First Portrait Section

[shingfan]

First Portrait Section with families......please comment to help me make my skills better.....free feel to edit as well....cheers

complete set on flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47091458@N00/sets/72157594546206763/

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

 

[Christie Photo]

Congratulations!

By the way... the correct English word is "session" rather than "section."

The color views are both strong enough to stand without adding the cute effects, but I do find the bubble treatment fascinating.

In the first image, I think you might have come up with some better expressions. That will come with time. The smiles looked a little forced. I find the lighting to be very nice, but wish the catch-lights were a bit brighter. Maybe you can do a bit of PS work there.

The second view: Good job with the pose! A bit of retouching to soften the shadows under Dad's eyes.

Third view: Nice! I can see a bit of shadow on the background... maybe some work there.

Pete

 

[Big Mike]

The lighting and exposure looks good. The effects are neat...but I think it's a little too much...but some people like that sort of stuff.

The 2nd one looks a little soft, it may be a focus issue. Sharpening may help a bit.

 

[elsaspet]

Please don't change one thing about the first one. It's absolutely fun!!!!!

 

[karissa]

I really like the effect on the second picture. Great smile! I agree it does look soft however.

 

[shingfan]

#1: Christie....what is catch-light?....i'm new to photography and dont know much about the terms......yes....the similes were forced.....because they were not willing to pose for me.......but their parents forced them....lol

#2: how do you lighten the shadow of the eye?....what tool is best for the job?...also....i'm very green using photoshop......the original image iw quite sharp....i use soft focus effect on the pic....(is soft focus the right term?)

#3: Yes.....i guess i should remove the shadow.....

in general.....do you guys like soft focus or sharp focus?......i'll try to post up more for comments.....thx for the good comments and support

 

[Big Mike]

Catch light is the reflection of the lights in the subjects eyes...usually just a little bright spot in the pupil. It's usually nice to see bright catch-lights, it make their eyes look 'alive'.

You can lighten or darken with the 'burn and dodge' tools in photoshop. These are the same terms used for darkroom techniques that have been used for many decades. A Google search should turn up plenty of how to info.

I usually prefer a sharp shot, or at least I want some things to be sharp...like the eyes.

 

[shingfan]

how do you make the eyes look brighter...what technique do you use?

i only have one reflector and one light

 

[Christie Photo]

#2: how do you lighten the shadow of the eye?....what tool is best for the job?

I use the healing brush and then fade the effect until I see a natural look.

I hope this helps.

Pete

 

[Digital Matt]

Shingfan, I'm coming to this thread from your other one about exposure.

I don't see anything in these photos to indicate that you have a problem with exposure. I guess whatever you are doing is working. Are you using an off camera flash for all of these, or is there some usage of window light? Apart from what's been said, I think keeping the background simple and without clutter works best in these.

 

[shingfan]

Shingfan, I'm coming to this thread from your other one about exposure.

I don't see anything in these photos to indicate that you have a problem with exposure. I guess whatever you are doing is working. Are you using an off camera flash for all of these, or is there some usage of window light? Apart from what's been said, I think keeping the background simple and without clutter works best in these.

thanks for spending the time to check the photos....these were taken with my limited resources....a SB600 off the camera and a reflector.....no window light (those were taken at night in the living room)....mainly using bounced flash and reflector to fill the shadows......

 

[Digital Matt]

Well done then. You can expand your possibilities by getting another flash to use as a slave. You can use this to light the background, or rim light the subjects.

 

[shingfan]

Well done then. You can expand your possibilities by getting another flash to use as a slave. You can use this to light the background, or rim light the subjects.

yes....i was running into trouble lighting the background (the background could be whiter with more flash on it) limited to only one light >_<......lucky the result isnt so bad

what does it mean by rim lighting the subjects?

what would be a good flash to get?....and how much more powerful is it compare to the SB600? i just like to get a feeling of what i'm lacking with my limited resources......also how do i trigger it?

 

[Digital Matt]

Rim lighting is lighting the subject from behind, usually from one side, or both, to provide some separation from the background and some highlights. You could also use another light as a hair light for a nice highlight on the hair.

I'm not familiar with Nikon equipment, so I don't know what to tell you to buy. If you are serious about doing portraits, you should look at getting some monolights and a flash meter. Photography is expensive

 

[shingfan]

Rim lighting is lighting the subject from behind, usually from one side, or both, to provide some separation from the background and some highlights. You could also use another light as a hair light for a nice highlight on the hair.

I'm not familiar with Nikon equipment, so I don't know what to tell you to buy. If you are serious about doing portraits, you should look at getting some monolights and a flash meter. Photography is expensive

yes....photography is $$$.....and i'm building my equipment library slowly....dont want to do it all at once and regret later on that i spend too much money into something i dont use (which i did very often in my other hobbies....lol )......

is a flash meter different from a light meter?

is monolight light different from regular strobe?