First Portraits

[ajroder]

These are my first attempt at taking any kind of portraits. I've never shot people in any type of controlled situation before, so any C&C is more than welcome.


Marissa by ajroder, on Flickr


Marissa by ajroder, on Flickr


Marissa by ajroder, on Flickr


Marissa Sunset by ajroder, on Flickr

Here's the rest of the set: Marissa - a set on Flickr

Reviewing the photos afterwards, I do wish I had closed down the aperture a tad on a few of the closeups. I managed to focus on the eyes, but the rest of her face falls out of focus a little more than I would have liked.

 

[frommrstomommy]

I think these look pretty darn great, for firsts especially. The first two seem a little underexposed.. the bottom 2 not as much. What was your setup on these? The 3rd looks like flash created some pretty harsh shadows on her face.

 

[Derrel]

Not too bad in terms of exposure. Mixing flash + low-brightness twilight like that is tricky--you did a good job of conveying that late time of day. She's really attractive, so that helps minimize some of the minor flaws.

 

[ajroder]

I think these look pretty darn great, for firsts especially. The first two seem a little underexposed.. the bottom 2 not as much. What was your setup on these? The 3rd looks like flash created some pretty harsh shadows on her face.

Thanks.

I used a cheapo Yongnuo flash through a 43" white shoot-through umbrella. Triggered with Yongnuo wireless flash triggers (manual power). I used 1/4 and 1/2 CTOs on a couple of the shots. Camera was a Canon T2i with the 50mm f/1.8 or the 55-250mm f/4-5.6 (I used the 18-55 for a couple of just for fun shots, but I didn't post any of those on here.)

 

[ronlane]

Agreed with the above c&c but I have a question. On #1, is it just me or is the face a little soft? That could be from the f/2.8.

 

[ajroder]

Agreed with the above c&c but I have a question. On #1, is it just me or is the face a little soft? That could be from the f/2.8.

Yes, but I also did a little negative clarity in LR. I was trying to soften the skin up. Too much?

 

[frommrstomommy]

 

[ronlane]

Agreed with the above c&c but I have a question. On #1, is it just me or is the face a little soft? That could be from the f/2.8.

Yes, but I also did a little negative clarity in LR. I was trying to soften the skin up. Too much?

I don't know if it's too much. My contacts are messing with me this afternoon. I noticed it was at 1/60 of a second, did you have the camera on a tripod?

 

[frommrstomommy]

I think on 1 it was the 2.8 maybe because her eye/forehead looks pretty sharp to me!

 

[ronlane]

I think on 1 it was the 2.8 maybe because her eye/forehead looks pretty sharp to me!

That's what I was thinking. It gets hard when you get to those apertures.

 

[ajroder]

Thanks for the C&C guys!

No tripod. I was trying to bring some of the ambient back in, but I was running out of light fast. I don't have the steadiest hands in the world so that may have been a factor.

I do like that edit quite a bit, frommrstomommy. I may go play with the RAWs some more and try bumping up the exposure on some of the darker shots.

 

[ronlane]

ajroder, it could be the processing, it could be the dof, or it could be camera shake. I don't know the answer, just pointing out the slow shutter and wide aperture has helped me out. Now when I use 2.8 or below or shutter speeds under 1/100, I am reminded that I have to be extra careful to get a good sharp shot.