First Real Senior Portrait Session.

TheCameraLady · Apr 28, 2013

They are all pretty much SOOC and I would love some C&C.
It was reaally hot and humid and sprinkling on us. (Gotta love Texas Weather!) But she said yesterday was the only day she could shoot. So we did it.
Since all my gear was stolen I had to rent a D90 and 18-105, instead of my D5100 and 50mm
This site won't let me upload my pictures so I created a tumblr so here is the link. Click to enlarge please.

Links

The_Traveler · Apr 28, 2013

These look over-saturated - perhaps due to a vivid setting in your camera.
There is no pose, she is flat facing the camera, not the most flattering way to present anyone.
She looks startled as opposed to virtually any other expression and there is no surrounding content except some fields and the sky.

I would suggest several things:

redo these with a longer focal length
put her in a setting rather than silhouetted against distant fields and sky
read a bit about poses
and learn how to upload photos to this site or to hot-link so they open here.

TheCameraLady · Apr 28, 2013

Thank you! Luckily she is a friend and were looking to shoot more Monday after school in the theater. She insisted on that park with no props :/
I wanted to do stuff on the ground but it had been raining so it was wet.

The_Traveler · Apr 28, 2013

Although the EXIF show no flash, the image looks as if there was indeed a flash from camera left or else the light was incredibly flat.
All of the attractive little micro-shadows that give a face life and texture are gone.
We need to get those back.
It looks like you were shooting at close to max aperture for that camera, I would close another stop or two to get into the better resolution area of that lens, then move back some and use a longer focal length which will produce a much more pleasing result. She has a full face, note how much more pleasing the shot was when she was at an angle to the camera. That angle provides dimensionality.

My granddaughter, who is a college student in Paris (yes, a really tough break considering she lives in San Francisco) has the same kind of full-face. A pose with some kind of angularity adds interest and charm. This was a snapshot somewhere near her school, taken in a misty rain on a cold morning in October - great for color yet enough light for good resolution

TheCameraLady · Apr 28, 2013

I was using a silver reflector. I spent all this time reading about poses and then when it was actually game time I choked. I'll definitely take these into account next time I shoot. I had a lot of trouble getting full body shots I felt like all of the ones I take the subject gets lost in the background. Or just the composition looked awkward.

The_Traveler · Apr 28, 2013

I know there is the pressure to look professiona and make it happen but take your time
Relax

Shots are free (it's not like film days when each shot in color was 25 cents minimum)
You're not paying her by the hour.
If she's in a rush, it's her loss.

She's getting this for nothing.

You will get better with every shot.

LShooter · Apr 28, 2013

TheCameraLady said:
I was using a silver reflector. I spent all this time reading about poses and then when it was actually game time I choked. I'll definitely take these into account next time I shoot. I had a lot of trouble getting full body shots I felt like all of the ones I take the subject gets lost in the background. Or just the composition looked awkward.

Don't stress. Photography is suppose to be fun. You are in charge of the shoot, remember that. Take your time. If you don't want your subject lost in the background, choose a fitting background for the photo. Sometimes backgrounds can go with the personality or dress of the person, or even better in my book, put them in a place that makes no sense. Juxstaposition is what its called; like a baby in a garbage dump or ballarina near an old rustly building, etc.

MK3Brent · Apr 28, 2013

Good exposure, framing makes her look wide.
Maybe some more space including the background, and vertical orientation for a person like that.

tirediron · Apr 28, 2013

TheCameraLady said:
They are all pretty much SOOC

Arrghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of all the things I see posted on here, NONE drive me more bat-s**t crazy than this one! Rule #1: We do NOT show ANYONE anything except the final product. Seriously. Given the conditions, you're work isn't bad at all; I'm not fussed about the facial expressions, and I wish you'd shot vertical (people are tall and thin, orient the camera 'tall and thin'), but the exposure is decent, etc. Some great advice from Lew on improvements, but posting images "SOOC" is like taking an un-baked cake to a cooking contest. Sure, it might be the greatest cake in the world, but because it's not finished we don't know that, and no one's going to eat raw cake to find out!

TheCameraLady · Apr 28, 2013

I'm sorry! Most of my stuff is straight out of camera except maybe cropping in a little tighter (which I did) I'm not the best in photoshop. I meant SOOC as in I didn't add brightness or shadows. I need to not throw that around or I should have left it out. Sorry!

tirediron · Apr 28, 2013

Don't be 'sorry'! I am serious though when I say that you shouldn't show your unfinished work; it's one thing if you post a photo here that's in processing and ask a question about it; we're all photographers, we understand, your clients aren't. They assume what they see is what they get, so always make sure your images are ready for viewing before they're viewed. Think about this: Would you come downstairs to meet a great new guy who's taking you out for the first time with only half your make-up on?

TheCameraLady · Apr 28, 2013

True! and no one can find that link unless I give it to them. Off to watch/read more posing articles!

Rafterman · Apr 28, 2013

I highly recommend you pick up this book: Digital Portrait Photography: Art, Business & Style (A Lark Photography Book): Steve Sint: 9781600593352: Amazon.com: Books

It's only $12, and LOADED with great info about portrait photography. I'm talking 200+ large, easy-to-understand pages loaded with full-color images and examples. The equipment section is a bit outdated because the last copyright date was 2009, but the advice about everything else is sound.

Since Amazon doesn't let you have a look inside the book at all, I'll list the chapter titles from my copy: