Feedback please - n00b here

dinamaria · Dec 16, 2012

I got completely ripped a new one a few weeks back when I posted some pictures I took, it was very humbling. But along with some of those comments were some great criticism. Since then I have practiced, watched tutorials, and read and then read some more. I am signed up for a lighting class in January and hope to take a posing class as soon as one comes up. I know I still have a long way to go but would love your input on the following two pictures.

I used a d90 with a 50mm & 85mm respectively. No flash, no reflectors, and only natural lighting. Overcast with no sun visible.

What I think is wrong with group shot:
1)I should have had the F stop opened up more to capture some blues in the sky (very cloudy day)?
2)I should have used manual ISO to help with noise reduction?

What I think is wrong with the portrait:
1) Over exposed?
2) Should have used a lower f-stop to blur the background?
3) Should have used a reflector or a flash and lowered the exposer?

What are some other steps I should have taken to make these photos better? I did not have permission to setup any lighting equipment, but I do own an SB600 and a reflector. Should I have made better use of them? Would using a silver reflector help with the single portrait? How do artist get a 3D feel when you are not permitted to set up your lighting equipment? My guess is making better use of the reflector, but felt I should ask. Thank you for your feedback.

Bitter Jeweler · Dec 16, 2012

Is that a Galaxy Note in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

dinamaria · Dec 16, 2012

Bitter Jeweler said:
Is that a Galaxy Note in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

Lol, I did not even notice that until you said something. Very funny.

frommrstomommy · Dec 16, 2012

1st image I'd prefer if they were sharper, the background less in focus.. and no questionable pocket happiness. lol The 2nd image I think would be worlds better if those people weren't partially in the background as they are. I think I get why they are there and what you may have been going for, but I personally don't care for them in the back.

Derrel · Dec 16, 2012

View attachment 28779
On this B&W of the trio, I think the posing of the group is good. It looks "real". Having one on each rail, and the other on the ties is a nice way to add some variation AND to really,really,really bring home the "rails" location! My main issue is the inclusion of the silos/fuel tanks/ in the background on the right...being LIGHT, they are very,very strong "pulls", visually, and that is not good. Framing so as to avoid those silos/tanks in the back would have really solidified this. This looks like a band promo shot.

View attachment 28780 This second shot shows a lot of promise. GOOD LIGHT that you found!!! What I absolutely do not like though is the seated girl in the background, nor do I like the shoe, pant leg, and hand-in-pocket of the guy with the red T-shirt...those things are terribly distracting elements.

I dunno...overall, these two photos seem to show me that you are actually "trying"...these look like PLANNED OUT shots....maybe not with the highest level of execution, but still, there is a "quality", a "something", that comes through. These have the look of deliberate attempts at fine photography. All I can tell you is that if the backgrounds had been handled just a little bit better, these would look VERY polished, as if they had been made by a skilled shooter.

SCraig · Dec 16, 2012

You have a D90 which has a built-in Commander mode. You have a SB-600 which will work with a CLS-enabled camera. Put the D90 in Commander mode and the SB-600 in slave mode. Put a diffuser or a few layers of tissue paper over the front of the SB-600. Hand the SB-600 to the guy in the red shirt with his hand in his pocket in the background and tell him to stand about 6' to your left and point the flash at the subject. Two problems solved at once.

dinamaria · Dec 16, 2012

Derrel said:
View attachment 28779
On this B&W of the trio, I think the posing of the group is good. It looks "real". Having one on each rail, and the other on the ties is a nice way to add some variation AND to really,really,really bring home the "rails" location! My main issue is the inclusion of the silos/fuel tanks/ in the background on the right...being LIGHT, they are very,very strong "pulls", visually, and that is not good. Framing so as to avoid those silos/tanks in the back would have really solidified this. This looks like a band promo shot.

View attachment 28780 This second shot shows a lot of promise. GOOD LIGHT that you found!!! What I absolutely do not like though is the seated girl in the background, nor do I like the shoe, pant leg, and hand-in-pocket of the guy with the red T-shirt...those things are terribly distracting elements.

I dunno...overall, these two photos seem to show me that you are actually "trying"...these look like PLANNED OUT shots....maybe not with the highest level of execution, but still, there is a "quality", a "something", that comes through. These have the look of deliberate attempts at fine photography. All I can tell you is that if the backgrounds had been handled just a little bit better, these would look VERY polished, as if they had been made by a skilled shooter.

Thank you for the tips. I will be mindful of my background. This is a friend's band and they wanted some band photos but one of the guys did not show up, so we ended up using this a practice session for me. It was great practice. Biggest thing was trying to get them to not smoke in every picture, otherwise they took direction really well.

dinamaria · Dec 16, 2012

SCraig said:
You have a D90 which has a built-in Commander mode. You have a SB-600 which will work with a CLS-enabled camera. Put the D90 in Commander mode and the SB-600 in slave mode. Put a diffuser or a few layers of tissue paper over the front of the SB-600. Hand the SB-600 to the guy in the red shirt with his hand in his pocket in the background and tell him to stand about 6' to your left and point the flash at the subject. Two problems solved at once.

That is a great tip, thank you. I will practice doing some single light setup like this.

dinamaria · Dec 16, 2012

frommrstomommy said:
1st image I'd prefer if they were sharper, the background less in focus.. and no questionable pocket happiness. lol The 2nd image I think would be worlds better if those people weren't partially in the background as they are. I think I get why they are there and what you may have been going for, but I personally don't care for them in the back.

lol, yes I will definitely do a pocket check before a shoot next shoot I do.

For the second shot, I did the girl appearing in several of my shot during the shoot and ended up having to asked her to move a few times in later shots.

The_Traveler · Dec 16, 2012

the portrait is way OOF

ManualMode · Dec 17, 2012

dinamaria said:
View attachment 28780

It might be all the whiskey I drank this weekend, but I think the whole image is tilting slightly to the right.
His face is quite captivating, even if it is OOF - but in a picture like this, where the face so clearly draws your eyes in.. I wish it just didn't draw my eyes so high up in the frame.. my eyes are not comfortable because the features they're focused on are too close to the edge.. hope that makes sense..

dinamaria · Dec 17, 2012

I think so. I did crop the picture to try and get rid of some more background distractions and I swear my left leg is shorter than my right, but that platform is actually not level. I did figure out why the face is OOF and have since fixed my setting in my camera.

DiskoJoe · Dec 17, 2012

^^^

He could have moved a little bit. it happens. Yeah the portrait has too much in the background. As for the band photo, would have been better if they were standing still. As for metering for the sky, I dont think you lost much lost here.

nycphotography · Dec 17, 2012

SCraig said:
You have a D90 which has a built-in Commander mode. You have a SB-600 which will work with a CLS-enabled camera. Put the D90 in Commander mode and the SB-600 in slave mode. Put a diffuser or a few layers of tissue paper over the front of the SB-600. Hand the SB-600 to the guy in the red shirt with his hand in his pocket in the background and tell him to stand about 6' to your left and point the flash at the subject. Two problems solved at once.

I dunno, while learning the remote flash is definitely a good thing... I also LIKE the light she found on the porch. Where she fell short is in controlling the set, using the widest aperture to separate from the background, and nailing the focus on the eyes. Of course, the wider the aperture, it gets even harder to nail the focus.

You could selectively mask and darken and blur the background in post... but with the stray sheeple back there, it's not worth it.

Reshoot it... but there is definite promise here. Wanna know why?

Because (apparently, I didn't see it) you (the op) got ripped. But instead of fight back, make excuses, or try to salvage your ego, you instead actually listened and tried to learn from it and overcome the limitations. Good work!

Now rinse and repeat ;-)

nycphotography · Dec 17, 2012

dinamaria said:
View attachment 28779

for the rail shot.... I LIKE that they're moving... the act of walking breaks their "mental block of awkward posing" and makes them act natural.

I would have put the plaid against the trees and the solid against the sky. try to avoid the tower, as has been noted. And notice the micro details of wardrobe and props (phone in pocket, etc). And if they were farther ahead of the bush on the left you could have blurred it more into the background as well.

Shoot wide open to blur the background. And THIS is where I would like to see the speedlight used to bring them up ONE or TWO STOPS ONLY, being careful to keep the flash off the foreground or the bushes to the left. That would darken the sky and the rest of the composition. If you have the raw, and you know how to work in layers, you can do it in PS, but it's a pain. You can also clone in some moody cloudy sky, replacing the tower in the process and building on the grunge look. Or if this is a promo, they can pay someone for post who can do that work on your direction, as the rail shot can be saved / finished.