I'm a Wee Beginner, Don't Be Too Mean :-)

[CJCarpenter]

I'm such the amateur photographer, I can't stress that enough. I do want to learn and try to improve. I don't need to be told how horrific my photographs are as I can clearly tell that for myself, but any constructive criticism if there is any would be greatly appreciated. Portraiture photography is what I am wanted to focus on learning, so here are some examples of the work I've done... again, I'm not very good at posing people and figuring out light and all that... I have no experience after all.

....

...eeek.... questions? ... comments? ... concerns? ... all of the above?

 

[suki]

I think overall you've got the right idea but just need to work on the lighting/shadow part of it. I haven't ventured into that whole realm just yet, so I have no idea on how to tell you to correct it for outdoor shots. I have heard that you can use your flash to minimize it, however I tried it once and it didn't look that great!

 

[turnbeaugh5]

You need to use fill flash to take away the shadows on their faces, especially on number 1 and 3. Also, on number 2, the focus seems to be on the tree instead of her, making her a little soft.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Your biggest concern over 1 & 3 should be the rather harsh lighting. Bright sunlight and the deep shadows it creates don't generally make for good portrait lighting. You'll achieve better results on an overcast day, when the light is softened by cloud cover and your subject isn't squinting. Some fill in flash can help provide a more even light in bright sunlight but won't stop your subject having their eyes all screwed up.

The other thing I notice is that there is some digital noise present in the images. What settings were you using on the camera? For that matter, what camera/lens combination were you using?

Lastly, with portraits it is a good idea to ensure that the eyes are the point of focus. If they are sharp, you'll probably end up with a result that will capture people's attention.

 

[Wyjid]

distracting background elements. on #2 i love the bark as a background idea. next time try centering her to the tree. cut out the background on the left. that shot could be beautiful in BW. also catchlight (bright spot reflections on the eye surface) does wonders for the eyes. it really makes them stand out, as long as they don't actually cover the pupil itself. do you have editing software? do you mind if i post an edited version?

 

[Guido44]

Please tell the girl in the first photo to take that stupid thing out of her eyebrow.

Sorry. I don't get it.

dan

 

[GTHill]

I think the white balance is a bit cool for me.

Check you ISO settings. As mentioned, I think the ISO is too high which then had to be compensated by a small aperture (f-stop). This makes the depth of field very deep which isn't bad, but for some of these a shallower DOF may give you the look you are searching for.

Keep trying (that is all I do)

GT

 

[CJCarpenter]

do you mind if i post an edited version?

Please do! I'd love to see what you come up with!

 

[niforpix]

Just curious what camera you're using. The last shot looks like it's out of a point-and-shoot. The quality isn't there. It's very noisy and a bit soft.