Model Shoot 2 for C&C

margosoriginals · Oct 8, 2011

Hi all,
I did a shoot yesterday that was too bright... did another today with a better model, and for some reason, my speedlight stopped working. Not a good week for my equipment. So I took these with natural light in the shade in my backyard and did some editing in camera raw. Let me know how I can improve! Thanks!

flameshots · Oct 8, 2011

#1 seems to be very soft. You may have missed the focus on this one.

#2 the pose is very "flat" and without side lighting to give her depth everything seems flat.

Dominantly · Oct 8, 2011

How did you set up your white balance?

On my monitor I see a greenish color cast on the photo, not a natural skin tone.

I recently calibrated my monitor (spyder) and am amazed at how different some of my previous photos look, and how much better everything looks in general.

margosoriginals · Oct 9, 2011

I used auto white balance. I did adjust the tint in camera raw because she looked (even more) washed out. I don't see the green on my monitor though, so maybe I should calibrate it. Thanks for the advice! I got my flash working again so that's good news. I have another shoot this week, so I'm just going to keep practicing.

Jace · Oct 9, 2011

#1 seems underexposed to me, and #2 has something odd about it.. I'm not at home and this laptop isn't very bright or colorful, so can't say for certain what it is.

Forgive me if this model is a friend of yours, but if she isn't and you're going to be shooting her again; is she wearing a sportsbra? I know it really has nothing to do with anything technical, but her chest looks odd. If you think she is, and are going to shoot her again, maybe bring it up? Just say that there were some odd lines to the photo but you photoshopped them out lol.

Also, not sure if she was just doing her own thing, but for any modelling type of pictures I -think- you really don't want them facing the camera full on like she's doing. If she is going to face the camera like that, have her turn her body so one hip is facing more toward you with her weight on her back leg, and shoulder that is facing the camera slightly lower than the one facing away.

Good luck!

Big Mike · Oct 9, 2011

Too much room above her head in both shots.

joealcantar · Oct 9, 2011

The images color seemed a little cold to me, messed with the top image a little , sharpened, adjusted color on foilage and did a curves adjustment on her and a light skin action as well. Hope you don't mind the play. Thanks for posting and sharing.
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Shoot well, Joe

shootermcgavin · Oct 9, 2011

I'd try to keep your model at an angle, straight on pose makes anyone look less flattering.

KmH · Oct 9, 2011

Yep. Shoulders square to the camera is the 'foootball player' pose.

Some basic guidelines for a standing subject:
One foot forward, pointed at the camera, one foot back with the side of the foot facing the camera.
Shoulders about 45° to the camera.
Torso leaned just slightly forward from the waist.
Most of the subjects weight should be on the back foot.

Check your local library for posing guides, or

Doug Box's Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers

Posing for Portrait Photography: A Head-to-Toe Guide for Digital Photographers

gsgary · Oct 9, 2011

Will you camera shoot vertical ?

KmH · Oct 9, 2011

margosoriginals · Oct 9, 2011

joealcantar said:
The images color seemed a little cold to me, messed with the top image a little , sharpened, adjusted color on foilage and did a curves adjustment on her and a light skin action as well. Hope you don't mind the play. Thanks for posting and sharing.
-

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Shoot well, Joe

I like the edit, thank you!

margosoriginals · Oct 9, 2011

Jace said:
#1 seems underexposed to me, and #2 has something odd about it.. I'm not at home and this laptop isn't very bright or colorful, so can't say for certain what it is.

Forgive me if this model is a friend of yours, but if she isn't and you're going to be shooting her again; is she wearing a sportsbra? I know it really has nothing to do with anything technical, but her chest looks odd. If you think she is, and are going to shoot her again, maybe bring it up? Just say that there were some odd lines to the photo but you photoshopped them out lol.

Also, not sure if she was just doing her own thing, but for any modelling type of pictures I -think- you really don't want them facing the camera full on like she's doing. If she is going to face the camera like that, have her turn her body so one hip is facing more toward you with her weight on her back leg, and shoulder that is facing the camera slightly lower than the one facing away.

Good luck!

I didn't notice that about her chest until you mentioned it, but I see it now. I agree about the poses being unflattering. I was kind of bummed my flash wasn't working, so I barely got any shots at all this time. Thanks for the posing tips too, I will keep that in mind. I need to get better at directing people to let them know where and how to position themselves. I'm not shy, but when I get behind the camera, I tend to be thinking about shutter/aperture/whitebalance/flash and all that so I'm kind of quiet. Any tips on how to improve on this? I hope once I practice more and more I will get more comfortable with this. Thanks for the tips, keep them coming!

Patrice · Oct 9, 2011

You say you need to practice more and that is the key to getting better. You need to be so familiar with your camera that it becomes an extension of your hands. At that point you will no longer be concentrating on how to work the gear and you'll start to have more brain time to dedicate to the image you want to capture. Keep at it and soon the technical part will become seamless.

Jace · Oct 9, 2011

As far as tips for posing and such, are you a guy? I'm not trying to be perverted here or anything, but when I shoot a female person (my wife, her friends, etc.,) I always think to myself: "How do her boobs look?" Cause come on face it, any woman is going to want them to look amazing on the camera, especially a model. Unless it's just a facial portraiture, then who cares. Just look at HER first, without the camera, and see if you like the way she looks. If she is looking at you dead on, body squared towards you and such which is making her hips looks wider than they are, chest flattish or without good definition, just ask her to turn this way or that in order for the light to best accentuate her figure.

"I don't like the way the light is coming in on you like that... could you turn slightly? Ok, now put most of your weight on your back leg, turn your torso towards me slightly... tilt your chin just a bit... perfect!"

Always make sure to tell them they are doing a good job, especially if you make them move from their 'comfort' zone.

As always, I'm a newb so take it for what it is!