Looking for some C&C of a portrait shoot I did yesterday.

dearlybeloved · Jul 19, 2013

I did a little portrait shoot with a friend yesterday and wanted to get some feedback on my favorite shots. It was about 4 in the afternoon and i didn't bring a reflector or flash for fill light.

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baturn · Jul 19, 2013

A very pretty young lady, well captured. Only dislikes are #4 (face seems underexposed ) and the nose ring. (You need not tell her)

Dinardy · Jul 19, 2013

Good work! Nice model!

tirediron · Jul 19, 2013

C&C per req:
(In the future please stack vertically and number your images; four or less is ideal for optimum C&C. Reading L-R, top to bottom):

1. Not bad overall, a little skin smoothing wouldn't go amiss, and running a comb through her hair just before the shot would have helped too.

2. Skin & hair as per #1 (applies to all). Once you get the model in position, do a detail check. In this case straightening out her shirt and tucking in/covering the little bit of brown over her pocket would have helped. Avoid cropping off bits of limbs such as the fingers of her right hand.

3. 'Football shoulders' are rarely attractive, and never on an attractive, blonde young lady. Rotate her just slightly one way or the other. You made the right exposure decision under the circumstances, but can you imagine how much better this would have looked with the sky correctly exposed? NEVER leave home without your light!

4. Bin it. You've got blown highlihgts image left, raccoon eyes, fly-away hair all over her face, and too close to the background, not to mention the football shoulders again.

5. With a little more work in post (minor selective exposure boost, dropping the red channel) this would be a really nice shot; best of the set IMO. BUT... (there's always a 'but') the background kills it! Had you moved her over two feet to the right and shot in portrait orientation, this would have been a killer shot, for me though the jarring contrast between the two backgrounds makes this one for the cutting room floor.

6. Imagine how much better this would have been with a reflector? A little life in her eyes and less shadow on her hair? It's not bad, and you could help it along in post, I think perhaps a square/vertical crop; I don't see the extra background adding a lot to this situation.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

dearlybeloved · Jul 19, 2013

tirediron said:
C&C per req:
(In the future please stack vertically and number your images; four or less is ideal for optimum C&C. Reading L-R, top to bottom):

1. Not bad overall, a little skin smoothing wouldn't go amiss, and running a comb through her hair just before the shot would have helped too.

2. Skin & hair as per #1 (applies to all). Once you get the model in position, do a detail check. In this case straightening out her shirt and tucking in/covering the little bit of brown over her pocket would have helped. Avoid cropping off bits of limbs such as the fingers of her right hand.

3. 'Football shoulders' are rarely attractive, and never on an attractive, blonde young lady. Rotate her just slightly one way or the other. You made the right exposure decision under the circumstances, but can you imagine how much better this would have looked with the sky correctly exposed? NEVER leave home without your light!

4. Bin it. You've got blown highlihgts image left, raccoon eyes, fly-away hair all over her face, and too close to the background, not to mention the football shoulders again.

5. With a little more work in post (minor selective exposure boost, dropping the red channel) this would be a really nice shot; best of the set IMO. BUT... (there's always a 'but') the background kills it! Had you moved her over two feet to the right and shot in portrait orientation, this would have been a killer shot, for me though the jarring contrast between the two backgrounds makes this one for the cutting room floor.

6. Imagine how much better this would have been with a reflector? A little life in her eyes and less shadow on her hair? It's not bad, and you could help it along in post, I think perhaps a square/vertical crop; I don't see the extra background adding a lot to this situation.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

Thank you for the feedback!

I have been looking into skin smoothing and as of now haven't tried to do it. Do you know any programs that are easy to learn the basics so I could get started? I just started to work with more people and do more portraits so everything you've said will definitely be taken in consideration on the next shoot.

Thanks John!

ronlane · Jul 19, 2013

John pretty much nailed it. Personally, I think all of them would have benefitted from a reflector for fill light.

dearlybeloved · Jul 19, 2013

I agree, the problem I knew I'd have was fill light and the time of day didn't give me many options. I sat down with her for lunch to talk about a more serious shoot and she hasn't spent much time in front of a camera so I asked if she'd mind taking a few shots on the spot.

She agreed and I left my reflector at home so it was to no avail. I will definitely be keeping it in my trunk so I'll have it when I need it for times like that. I could have also just have used my flash with the softbox I have for it but as well all know, hindsight is always 20/20. Haha

tirediron · Jul 19, 2013

Portrait Professional is one that I have used; it works reasonably well on faces ('though if you just accept the default settings, it's usually a little over-done) and is VERY easy to use. There are a couple of others out there; one by Arc-soft, but I've not used any of them. There are also a LOT of people selling PS/LR actions for this, but again, I'm not familiar with them.

rexbobcat · Jul 19, 2013

tirediron said:
Portrait Professional is one that I have used; it works reasonably well on faces ('though if you just accept the default settings, it's usually a little over-done) and is VERY easy to use. There are a couple of others out there; one by Arc-soft, but I've not used any of them. There are also a LOT of people selling PS/LR actions for this, but again, I'm not familiar with them.

Another good one is Portraiture by Imagesoft. It is also quite aggressive at default, but it takes so much time out of post processing.

dearlybeloved · Jul 20, 2013

Went back through and feel like these are way better than the originals.

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View attachment 50478

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ShaneF · Jul 20, 2013

I'm no pro but they look good im books. Have to say i like the blue backsgounds the best, the pop more for me.

juggler · Jul 23, 2013

For me #1 of the second set is where it all comes together - expression, lighting, pose, background, though you could argue a little selecting lightening of the face would help.

jowensphoto · Jul 23, 2013

dearlybeloved said:
I agree, the problem I knew I'd have was fill light and the time of day didn't give me many options. I sat down with her for lunch to talk about a more serious shoot and she hasn't spent much time in front of a camera so I asked if she'd mind taking a few shots on the spot.

She agreed and I left my reflector at home so it was to no avail. I will definitely be keeping it in my trunk so I'll have it when I need it for times like that. I could have also just have used my flash with the softbox I have for it but as well all know, hindsight is always 20/20. Haha

Even if the sun is straight over head, you can use the reflector at a low angle, or heck - even flat - to get a little fill

And a white shirt - white shirts are my go-to reflector. Just wear one to the shoot and your set to fill in faces!

Derrel · Jul 23, 2013

dearlybeloved said:
Went back through and feel like these are way better than the originals.

1.
View attachment 50477

I agree: I think this is a flattering look at her. There's a tiny bit of a greenish tinge in her hair on the top, and the light on her face is a bit flat, but overall, she looks attractive, and her line of gaze engages well with the viewer.

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