My first portrait shoot. Senior Prom of my niece. Help please I have questions. c+c

[shefjr]

Ernicus, I don't plan on going anywhere, I was just hoping that the critique would have been a little more helpful and not so much screaming about what is perceived to be someone too young in a dress unbecoming a young woman. I guess you are right about pre addressing the issue of things that may come up. Honestly I just didn't think her pose and clothing would have been the issue. I hope I didn't come off with the "sandbox mentality". If I did that's not what I was going for. More than anything I was hoping to get just the one C lol.
In either case, I did send a pm to a mod to request that they determine the appropriateness of this thread because with the second C that I was getting I am now second guessing myself. I really didn't think it was that big of a deal but I don't want to get into trouble.

As far as the focusing, I know something happened with it however, I think that even in my view finder it showed a box focused around her eyes, (button still held half way down) I then lowered my viewfinder to remove the head room. I don't think that the camera ever actually did have focus on the eyes and I honestly can't tell looking through the view finder. I have always trusted the camera.
Thanks for your critique.
FYI all above including this message is stated from me in a friendly manner. I hold no ill will towards anyone.

 

[Ernicus]

Good stuff man.

My auto focus is quirky at best I've noticed so I'm working on really learning manual focus and I have since changed my auto focus to single point vs the schnazzy auto area and dynamic. The features sound great, but for me,...I find they don't always lock into what I want them to. I was frustrated as hell. lol

Look forward to seeing more of your work.

 

[kundalini]

Gawd Damn bunch of puritans..... can't stand them. :er:


Three things that are horribly wrong with the photo and all have been adressed.
1) The Focus is your fault. Without proper focus on the eyes, you are left with a failure. So this thread should be an assignment for you to become one with the focusing system of your camera and practice until it becomes second nature. There is no amount of C&C that can improve on that.

2) The blanket as a cover up to keep the dress from getting dirty. While the thought is a good one, the implementation is poorly executed. In the future consider bringing along a small towel or such so your model can sit on an unsightly piece of furniture and not have those concerns. If the mother or an assistant was there, she could have fluffed the dress so that the towel would not be visible. I actually think the juxtaposition of a well made up young lady sitting on a decrepit piece of furniture can be quite a fun look.

3) If there was no way to position yourself so the background fence could not be avoided, move on to Plan B. The front stoop, a set of interior stairs, etc, somewhere else. There is more to looking through the viewfinder than to see what your exposure is.

I think you have a better idea now of what to spot for your future shots. Make mental notes, but don't be ashamed to bring along a cheat sheet to refer to until you're more confident. The photo is not terrible but is more on the snapshot side. The model is quite attractive and her dress is very nice. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Ernicus]

but don't be ashamed to bring along a cheat sheet to refer to until you're more confident. .

I am not embarassed at all to say i do that very thing. Great advice. and nice post.

I will admit, my cheat sheets even have stuff from this site on them. I had two with me for about 2 weeks of notes from Bynx, Buckster, and about 2 pages front back and sideways from Bitter. I even had two home made props from a thread I read from buckster, lol. Some white poster board and a tin foil covered cardboard. lolol

 

[DiskoJoe]

This photo does not work for me at all. The chain link is a horrible backdrop. Whats up with the bench covered with a sheet? And the garter? Is she getting married at prom? Im not even going to go over tech aspects.

 

[shefjr]

Gawd Damn bunch of puritans..... can't stand them. :er:


Three things that are horribly wrong with the photo and all have been adressed.
1) The Focus is your fault. Without proper focus on the eyes, you are left with a failure. So this thread should be an assignment for you to become one with the focusing system of your camera and practice until it becomes second nature. There is no amount of C&C that can improve on that.

2) The blanket as a cover up to keep the dress from getting dirty. While the thought is a good one, the implementation is poorly executed. In the future consider bringing along a small towel or such so your model can sit on an unsightly piece of furniture and not have those concerns. If the mother or an assistant was there, she could have fluffed the dress so that the towel would not be visible. I actually think the juxtaposition of a well made up young lady sitting on a decrepit piece of furniture can be quite a fun look.

3) If there was no way to position yourself so the background fence could not be avoided, move on to Plan B. The front stoop, a set of interior stairs, etc, somewhere else. There is more to looking through the viewfinder than to see what your exposure is.

I think you have a better idea now of what to spot for your future shots. Make mental notes, but don't be ashamed to bring along a cheat sheet to refer to until you're more confident. The photo is not terrible but is more on the snapshot side. The model is quite attractive and her dress is very nice. Thanks for sharing.

1.I agree with you that the focus is my fault. However, as I believe I stated in my original post, is there a trick that can insure that the type of issue doesn't happen again. This is btw the only photo that is out of focus. I chose to use this one because of the focus issue. I was having a difficult time seeing my screen due to the sunlight. And I have a difficult time telling if my focus is spot on in my view finder.
2. I in hind sight couldn't agree with you more. I had actually asked for a towel for her to sit on but, her mother said that she didn't like how the bench looked and wanted the whole thing covered. I thought it was ugly but, this was supposed to be fun for me and just some photos for her mom.
3.Again, I did take photos in other locations that look fine. However, I wanted this one to be critiqued for the simple reason that I knew some of the issues i needed help with were in this photo.

I never planed on my hobby being portraits and don't really plan on doing them again in the future. I'm a nature/scenic/just for fun type, trying not to take things to serious and have fun with photography while learning it. If I ever do any other portraits in the future (unlikely) I would of course take my notes (ipad which was carried with me on this event)

Thank you for a helpful C+C. I would like to hear if you have any additional thoughts on ways or techniques that I could improve for focus as that is an issue for me at times.

This photo does not work for me at all. The chain link is a horrible backdrop. Whats up with the bench covered with a sheet? And the garter? Is she getting married at prom? Im not even going to go over tech aspects.

Those issues which have brought up have all been addressed (most of which I was already aware of) and so thus far you have really given me zero in the way of helping a noob. So I would hope that in stead of commenting on what already has been stated, how about those technical aspects that must be pretty bad. From your post I feel as though I must need help with those aspects as well. Please help. Thank you :thumbup:

 

[The_Traveler]

It is too difficult to pull out important 'technical stuff' from the midst of this collection of no-no's, almost like criticizing the nail polish on someone in a car wreck.

The first thing you have to learn is that you ned to be in control, not someone who doesn't know anything.
The second thing you need to learn is not to post a picture with so many major defects that overwhelm any 'technical stuff.'

Post a picture where you are in control and there aren't huge, unhandled major problems so that the viewers can concentrate on what you can do.

 

[KBM1016]

Here is my C&C

Technically, the lighting isn't that bad. You noted the problem with focus/location/bed sheet/etc. so there is not need to go any further into it. As for the pose (oh lordy here it comes!) I don't necessarily agree with it and apparently you aren't too keen on it either. I feel like you as the photographer should have a say over poses and locations. Just because they asked you to photograph doesn't mean you should sit back idol while they have at it. A good photographer will be successful not only with technical stuff but also with posing and directing subjects. This is your work, not theirs. If they wanted to pose like this then they should have used their point and shoot instead of having you put all your effort into it.

With that said, maybe next time ball up the blanket and stick it under her so that you don't see it. No need to cover the bench were the dress isn't touching it. This will help hide it. Also, getting those trees and fence out of focus will help make your subject pop so much more. The colors on the blue dress look nice and would look great against a blurry green forest.

 

[spacefuzz]

On the technical side I would check the focus mode on your D7000. If it wasnt in the point focus mode that could have been your issue as your camera was doing something else.

If you had no control over the poses or location I would have done their shots then said "wait, I just want one or two more" then done some tighter half body / face shots where you can lose the background with a shallow DOF.

Post wise, I think people need to remember that she is showing less skin than most teens at the malls these days. At my senior prom 10 years ago (small conservative catholic school) a lot of the girls had garters and posed with dresses hiked and garters showing. So its nothing new.

 

[shefjr]

It is too difficult to pull out important 'technical stuff' from the midst of this collection of no-no's, almost like criticizing the nail polish on someone in a car wreck.

The first thing you have to learn is that you ned to be in control, not someone who doesn't know anything.
The second thing you need to learn is not to post a picture with so many major defects that overwhelm any 'technical stuff.'

Post a picture where you are in control and there aren't huge, unhandled major problems so that the viewers can concentrate on what you can do.

Lew (if I may), thank you for a more through C+C. To address your points, I'm not into portrait photography so when it comes to directing people on what to do I really am uneducated in that area. I read online as much as I could and also purchased the Scott Kelby books 1-3. Unfortunately, I don't do as well with reading, I'm more of a hands on learner. As for your second point about not posting something that has "so many major defects", trust me with the response on my original post I'll never do this again. I did intentionally post this particular photo simply to point out my focus issue hoping that I would get some feedback on other techniques that I could use to achieve better focus. (Didn't really work out in my favor) I guess I also posted this photo because I thought that everyone would be able to look past the OOF, The Fence, and the ugly sheet (all things I pointed out in my original post) and could tell me the other things which might be wrong. I get the impression that you feel that there are additional things wrong with this photo. I would hope you could look past the three things that I pointed out and enlighten me in what else might be wrong. I honestly felt that the photo would have been good minus those issues. If all points have been covered than that's fine and you can call me thick in the head and tell me to drop it. I'll be fine with that. Again, thank you for taking the time to write me back with your C+C. :thumbup:

Here is my C&C

Technically, the lighting isn't that bad. You noted the problem with focus/location/bed sheet/etc. so there is not need to go any further into it. As for the pose (oh lordy here it comes!) I don't necessarily agree with it and apparently you aren't too keen on it either. I feel like you as the photographer should have a say over poses and locations. Just because they asked you to photograph doesn't mean you should sit back idol while they have at it. A good photographer will be successful not only with technical stuff but also with posing and directing subjects. This is your work, not theirs. If they wanted to pose like this then they should have used their point and shoot instead of having you put all your effort into it.

With that said, maybe next time ball up the blanket and stick it under her so that you don't see it. No need to cover the bench were the dress isn't touching it. This will help hide it. Also, getting those trees and fence out of focus will help make your subject pop so much more. The colors on the blue dress look nice and would look great against a blurry green forest.

KMB, Thank you for your C+C. I'm glad to hear I got something right LOL. (lighting). I honestly after looking again at the photo don't feel the pose is that bad. IMO, if she didn't look like she were 12 I think that some of the commentators here may have called her hot or at least her pose. We are actually having a party for her this Friday for her 18th birthday. This is my first portrait attempt. I have never had the chance to do this and probably won't again for sometime. So with that said, I really didn't have any creative ideas on locations/poses/etc. In addition to that, they were on a tight schedule, so my ability to get multiple location shots wasn't really in my favor. I do agree with you that it is my work. I also couldn't agree more about the bench. I regret that I didn't say anything to them about leaving it uncovered as it had a lot of character and probably would have looked much better than an ugly old sheet. Thank you again for your input.

On the technical side I would check the focus mode on your D7000. If it wasnt in the point focus mode that could have been your issue as your camera was doing something else.

If you had no control over the poses or location I would have done their shots then said "wait, I just want one or two more" then done some tighter half body / face shots where you can lose the background with a shallow DOF.

Post wise, I think people need to remember that she is showing less skin than most teens at the malls these days. At my senior prom 10 years ago (small conservative catholic school) a lot of the girls had garters and posed with dresses hiked and garters showing. So its nothing new.

Spacefuzz, I agree with you that I need to review the focus modes of my camera. I honestly do believe that I had all of the settings correct. My excuse for the focus issue is that I have a difficult time finding focus through the viewfinder. If I were in manual mode nothing would ever be in focus. UGH! I suck! I do actually have other photos that are a tighter half body shot with some ok bokeh. I just chose not to post them because I liked certain aspects of this photo and was hoping that everyone would look past the issues I had stated and point out other additional issues that I don't know are there. You are also right about the garter. My sister reminded me that at my Junior prom (1996) I had a garter from my date for that evening. She remembered because there was an engraved heart with our names on it. lol I would never have recalled that. Thank you for taking the time to give me feedback on the almost train wreck of a post. lol. I swear at times I feel like it may come off the rails.

To all who have posted with some form of feedback, thank you! I only know a little about portraiture from what I have read online/ youtube/ and the 3 editions of the Scott Kelby books. I tried to smash all that into my brain in a little over two weeks. I never had any way to practice and am not at all creative (which is what photography is all about I guess) so I failed miserably! I am not the best at reading comprehension. I learn best by doing things hands on or at least seeing it. In either case, thanks to all who have attempted to help me. I'll never stop trying to learn from the C+C that I receive here. I am thick headed so it may take me a couple times before it sinks in (that's what she said lol).

 

[The_Traveler]

Lew (if I may), thank you for a more through C+C. To address your points, I'm not into portrait photography so when it comes to directing people on what to do I really am uneducated in that area. I read online as much as I could and also purchased the Scott Kelby books 1-3. Unfortunately, I don't do as well with reading, I'm more of a hands on learner. As for your second point about not posting something that has "so many major defects", trust me with the response on my original post I'll never do this again. I did intentionally post this particular photo simply to point out my focus issue hoping that I would get some feedback on other techniques that I could use to achieve better focus. (Didn't really work out in my favor) I guess I also posted this photo because I thought that everyone would be able to look past the OOF, The Fence, and the ugly sheet (all things I pointed out in my original post) and could tell me the other things which might be wrong. I get the impression that you feel that there are additional things wrong with this photo. I would hope you could look past the three things that I pointed out and enlighten me in what else might be wrong. I honestly felt that the photo would have been good minus those issues. If all points have been covered than that's fine and you can call me thick in the head and tell me to drop it. I'll be fine with that. Again, thank you for taking the time to write me back with your C+C. :thumbup:

Technical things don't exist individually in a vacuum.
If the image is good, the technicals don't count.
They never count unless they detract from the image.
I can't say ' this image would be better if.......'
Looking at this to say what additionally is good or bad just doesn't seem to make any sense; what good would it do because there is not some positive framework to hang them on.

Give this one up.
Go back and make a better one.