First attempt at portraits.

[Ratman667]

I went hiking today with my girlfriend. I took one lens, my 50mm f/1.8. I wanted to challenge myself.

I got home and did a quick look though and edit and came up with these two portraits of Melanie.

This first one, the background is a bit blown out, but I am happy with the way her face came out.

On this one, there are three hot spots on her face, but I was able to turn it down a little.

I do realize that the DOF is a bit shallow. I was playing around a bit before these and forgot to set it back.

As we were leaving, I saw a pair of military helicopters flying buy, so I snapped off a few shots. Here is a tight crop of one of said shots.

As always, C&C is appreciated.

 

[LCARSx32]

Not bad for a first attempt!

#1: Looks grainy? What ISO did you have it at? I like the pose and expression; very natural. The lighting is good too.

#2: When I see eyes looking right, I expect to see more image to the right.

#3: is a nice snapshot. :thumbup:

You can use the healing brush tool in photoshop to get rid of some of the glare on her face in #2.

 

[kundalini]

I'm guessing #1 was shot wide open. The 50mm f/1.8 renders a much more pleasing bokeh effect when stopped down to f/4 and beyond.

I have yet to find an 'up the nose' portrait visually pleasing.

Looks more like a helo and a fixed wing to me.

 

[Ratman667]

ISO was 400 on all three photos.

#1 is my personal favorite. I'm not sure why it is grainy. Maybe I can reduce it a bit. I still have all the RAW files.

#2, I will try the healing brush. The crop is to the left because there is a big tree to the right that looked odd. I will post another crop tomorrow.

#3, surprised me with how it came out. I didn't expect the rotor to be stopped that well.

Any tips to make them better next time?

 

[Ratman667]

#1 & 2 EXIF:

ISO 400
F/3.5
1/100th for #1
1/250th for #2

I'm not fond of seeing up her nose either, but it was one of very few that she wasn't blinking. I do have more to edit, but it is getting late and I have to be up in 5 hours.

I'm not sure what type of helicopter it is, but the bird is a seagull. Maybe it was flying escort?

 

[Ratman667]

I am just trying to learn composition and exposure right now. I also need to learn how to get out when the light is still soft.

 

[kundalini]

I am just trying to learn composition

For portrait work, your camera position should be level to slightly higher than eye level. There are three basic mask positions..... 1) Full Face - ears are of equal size, 2) 2/3 mask - both eyes are seen, but nose does not break opposite cheek line and 3) Profile - exactly one half of the face is seen. Also remember that any position you want your subject to be in begins with the feet. If your subject is not balanced and comfortable it will show in your photos.

Full Face

2/3rds

Profile

Hope this helps.

 

[Ratman667]

I appreciate the tip.

 

[Ratman667]

#2: When I see eyes looking right, I expect to see more image to the right.

I haven't gotten around to trying to heal the hot spots on her face, but here is another crop of #2:

#4

The other crop was to get rid of the tree to the right. There was nothing in that direction to add to the image. She was actually rolling her eyes at me.

Here is another I like, minus the tree growing out of her head and me not using a fill flash:

#5

This one too, is a bit grainy, but she wants to print it in B&W, so I will do that and then do some noise reduction. I like my B&W to have a bit of grain.

This one, while not that flattering, I think shows her personality. She was getting impatient with me. Again, she has a tree growing from her head. At least now I know to look for that before actually taking the picture.

#6

And another one for fun. A dead tree!

#7

This one has not been cropped with minor editing. I cloned out a few dust specs and some leaves at the bottom right. I did do a minor exposure adjustment too.

I realize that it is just a touch soft, but I feel that it doesn't take too much from the photo.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

I think her hair looks too green in a lot of these.

 

[Ratman667]

Now that you mention it, I can see it in 5 and 6. What others were you seeing it in?

 

[max3k]

Dont be afraid of a blown out sky, it can be useful sometimes

 

[Taylor510ce]

They all look underexposed to me. Get a flash or atleast use the pop up with flash comp dialed way down to give just a little fill.

 

[Corvphotography]

I am just trying to learn composition

For portrait work, your camera position should be level to slightly higher than eye level. There are three basic mask positions..... 1) Full Face - ears are of equal size, 2) 2/3 mask - both eyes are seen, but nose does not break opposite cheek line and 3) Profile - exactly one half of the face is seen. Also remember that any position you want your subject to be in begins with the feet. If your subject is not balanced and comfortable it will show in your photos.

Full Face

2/3rds

Profile

Hope this helps.

Thanks, this helped me out alot.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

Now that you mention it, I can see it in 5 and 6. What others were you seeing it in?

Slightly in #1