First Day with my DSLR - Senior Pictures - C&C please!

[joealcantar]

Looks like you have your camera set on MATRIX metering that takes into account the entire scene, so it picks the best setting for the entire scene instead of singling out the subject. Try setting it to SPOT metering and shooting on aperature priority so you can control the Depth fo Field. Try the same scene with different aperatures and see how it differs and go from there. You have a great subject so practice on her.
Get yourself a reflector , throw her in the shade or partial shade and let the backlight hit her and have your wife gently feather the light (light hitting the edge of the reflector) onto her face and gently light her. Keep it simple.
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You asked about software to use , well you have a few trial versions of NX2 with your camera I'm sure, if not download it and try it out. It is made by NikSoftware and owned by Nikon. Works fine, as you progress you can step into Lightroom or photoshop. I'm hearing things about GIMP but have no experience with that.
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Shoot well and thanks for sharing, Joe

 

[KmH]

What photo editing programs do you suggest?

Work on getting closer to getting them right in the camera, before resorting to photo editing.

If you are shooting JPEG's, they don't have very much editing headroom. If they are made close to right in the camera, a JPEG can be tweaked a little bit. If they are far from right in the camera any editing will usually cause more problems (posterization, banding, moire) than the editing solves.

You didn't number the group you posted, but some of them aren't really usable, like the one where she is back lit and almost just a silhouette (needed fill lighting), and the ones made in dappled sunlight (a portrait no-no).

 

[sbakewell0508]

i have heard and read about shooting into the sun, is that you UNDEREXPOSE the background and then use flash to over power the sun..have flash on the right side..opposite sun) if no flash a reflector would help on the right side... there are some inexpensive ones everywhere... but you can also make your own with aluminum foil and a piece of cardboard... it would bounce some much needed light onto her face. I am not an expert and I am learning just as everyone else is.. but these are things that I have read over and over again...

as someone mentioned your fstop is to small and i am going to say that your shutter speed was to slow probably to.. 30seconds is usually the min for handheld. (just read that the rule of thumb is that try and shoot at the same mm as your lens so if you lens is 50mm have your shutter speed above 50mm)..

pose wise, you have a beautiful model! #1, angle her head more towards the camera, and put the back arm behind her head.. shoot more above her than to the side.

thats just my two cents...

 

[Blake.Oney]

Shooting against the sun like that you could have probably used the on camera flash to help with fill flash. Most cameras will let you turn the on cam flash to manual so you can work with it. I doubt you would have gotten hard shadows behind her with it, and while it wouldn't have been the best lighting, it would have helped with the exposure. That, or just don't shoot with the sun behind your model.

 

[myjestik]

i know you can tell which ones, but most of them are way too dark. it needs more of a contrast. i can barely see the face of the model.

 

[Village Idiot]

Please send the poor girl to a professional for senior portraits. Or at least some one that's doing it for a hobby that knows what they're doing. Check local photography boards and clubs and find something. Don't send her off with those photos. They all need a lot of work and it's not something that I would give any of my clients to take home with them. It's not even something I'd give my worst enemy because I wouldn't want to bad press.

 

[KmH]

As for the massive over-exposure in the sky and various other places,
it's due to the fact you took the pictures when the sun was high in the sky.
I would suggest a Neutral Density filter, to help with that.

The height of the sun in the sky really wasn't the problem. A camera doesn't see like we do. The scene had more dynamic range than the image sensor could capture.

A Neutral Density (ND) filter is not a viable solution to the problem. because a ND filter just makes the entire scene darker, not just the sky. You could use a Graduated ND (GND) for a landscape to make the sky darker, but if you used one for this portrait part of her head would be in the filtered part of the frame.

For portraits of backlit subjects, using strobed fill light lets you set the exposure of the sky (ambient light) separately from the strobed light exposure, all with a single shutter release.

 

[Superfitz]

Sent you a private message

 

[McCoy]

Thanks for all the replies. These were just some we were shooting for fun. I'm still trying to learn, and appreciate all the advice.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

As for the massive over-exposure in the sky and various other places,
it's due to the fact you took the pictures when the sun was high in the sky.
I would suggest a Neutral Density filter, to help with that.

OMG! Stop giving advice until you know how to use the tools and when they are appropriate!

An ND filter is not going to solve the problems in all these images. Supplemental light will.

 

[Village Idiot]

As for the massive over-exposure in the sky and various other places,
it's due to the fact you took the pictures when the sun was high in the sky.
I would suggest a Neutral Density filter, to help with that.

OMG! Stop giving advice until you know how to use the tools and when they are appropriate!

An ND filter is not going to solve the problems in all these images. Supplemental light will.

Sure it will. An ND filter an 1000w/s+ of light.

 

[Geaux]

As for the massive over-exposure in the sky and various other places,
it's due to the fact you took the pictures when the sun was high in the sky.
I would suggest a Neutral Density filter, to help with that.

OMG! Stop giving advice until you know how to use the tools and when they are appropriate!


An ND filter is not going to solve the problems in all these images. Supplemental light will.

Pretty much my exact thoughts whenever reading his CC on any thread :smh: Thank you, Bitter.

 

[KmH]

Thanks for all the replies. These were just some we were shooting for fun. I'm still trying to learn, and appreciate all the advice.

Here is some more info that may be helpful to you: http://photojoes.org/art167/lesson04/chapter05.html

 

[McCoy]

Thanks for all the replies. These were just some we were shooting for fun. I'm still trying to learn, and appreciate all the advice.

Here is some more info that may be helpful to you: http://photojoes.org/art167/lesson04/chapter05.html

Thanks, that was a good read and helped me a lot!

 

[jwbryson1]

In # 2, she also has a bush growing out of her head :-/

Nothing some bush-trimmers (or an axe) can't fix!

I read about 1/2 of this thread and it struck me like a ton of bricks that in my opinion you are making this entirely too complicated. Forget photo editing software, forget post production, forget lightening the dark areas and learn to use your camera well first, then later on when you get better and are able to discuss the various features of your camera (aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, program mode, automatic mode, etc.), THEN maybe you can start messing around with software. Learn to shoot good photos to begin with and leave all the editing behind.

I agree that the first 8 shots are not well posed or have poorly chosen aperture, etc. There are a lot of distracting background images that take away from the central image--the model. If you are shooting outdoors in the middle of the day, and it's not completely overcast skies, you MUST shoot with a flash or you'll give overexposed skies, and underexposed models. Google "fill flash" and learn what it is and how to avoid it. (You avoid it by shooting outdoors with a flash). Also, don't shoot these images in the middle of the day---the light outdoors is way too harsh. Shoot these images the last 1 or 2 hours before sunset or right before sunrise. You get the best light then which will complement the model's skin tones. Don't crank up the saturation on the camera either--it makes skin tones look cartoonish.

I hope this helps. Learn to use the camera first. DSLRs are so good these days that you should be shooting on fully automatic (P or Automatic modes) until you learn to use them well.

You should pick up a copy of Bryan Peterson's book Understanding Exposure. It's inexpensive and a terrific way to learn. Also, try reading Ken Rockwell's website for a TON of invaluable FREE information which will make your images better and more fun to shoot. KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures