My attempt at hairless ape photography. C&C please

Snakeguy101 · Mar 25, 2012

My true passion is photographing animals and plants but unfortunately, I cannot support my hobby on that so I have started toying with the idea that I could begin setting up portrait sessions with family and friends and friends of family so that I can afford some new gear. I am not jumping right into it since I am not too experienced with portraiture but I have seen people charge for much worse (a friend of mine was charged for these) than what I am producing too so maybe soon I will put the word out. What do you guys think? Here are some samples of my friends at the local botanical gardens. All C&C is greatly appreciated.

1) a candid shot

2) posed- no flash

3) posed- with flash

Thanks for your opinions guys. I appreciate them!

FYI: the photos seem much cooler when uploaded for some reason, they are a bit warmer than they appear here.

Picturenut · Mar 25, 2012

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Picturenut · Mar 25, 2012

Nice!!! I mainly take nature photos. I have done some pics of friends.

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cgipson1 · Mar 25, 2012

Posed with flash.. look at the shadows on her face and chest.. bad light placement.. light very harsh....

Snakeguy101 · Mar 25, 2012

cgipson1 said:
Posed with flash.. look at the shadows on her face and chest.. bad light placement.. light very harsh....

Completely agree. I am still learning how to shoot well with the units I received. I am going out tomorrow to practice some more.

How about the others? any other critiques? Thanks.

cgipson1 · Mar 25, 2012

I would suggest using a wider aperture to blur the background... what did you shoot these at (No Exif data)

on the ambient shot.. a reflector would soften that shadow under their chins. Eyes are soft.. focus on the eyes.

Flash.. use a modifier.. that is harsh....

Snakeguy101 · Mar 25, 2012

cgipson1 said:
I would suggest using a wider aperture to blur the background... what did you shoot these at (No Exif data)

on the ambient shot.. a reflector would soften that shadow under their chins. Eyes are soft.. focus on the eyes.

Flash.. use a modifier.. that is harsh....

all of these images were shot using a Nikon D80 & Tokina 100mm f/2.8
EXIF is as follows:
1) ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/400
Aperture f/5.6
subject distance 7.9 meters

2) ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/500
Aperture f/5.6
subject distance 6.0 meters

3) ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/200
Aperture f/11
subject distance 6.0 meters

Not in the EXIF for this last shot:
2 SB-R200 flashes used 1/1 positioned front right of subjects and 1/4 positioned front left of subjects. Both were being held by two other friends that we were hanging out with. On camera flash used as a commander.

I know the SB-R200 is not an ideal portraiture flash but I think they will work once I get the hang of positioning them, setting the power, and getting good exposures with them.

cgipson1 · Mar 25, 2012

Focus on the eyes (sharply)..

use smaller aperture for better background separation.... check DOF on Online Depth of Field Calculator

The SB-R200 is nearly impossible to use a on-flash modifier with due to the way they are built. You could use umbrellas or shoot throughs though. Make sure the flash output on your Pop-up is set to --- so it doesn't affect the exposure.

check Strobist.com for basic lighting positions. You will have trouble in bright sunlight using the CLS system with your flashes any distance away...

Snakeguy101 · Mar 25, 2012

cgipson1 said:
Focus on the eyes (sharply)..

use smaller aperture for better background separation.... check DOF on Online Depth of Field Calculator

The SB-R200 is nearly impossible to use a on-flash modifier with due to the way they are built. You could use umbrellas or shoot throughs though. Make sure the flash output on your Pop-up is set to --- so it doesn't affect the exposure.

check Strobist.com for basic lighting positions. You will have trouble in bright sunlight using the CLS system with your flashes any distance away...

Thanks. I do have some snap on diffusers for the flashes but I am not sure how good they are. I did not have them on for this shot (as you can see). Also, I have not figured out the CLS yet. I am just shooting manual and adjusting the triangle or the flash output and seeing what turns out on the histogram and adjusting from there. It is not very time efficient. Thank you for the resources, I just downloaded an app for DoF calculations and will start using that.

cgipson1 · Mar 25, 2012

Snakeguy101 said:
cgipson1 said:

Focus on the eyes (sharply)..

use smaller aperture for better background separation.... check DOF on Online Depth of Field Calculator

The SB-R200 is nearly impossible to use a on-flash modifier with due to the way they are built. You could use umbrellas or shoot throughs though. Make sure the flash output on your Pop-up is set to --- so it doesn't affect the exposure.

check Strobist.com for basic lighting positions. You will have trouble in bright sunlight using the CLS system with your flashes any distance away...

Click to expand...

Thanks. I do have some snap on diffusers for the flashes but I am not sure how good they are. I did not have them on for this shot (as you can see). Also, I have not figured out the CLS yet. I am just shooting manual and adjusting the triangle or the flash output and seeing what turns out on the histogram and adjusting from there. It is not very time efficient. Thank you for the resources, I just downloaded an app for DoF calculations and will start using that.