First shots with new camera, C&C

[gregtallica]

Finally making the brave step to have you guys rip apart, I mean C&C some of my first photos with my D7000. I wanted to try some different looks, editing ideas, try to find my niche with this thing.


I asked my brother and his pregnant girlfriend if I could attempt some portraits of them, see what I could do. This is my first "real" attempt at getting a portrait, as opposed to a "photo of someone," if that makes sense...

I am using a D7000, Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6, and editing using LR 3.6. Most I shot in raw, some in JPEG. RAW > anything else.

1.



2.


I wish I could get rid of the gross chunk of grass next to his head, I did not notice that when I was trying to compose this shot.

3.


I realize now, that while I like this pose, it makes her look so much bigger than him. Kind of a weird one.


4.


Maybe this one is a bit over edited.



These last two are working on my chops. Composing, focusing, trying make things look interesting, working on editing.

5.



6.





tips, thoughts, help is definitely appreciated. Thanks in advance :thumbup:

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

1. Nice; I think it's a hair bright & contrasty (is your monitor calibrated?), but that's easily fixed. The two things that bother me are the cropped toes in the foreground and elbow image right and the fact that he's looking away; this could have been a nice, intimate portrait with just a little more direction to them on where to look.

2. Not bad; I think a little selective brightening of the faces and eyes would help. Watch your metering and consider using fill flash for shots like this. Your snow is rather more grey than whtie. The snow is easily cloned away. If you don't have Photoshop, PSE, or PSP, download The Gimp - free and very full-featured.

3. This one is a neat pose, but it needs more room image left and foreground. Your bother has a good expression, but his girl-friend doesn't look overly pleased.

4. A bit over-done for my tastes, yes. I would suggest cropping away most of the empty space image left. It adds nothing to the composition.

5, 6. ....

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[gregtallica]

Tried a quick crop on #4, didn't mess with the settings at all, probably would look a little more pleasing with less PP on it.





edit: Also, I'm going to read up on calibrating my monitor. I have not done that.

 

[ThrowbacK]

I'm a beginner as well and to me they all look very neat.