My first paying portrait session

[mandabec]

Here are a few from my first paying session Please CC but go easy it is my first.

1.

2.

3.

4.

 

[oldnavy170]

I have to say that you did an excellent job. Your lighting is just perfect! Is that just your flash?

 

[The Phototron]

The lighting is unnatural and forced. On-camera flash and underexposed background. And even with the flash, his face still looks underexposed.

 

[Alpha]

I clicked on the link to this thread, and when it first opened, I saw this:

And I immediately said to my self, this shot is going to be underexposed or poorly it. And sure enough...

#1) The light needs to be on his face, not his shirt.
#2) Not bad but his blown-out collar is a little distracting, given the very dark background.
#3) The tree is taking up too much of the frame.
#4) There is too much of the tree on the right-hand side in the frame. The exposure is correct, but it's too dark overall. There is too much dead space at the top of the frame. It's generally not a good idea to have one arm in front of and positioned across the subject.

I think that these could make for some decent shots with good processing, but overall they're sub-optimal, especially the lighting.

Why did you decide to shoot these at night?

 

[Sideburns]

The kid looks like he's gonna kill himself in the first one...lol.

I think you should have taken them in the day...The lighting is a bit off, and they turned out underexposed...another thing is his white shirt is probably throwing your meter off (if that's how you were doing it)...because it's bright, but everything else is dark...or maybe that's how you bounced the flash..I dono.

 

[The Phototron]

My take on the edit.

 

[Alpha]

 

[SpeedTrap]

Rule of 3rds?

 

[Alpha]

Rule of 3rds?

Oh god. Don't get me started on the rule of thirds.

 

[Flash Harry]

One third body 1/3 head, 1/3 background, whats the prob. H

 

[SpeedTrap]

One third body 1/3 head, 1/3 background, whats the prob. H

:lmao:

mind if I use that as a sig line?

 

[mandabec]

These pics were taken about an hour and a half before the sun went down and obviously we were in complete shade in the woods. I used a flash on a bracket not the on board flash. So what should I have done differently as far as lighting?

 

[Alex_B]

There is no "rule" of thirds

I agree composition could be improved though, and the shots appear, underexposed (as already mentioned)

 

[mandabec]

Will you please explain how you did these edits? I am still learning Photoshop.

 

[Garbz]

Lighting on bracket is a better option then directly on camera, but it's a solution to be used on the fly. If you have time to do a portrait like these the bracket is really sub optimal.

The main problem is the facial features appear flat and all the shadows cast straight down slightly. The trick is to soften the light and get it off camera. Since you're using a bracket I guess you have a strobe so it shouldn't be too hard to trigger either wirelessly or with a sync chord and put the flash on a tripod somewhere. From there maybe fire the flash onto a piece of paper, or through a piece of paper to make the light source seem softer.