My First Model Photo Shoot

[Deltarat]

I had my very first photo shoot with a real model a few days ago. Until then, I had been shooting models from the popular "Friends and Family Modeling Agency"

Anyway, I was a little nervous before the shoot. But Chrissaundra was an absolute sweetheart, and a dream to work with. After a few test shots, I was ready to go! I'm posting a few shots from the shoot to get some critique from you guys. Tell me what you like and what you don't. How could the shots be improved? I'm trying to get better. Also, I tried finding the rules for posting images, but I must have overlooked them. If I've posted the images wrong, please let me know.

Thanks!

 

[IByte]

Nice poses and a very cute model. Number 2 is my personal favorite. Gorgeous smile nice pose, she's in the shade, and her eyes are wide and bright. Nit picking, the hair in front of her face is a bit distracting, but who am I to judge? Overall nice but watch with the harsh light, something I'm learning now. If you had help I would say a reflector/diffuser would be great improvement. Thanks for sharing.

P.S.
To keep on people's good side, number your pictures please

 

[Deltarat]

Thanks for the reply. I used a little fill flash on #2. It was not the easiest shooting conditions. We started shooting at 2:00pm, at the beach, with full on bright sunlight and reflective sand. Plus, the wind was CRAZY! It stormed later that night, so the wind was from the storm blowing in. But, it's when she was able to shoot, so I had to kind of make do with the conditions I had. Number 4 is one of my favorites because it was an accident. A big gust of wind blew her hair across her face, completely hiding it. She quickly used her arm to try to push the hair out of her face,(that's why her arm is in the position it's in) and it made her start laughing. It was such a genuine laugh, and a great moment, I just snapped a photo. I was so pleased with the way it turned out.

But yes, the lighting is on the harsh side. A reflector would've been great, but with the way the wind was blowing that day, I would have feared for the safety of anyone holding a reflector, LOL!

I'm happy with the shots because it was my first time shooting someone like this. But I see room for improvement too. Thanks for the comments. And I will try to remember to number the shots next time.

 

[IByte]

No problem, this is a good place to spread your wings.

 

[Trever1t]

Definitely too much sun for a front lit subject, #2 and #3 shine of the lot due to more even lighting of her face. She is VERY cute, I advise working with her some more

 

[imagemaker46]

I like the poses and what you saw here, but the one thing I have a concern about is that because of way she is posed her stomach is overtop of her shorts making her look chubby. It is obvious in the others that she is not.

 

[Deltarat]

I agree. There are things that I tried to fix while shooting, but it never fails. Sometimes you miss things when looking through the viewfinder. I absolutely agree that the sun was really bright for these shots. A diffuser would've worked wonders, but that wasn't an option. I was hoping there would be more cloud coverage, but that didn't happen. If I had my choice, I would've rather shot around 5 or 6 pm. But, I had to shoot when she could. Given that this was really just a practice shoot for me, it served it's purpose. Just glad to get the first one on my belt. Also, she really loved the photos.

One thing that she said about the bright sun in the photos is that the pictures made her think about summertime. The beach and bright sun made her think of the photos being in a summer vacation flyer or something. They do kind of have that "Come visit the beach this summer!" kind of feel to them.

 

[Deltarat]

Also, about photo #2. There are 3 things I don't like about the photo.

1.) There is a slight shadow on the post cast from her arm. This came from the fill flash I used. Probably wouldn't notice it had I not mentioned it.
2.) I wish I would've got her to wipe the sand off of her arm.
3.) Because of my exposure settings to get her face properly exposed, the sand in the background is blown out completely white.

I like the photos. Those were just what stood out to me when I first saw it.

 

[Tee]

Gotta agree on the tummy. Sometimes a little "arch the small of your back" or "tighten your abs to nail this shot" is a good reminder to the model. Looks like you're off to a great start. Enjoy the journey.

 

[Deltarat]

Thanks! That's good advice too. "arch the small of your back a little" and "tighten your abs some" sound much better than "Suck it in!" LOL!

And no. I didn't tell her to "suck it in".

 

[Tee]

Lol. I've found phrasing for poses to be elemental. I've face-palmed watching a guy tell a model to open her crotch when a simple "move your left knee outward" achieves the same results without pegging the creep meter.

 

[Deltarat]

HAHA! Wow. That's too funny!

 

[Designer]

I vote for no. 3!

 

[DiskoJoe]

Of all the shots this one was the best but I wish it would have been in landscape. But you show her off well here.

 

[Deltarat]

Well, I had another photo shoot scheduled for today, but the model cancelled on me. Something came up and she can't make it. I was looking forward to it. Oh well.