Input on my first photoshoot please!

[whitley]

Hi! I'm pretty new here and haven't posted much because I don't feel knowledgeable enough to give good advice... I am going to put a few pictures up from a quick photo shoot I did yesterday and am hoping to get some input (my model is a friend of the family, she a SR. in HS)! These are just quick edits I did in iPhoto to kind of size them up and see how they will look. I'm not wild about any of the pictures really, but I can't put my finger on what I don't like. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or comments, please let me know!

I also have a question. Kylee, the "model" is very shy and thinks that she overposes too much because she is nervous in front of the camera, any suggestions on how to loosen people up?

Thanks!!!
Whitley

One thing I forgot to mention was that by the time we got started on the pictures the sun was going down plus there was a lot of cloud cover. I tried to use a reflector but it there was not enough light to bounce much back.

just some snapshots i took, the clouds I took from the car and the 2nd one I was just playing around while Kylee was changing clothes.

 

[Nightsblood]

I cant help you much because, Im new here as well but, I do like the photo with her back to us on the bench. Dont know why really, maybe its that whole "thirds" thing.

 

[kundalini]

#1 - Doesn't look like she wants to be there.
#2 - The book should be lowered and her leg is distracting. Nice DOF.
#3 - Great, you can edit text.
#4 - Nice tone and pose. The white of the pages and her top are a little blown. My eyes go to the book rather than her.
#5 - Refer to #1
#6 - Nice pose and she looks happy. Something going on around the edges though.
#7 - Nice B&W. She is tight lipped though, would be better with a full on smile. Again the edges are soft. Are you editing that on as a border?
#8,9,10 - No Model!

 

[dangergoinoff]

Do you talk to her while you are shooting? Are you close friends? I would think that you might need to allocate a little more time so that you can help her relax. She doesn't look too posed but she does look super nervous, hence the tight lips.
Maybe the two of you just need a little more practice.

 

[whitley]

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies!

kundalini, thanks for the comments on each picture, that really helps! I wasn't trying to show off my photoshop skills on the text editing on the book,I just thought it would be fun for a sr. wallet or something instead of her name and graduation year in the corner.

Dangergoinoff, we aren't close friends, our mothers work together... I have met her a few times before. The shoot was really rushed so we didn't have much time to talk, but her lips are like that in a lot of the pictures because she says she doesn't like her smile. I'm not sure why, but that is what she claimed from the beginning.

We are going to be taking more pictures soon and I'll try to be more talkative and get her to open up more!

 

[Sideburns]

talk to her the whole time. running dialog with her will help.

Also, to get her to smile...get her in the relative pose you want...and try and make her laugh...If she laughs just rapid fire a bunch of shots, and sometimes one will be the right smile you want.

Tell her that even if she doesn't like her smile, it's worth getting a few because it can help make the picture look better.

 

[dangergoinoff]

Yeah just talk to her.
Find out what she likes. Sports, study, music, whatever. I am sure that if you can get her talking and relaxing you will see a big difference in what you are capturing.

 

[oldnavy170]

To be honest there is something not right about the first shot. It almost looks like her face was PS on. It could just be the angle of her head but thats what it looks like to me.

The other shots you took I think look pretty good. They are a tad dark but still pretty good.