My Artist

[blackphoenix]

took a pic of my wife while she was in her element. C&C welcomed!

 

[tirediron]

As a snapshot and personal memory, this is a great image. As a candid photograph, well, IMO, it's lacking. The main issues are exposure (and once again) white balance. The human eye is naturally attracted to bright over dark, so the it's pulled to the near edge of the notebook she's holding and her left elbow which are at least a full stop brighter than her face. Her face has a distinctly blue cast which is less than ideal.

You've expressed a desire to become a professional, and I think that's great. You need to work at it though; you don't learn or improve by shooting lots and doing the same thing over and over. You learn and improve by shooting lots and overcoming problems.

I understand that this is just a casual candid, but you should be treating every exposure as if it were a paying job for a picky client. White balance & colour correction are consistent themes amongst your images, and some of the most basic. You really need to work on that; learn how to 'see' colour, understand what WB is, how various temperatures of light affect the scene, and how to produce a finished project which is visually correct.

Photography is equal parts artistic and technical. You can't just master one, you need to be good at both!

 

[blackphoenix]

As a snapshot and personal memory, this is a great image. As a candid photograph, well, IMO, it's lacking. The main issues are exposure (and once again) white balance. The human eye is naturally attracted to bright over dark, so the it's pulled to the near edge of the notebook she's holding and her left elbow which are at least a full stop brighter than her face. Her face has a distinctly blue cast which is less than ideal.

You've expressed a desire to become a professional, and I think that's great. You need to work at it though; you don't learn or improve by shooting lots and doing the same thing over and over. You learn and improve by shooting lots and overcoming problems.

I understand that this is just a casual candid, but you should be treating every exposure as if it were a paying job for a picky client. White balance & colour correction are consistent themes amongst your images, and some of the most basic. You really need to work on that; learn how to 'see' colour, understand what WB is, how various temperatures of light affect the scene, and how to produce a finished project which is visually correct.

Photography is equal parts artistic and technical. You can't just master one, you need to be good at both!

I'm trying to figure out the best lighting. I ultimately don't like some of my work because of how the lighting turns out in them and it just kinda flops.

Sent from my LG-M150 using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

 

[tirediron]

This is where the work, practice and learning comes in. Chances are, a single speedlight bounced off of a wall behind you would have made this image much stronger. Probably the single most important skill any artist has to develop is the ability to self-critique AND figure out how to improve.

Why not set this up again? Ask her to sit in that pose again, grab your camera & speedlight and try a few different things. Straight on flash, ceiling bounced flash, wall bounced... compare the results. I'll bet you learn something!

 

[blackphoenix]

This is where the work, practice and learning comes in. Chances are, a single speedlight bounced off of a wall behind you would have made this image much stronger. Probably the single most important skill any artist has to develop is the ability to self-critique AND figure out how to improve.

Why not set this up again? Ask her to sit in that pose again, grab your camera & speedlight and try a few different things. Straight on flash, ceiling bounced flash, wall bounced... compare the results. I'll bet you learn something!

Thank you for the advice! I really want to get better and hone my craft. I try to be perfect but there's so thing.

Sent from my LG-M150 using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

 

[crimbfighter]

Technical critiques aside, I chuckled at the face on her shirt peering over the notebook, looking at the camera

 

[Derrel]

Re-shoot...add lighting that adds detail in the T-shirt and pants...that is my advice.