My first portraits/fashion

[AlejandroHernandez]

OK so i got a Canon 350D recently and a monolight kit but i don't have any external flash and/or the hotshoe to pc adapter so the only thing i could do was to use the modeling lights as the lighting haha. Lighting is weak, lots of shadows here and there, i only had a 150watts bulb on each light (there were 2, a keylight and a backlight). I also had a bad time in photoshop with the Liquify tool because the female model wasn't too skinny.

So here they are. Keep in mind that i'm only 15 years old with almost no notion about fashion photography and this is the first time in my life i do a photoshoot.

 

[Alpha]

My honest advice...get something to trigger the strobe(s) and then start over. #1 is way underexposed, #2 is totally out of focus, and #3 is just too soft.
Then again, you didn't need me to tell you that, did you?

I don't mean to sound overly harsh here, but why bother even shooting the photos when you know that they aren't going to turn out well with just the modeling lamp? Further than that, after you shoot them with just the modeling lamp and they don't turn out well, why post them? The poses are decent, and the positioning of the lights is good for someone in your position. But you know they aren't good shots. Get the rest of the equipment that you need.

 

[craig]

I like your style, but making excuses for your work is the wrong approach. A million lighting situations will be at hand. The key is too determine which one is yours.

Love & Bass

 

[The Phototron]

My honest advice...get something to trigger the strobe(s) and then start over. #1 is way underexposed, #2 is totally out of focus, and #3 is just too soft.
Then again, you didn't need me to tell you that, did you?

I don't mean to sound overly harsh here, but why bother even shooting the photos when you know that they aren't going to turn out well with just the modeling lamp? Further than that, after you shoot them with just the modeling lamp and they don't turn out well, why post them? The poses are decent, and the positioning of the lights is good for someone in your position. But you know they aren't good shots. Get the rest of the equipment that you need.

Cause not everybody can afford to get the equipment whenever they need them, Max.

It's good practice, I'm just not sure about exhibiting them.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

sync cords are $20. That's all you need.

 

[Garbz]

I don't mean to sound overly harsh here, but why bother even shooting the photos when you know that they aren't going to turn out well with just the modeling lamp? Further than that, after you shoot them with just the modeling lamp and they don't turn out well, why post them? The poses are decent, and the positioning of the lights is good for someone in your position. But you know they aren't good shots. Get the rest of the equipment that you need.

Because maybe that is just what the OP wanted to hear. Just like me the other day who posted a pic which was trash composition and just wanted to hear what people though of the PS effect.

Although I think in the last one the lights may be too close to the subject. His left side is very hot and it falls off very quickly. May just be over exposed slightly too.

 

[Alpha]

Cause not everybody can afford to get the equipment whenever they need them, Max.

It's good practice, I'm just not sure about exhibiting them.

Aww, you and your poor bleeding heart. That is absolutely absurd.

 

[Alpha]

Because maybe that is just what the OP wanted to hear. Just like me the other day who posted a pic which was trash composition and just wanted to hear what people though of the PS effect.

Although I think in the last one the lights may be too close to the subject. His left side is very hot and it falls off very quickly. May just be over exposed slightly too.

I've gotta disagree. This is not any more an accurate gauge of one's abilities with real lights than using a pinhole body cap is an accurate gauge of one's ability to select an appropriate focal length lens.

 

[AlejandroHernandez]

Well i posted them because i obviously need opinion, I didn't notice that second one was out of focus. And the problem with the adapter is that i can't find it here in my country so need to order it again from B&H and it's just a long process.
Well thank you all for the comments, so far i think i have to get modeling lights with more wattage until i buy the adapter.

 

[Alpha]

What kind of strobes are they?

 

[AlejandroHernandez]

What kind of strobes are they?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/402654-REG/Impact__2_Monolight_Kit_.html

 

[Alpha]

What country are you in?

 

[AlejandroHernandez]

What country are you in?

Venezuela, that's south america. I think "photography" stores only sell external flashes (very expensive here), other than that is just a photo studio.

 

[Alpha]

lol I know where Venezuela is. I have several friends from Caracas. You might have other options if you order from other parts of Central or South America as opposed to the US. Have you looked into ordering from Argentina or Brazil?

 

[Mike Jordan]

People that like to be "brutally honest" as they say, are usually just rude people that don't know how to provide constructive critisizum. And when they are rude, they think it hides the fact that they really didn't say anything worth listening to in the first place.

For your first time and having to use the modeling lights, you didn't do bad at all. I've seen a lot worse from people that have been using their equipment a lot longer.

A couple of things to keep in mind next time. If you have your camera on autofocus, the lights may not be providing enough light for it to focus properly. Or you may be using all your focus points and the camera is selecting a point that is the best lit rather than the one you want. Put your camera into single point focus with just the center point active. That will let you focus where you put the center of your lens and not let the camera pick the spot. If you focus on the eyes and hold the shutter button half way down, it will lock the focus and then you can compose your shot. You can also manually adjust your focus if you need to tweak it while you hold the shutter button half way down.

The other thing is to raise your lights up another foot or not have them point down so much. Notice how you have the shoulder's lit on the 3 of the girl? And the ones with out glasses, you don't have any lights going into the eyes.

Until you get your hotshoe to PC adapter, you might want to bring your background light up front and use it for a fill light. That will help lower the contrast between the main side and shadow side as you have on the boy.

Keep practicing and keep learning what works and what doesn't and why. The more you learn, the better you will get. And there are people that can help and teach without being rude or brutal at it.

Mike