is the best of the three. The second one (in the field) is a throw away. Shooting in the open with bright sunshine is a challenge without fill flash or reflectors. The shadows are too harsh and the framing is bit wide. Somethings wrong with the shadow on the ground on that one (the second photo), the sun should be casting a shadow to their left.

I agree that the last one is the best. I see what you mean in #2 with the shadow.

CA_ said:
The vignette is really distracting. Less is more with vignetting.

Yup, another thing I learned after this session :wink:

Mully · Jan 11, 2013

Watch the time of day when you do shots like this, open shade, early morning, late afternoon work best. In hot sun it is difficult to make it work as you are always fighting shadows. Don't work too hard when you don't have to.

shinycard255 · Jan 11, 2013

Mully said:
Watch the time of day when you do shots like this, open shade, early morning, late afternoon work best. In hot sun it is difficult to make it work as you are always fighting shadows. Don't work too hard when you don't have to.

Yes, I was struggling with high noon lighting on this shoot. I had told them that the photos will look better in the early morning or late afternoon, but they still chose noon. Should have looked around more for some open shade. At least I know my mistakes and can hopefully fix them come the next portrait shoot I do outdoors.