First Senior Portrait shoot.

[BmDubb]

I told my sister I would shoot her senior portraits for her. So, we had a beautiful fall day today, and went to a local lake. Here are some of the shots. She was super happy with them. I have to say for my first actual shoot, I was happy with the result.

CC WELCOME!

 

[bigmike]

These are all very nice and your model seems to be at ease with herself. I wonder what would happen it you used tighter cropping on some of these. (personal thing, I like portraits without a lot of background.)

 

[milo_d]

These are all very nice and your model seems to be at ease with herself. I wonder what would happen it you used tighter cropping on some of these. (personal thing, I like portraits without a lot of background.)

bigmike is right...there tends to be a bit to much background but that depends on what you prefere... my observation wolud be regarding the position of the sun... when shooting outside first you have to look where the sun is... for example the last one you had the sun on your left so you got a cloudy face and a shiny back... a good photo regarding sunlight is 5... but her pose is ... it makes her feet log big and her face look small... here is something that might help
How to Direct Models During Portrait Shoots
6 Tips for Perfect Composition in Portrait Photography
good luck

 

[photobymike]

1. Well the first one seems a little distracting with the wooden hand rail in the picture, you can see the model is using it so maybe next time crop it out or change your point of view and use more of it, plus there is a distracting silver shine in the forest area that you might want to edit out. 2.second one is kind of cool cause it's a little different, you don't normally see an angle like that for a swing, the only thing I think could have been better is to have her looking up. She is on a swing and swings are fun but she is looking down and sad. 3.this pic is kind of at a bad angle cause it looks like she's laughing at the tree and I'm not sure what she's sitting on but it looks a little funny the way she's sitting. 4. There is bad lighting on the left side of her face because of where the sun is maybe some flash would help. Plus It's kind of not that interesting of a photo. 5.She seems a little to bright, plus that rock thing that she's sitting on does not look that nice, so maybe changing your angle a little bit or getting a tighter shot would eliminate some of it. 6.I think I like this one the best cause she's looking at the camera and smiling. Maybe just crop it a little tighter. Overall I do like the color of the pictures. They came out real nice, you did a pretty good job for a first time portrait shoot

 

[bigtwinky]

1- I find her face to be a bit underexposed. Might of also liked to see her turned towards the picture instead of away. Looks more like a vacation snapshot than a photo for a senior

2- Great composition and location choice. I like the light in her face. I really don't like her expression, she looks depressed. Also, watch out for stray limbs and cutting off fingers.

3- Would of been a much nicer image if she had that smile looking at the camera. I don't like her looking away like that. The picture should try and give the viewer a connection, which is hard to do when the person is smiling and looking away.
"look, something funny over there, but you dont see it"

4- Nice location and decent composition. I'd watch how you place her and the angle you shoot at to make sure there is good seperation between her and the background. AGain, having her look at the camera would of been nice, specially with a smile

 

[BmDubb]

Thanks for the CC guys, I appreciate it.. Here are a couple more

 

[milo_d]

i think you sholud also go closer to her have you read the post from the links i have given you? in the second one i m kind of inclined to look on the far right at that tree and the sky and the chromatic harmony betwenn the sky the tree and the autumn collors ...i think you should aplly a blur o something ...

 

[BmDubb]

The sky sho is purdy.... lol

 

[fiveoboy01]

1 - Way too much deadspace. Subject is underexposed.

2 - Subject is facing into the sun causing harsh shadows, again too much dead space. Might have been better off having her sit on the bench facing the other way.

3 - Don't care for the pose, hovever you do have her in open shade which is good, maybe SLIGHTLY underexposed.

4 - Dead space is too much. Wagon wheel growing out of her head. Facing into the sun too much causing harsh shadows on the face.

5 - This one subject looks slightly overexposed, too much dead space. She's facing into the sun but you did do it in a way that reduces harsh shadows across her face. Did you use a flash for this one? I'm guessing not but just wondering, the background looks exposed properly so I'm wondering if a flash washed out your subject a bit.

6 - This one is the best IMO of your group, sun at her back... I'd like to see her face turned towards the camera just a tad. Need to get in tighter.

A common theme with these is too much dead space around the subject. I do the same thing at times, just have to remember that you're shooting portraits and not landscapes. I think that there are times that a lot of dead space can work but this isn't one of them.

 

[BmDubb]

Thanks fiveoboy... Yeah Im new to this lol... But Im learning.. What you recommend for less " dead space ".. getting closer? cropping?

 

[milo_d]

the fact remains that you are trying to present your sister ... therefore shoot her ... don't try do make her just a silhouette ... a witness to the landscape... good luck

 

[fiveoboy01]

Thanks fiveoboy... Yeah Im new to this lol... But Im learning.. What you recommend for less " dead space ".. getting closer? cropping?

One or both.

A good focal length range for your camera to prevent weird looking distortion on a subject's face is 85-150mm or so. Try to use that focal range and get closer/further away from the subject as needed. You can also crop off some, but cropping too much will result in crummy looking prints.

 

[tsaraleksi]

You REALLY need to be aware of how you're using wide angle lenses and how you're framing your subject. If you use a WA lens and get close, you distort body parts and make them look totally out-of-proportion. Looking at number 5, it's a terribly unflattering shot because you made her legs look vastly bigger than they really are.