My First Portrait Shoot

[tinafaecarroll]

I did a portrait shoot of my boyfriend on valentine's day, just to see what I could do. The photos were taken in my sister's apartment. I didn't realize the lighting would be as bad as it was. There were windows to the left of the camera and a ceiling light behind me, which didn't actually make much difference. I shot in portrait mode for the most part, because I don't QUITE understand exposure. The lighting made his face very red in some of the shots, and I didn't know how to fix it. I did my best to fix it in photoshop.

I realized AFTER the shoot that I should have made sure his hair was less crazy. I tried, somewhat unsuccessfully before the shoot, but didn't make sure it was good throughout it.

The backdrop was a light green sheet, which looked good with the shirt he was wearing in my head when I bought it, but not so much in real life. I changed it to grey in photoshop. Also, I had ironed the sheets so they weren't so wrinkley, but he sat on them, so that was out. haha. I tried cloning out the wrinkles in photoshop, but I think some of them actually look better with a little texture. Please let me know what you think, and what I can do to make them better. I know they're nowhere NEAR perfect.
If it helps, you can edit them some. I don't mind.
1. (edited) I can't quite make this one look right. His face looks green.

1. (original)

2. (edited)

2. (Original)

3. (edited) I realize this one isn't quite in focus, but I think it might be my favorite.

3. (original)

4. (edited) I also really like this one.

4. (original)

 

[tirediron]

Ummm... Okay, I like the casual poses, the hair doesn't bother me at all, and the lighting is good. The white balance however... ummm... in a word, "Ouch!" #4 isn't bad, but #1, 2, and 3 vary from light green to harsh red. If you can't custom calibrate your WB in advance, your best bet is to set it on 'Auto' and adjust in post (assuming you shot RAW).

 

[tinafaecarroll]

Ummm... Okay, I like the casual poses, the hair doesn't bother me at all, and the lighting is good. The white balance however... ummm... in a word, "Ouch!" #4 isn't bad, but #1, 2, and 3 vary from light green to harsh red. If you can't custom calibrate your WB in advance, your best bet is to set it on 'Auto' and adjust in post (assuming you shot RAW).

I was shooting in portrait mode, and did not see an option to adjust the white balance. I don't quite understand everything enough to shoot in manual yet, so this was my best option. I tried to adjust in post, but can't quite get it right. I don't know how to shoot in RAW, what it means, or if my camera can even do it. I have a canon powershot sx-10 is.

Any suggestions as to how to fix the coloring in post?

 

[tirediron]

Ahh, okay, I understand now. The ability to set the WB is likely buried fairly deep in one of your on-screen menus I'm guessing, and unfortunately, you probably don't have the ability to shoot RAW with that camera (RAW is a file-format which directly records the sensor's image information with an absolute minimum of in-camera processing and provides much greater latitude for post-processing).

Your best bet to adjust the colour cast in these images will be by using the various colour adjustment tools in your favorite PP application.

 

[rubbertree]

agree with above, also, #4 is just a tad bit crooked. Level it a bit, give it a slight bit more crop above knees and that is a keeper.

 

[Early]

#3 was my fav, too... except for the pink color.

 

[SlimPaul]

In my opinion #4 came out the best.

 

[tinafaecarroll]

agree with above, also, #4 is just a tad bit crooked. Level it a bit, give it a slight bit more crop above knees and that is a keeper.

Better?

 

[tinafaecarroll]

#3 was my fav, too... except for the pink color.

Is this any better? His face is usually a little red.