First Real Attempt At Portraits and Posing

[mrs.hankIII]

My lovely sister agreed to be my guinea pig. I've never really posed people before, so that needs some work for sure.

This is a new lens, and I just received my DSLR a year ago, so yep. Pretty big newbie here. I can take criticism, so please let me know what I need to do differently. My white balance is off I think, still dabbling with editing as well. It was an honest try at least!

Taken with my Canon 85mm f/1.8 prime. Iso 100, f/1.8 and 1/1250. Not sure why I had my shutter speed so fast.

 

[mrs.hankIII]

I think the first is definitely the best of the 2. If I could change the second one, I would brighten her up a little as she now seems to just be there, not really stick out. Lighting could have been better.

 

[tirediron]

Agree; she's definitely a bit under-exposed in #2, and TBH, the background is a bit busy. That said, you've made very good use of DoF and the focus looks spot-on, and the lighting in #1 is quite pleasing, though a happer expression wouldn't have gone amiss.

 

[fjrabon]

#1 is fine, though I would have tried to get a bit more expression in her face and get her right eye (camera left) to open up a bit more.

#2, you almost never want the subject to be darker than the background in traditional portrait photography (there are exceptions to this "rule" obviously, but it is a rule of thumb for a reason). She's also pretty cold (blueish) since she's in shadow and the auto white balance took the sunlight in the background into account. The pose in #2 also isn't very flattering for her body type. It compresses her midsection, shortens her legs, and puts her arm closest to the camera, making it appear bigger. All unflattering for her body type. There's also a fence post coming out of her head.

 

[mrs.hankIII]

Right. I wasn't a big fan of 2, but did post what I thought was the best and the worst of what I did. And #2 was the worst in my eyes for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned.

Thank you.

I did try to get expression on her face for the first 1. Hah, definitely no easy feat and something I need to figure out!

 

[mrs.hankIII]

Tips on engaging the subject? I'm not a people person, so that is a daunting task for me!

 

[fjrabon]

Right. I wasn't a big fan of 2, but did post what I thought was the best and the worst of what I did. And #2 was the worst in my eyes for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned.

Thank you.

I did try to get expression on her face for the first 1. Hah, definitely no easy feat and something I need to figure out!

I think where a lot of photographers mess up is they really push places that the subject isn't comfortable. She seems to be uncomfortable with her smile. A lot of subjects aren't. Where some photographers mess up is with the "c'mon give me a smile..." line. That only makes them more self conscious about it. You have to go at it obliquely. Talk to them, not about photography. Just have a conversation with them and photograph that conversation. Tailor the conversation to the story you want the expressions to tell.

 

[fjrabon]

The class that helped my portraiture photography the most wasn't on CreativeLive, it was a standup comedy class. And not even for the jokes, but more for the lessons in engaging attention and keeping it, managing their emotions and feelings with an arc that you control. Ironically, I'm completely serious about this. If you can engage the subject, keep the engagement and then control the arc of the engagement to such a degree that they forget that you're even photographing them, then you win.

 

[mrs.hankIII]

Awesome, thanks for that! I'm a quiet person by nature, so it's really a step out of MY comfort zone to engage people. Heck, that woman is my sister and I still failed. I do have some of her smiling, but that's because I threatened to make her walk home to Illinois from Missouri if she didn't.

The learning of technique will be easier for me, than learning to engage the subject. So I think that's going to be my biggest downfall.

I have a maternity (practice shoot) lined up Monday. Will definitely try harder!

Thank you.

 

[mrs.hankIII]

I keep thinking back to the last professional shoot I had done of myself and my family, and that photographer was AWESOME! You can see the difference from first photo to last photo of how comfortable we are. Tense in the first few, and totally relaxed and comfortable by the last half.

Will mentoring someone help, do you think?

 

[JustJazzie]

If you haven't already, look up sue Bryce on YouTube. Especially her "posing for all body types " videos. It's super helpful!

Good luck on your maternity shoot!

 

[fjrabon]

I keep thinking back to the last professional shoot I had done of myself and my family, and that photographer was AWESOME! You can see the difference from first photo to last photo of how comfortable we are. Tense in the first few, and totally relaxed and comfortable by the last half.

Will mentoring someone help, do you think?

Sure, it will help. It's something you can get better at, but it is certainly extremely HARD. People think of photography and think the technical aspects are hard. I think it's the opposite. The technical aspects are easy. it's the non-technical bits that can be the most challenging: engaging your client in portraiture; find a meaningful message in random people in street; arranging objects found in nature in a way that people find interesting, merely by shifting your vantage point in landscape; catching just the right moment via anticipation in sports, etc.

 

[Chrispyphotos]

I'm no editing master, but here was my go at it. My suggestion, learn some photoshop basics at least.

Untitled-1 by christopherpphotography, on Flickr

Photo by OP

 

[Braineack]

that 2nd shot is screaming for a speedlight.

 

[KmH]

Yep. At least 1 speedlight, and a good size modifier.
The best way to insure good light quality and direction is to bring your own.

Once you understand how to light a subject with supplemental lighting, THEN you can start thinking about ways to use available light to light a subject without compromising light quality and direction.