My first "shoot"... C&C, please?

andrewdoeshair · May 24, 2016

90% of my experience behind a lens has been grabbing the camera from a drawer in my salon and snapping three to twenty pics of a client in one or two posed locations near my chair with a one to five minute time limit. 8% has been birds and lizards, 1% has been family gatherings, and the final 1% was this "shoot."

Whenever I do hair for a photo shoot, somebody else is an expert (I'm just hair). The photographer can either coax "it" out of a model, or the model already knows how to turn "it" on, but either or both of them makes magic. On this day I invited a client of mine to come have a beer at the salon then let me take his picture. My objective was to gain experience behind the camera (and hopefully gather content for my hair portfolio) to see how far I was from being able to do what the photographers I've worked with in the past would do. I wanted to see if I could help this very normal looking dood look really great in a photograph. After I cut and styled his hair, I took him to a hiking trail near the salon and wanted to get pictures of his hairstyle falling apart while he ran around and climbed on things.

I think I got like, two decent shots, but overall I feel like most are super cliche. Some look too posed to me, even though they weren't necessary POSED, but lightly directed. When I finished editing the keepers I looked through them and felt like it was a win in that MOST of these images I got a great representation of what the model actually looks like (in some he actually looks better than in real life, according to him). But I also felt disappointed because of that cliche feeling. I imagine every local n00b photograper has gotten these exact shots in these exact places. I mean, I know I have to suck for a while before I can be good, but I'm having a hard time thinking outside of the box.

On the plus side, I learned heaps that day. We were way up the trail as the sun was going down and I was REALLY happy I brought a light. I also learned that it's really hard to run after a model shooting with a prime, and for the first time I actually put my Sigma 24-105 F4 Art to use (I use their 50mm F1.4 Art for most of my work at the salon and never had a real need for the zoom).

Anyways, here's the keepers. I don't know where to improve from here. I know it's not my gear, necessarily (I've been eating ramen for months to get my kit straight), I can't imagine a speedlite or a faster lens is my problem. Do you guys ever do any extravagant editing with photos you feel came out too "cliche" in order to spice them up? Maybe that would help me. I dunno. What ya got?! Help! please and thank you

BananaRepublic · May 24, 2016

My comments: Pic 2 the sky is to blown out, 3 to much grey. perhaps more light on the subject.

Hopefully others will contradict me and give you different views instead of just likes or worse viewing without comment. There decent photographs but I think some editing tweeks would make them better.

andrewdoeshair · May 24, 2016

BananaRepublic said:
My comments: Pic 2 the sky is to blown out, 3 to much grey. perhaps more light on the subject.

Hopefully others will contradict me and give you different views instead of just likes or worse viewing without comment. There decent photographs but I think some editing tweeks would make them better.

Thank you. I'm going to read around for what to do about the blown out sky. I've heard the term but haven't heard much about it or how to deal with it. In retrospect I wish I would have thought to get out my light for that shot- maybe it would have helped or maybe not. I didn't have a speedlite yet, but I'm guessing that would've been appropriate to get the dark hole and the model bright enough that I wouldn't have the sky so bright in comparison. Regarding pic 3, when I look at it now I wonder what I was thinking during editing (ha!) I know I cropped the image quite a bit to get more focus on the hair. I'm going to re-edit those soon and see if I can't do a better job. Thanks again

KmH · May 24, 2016

Blown out = over exposed, no detail, pure white, all 3 color channels at or close to their maximum - 255.
For shadows the term is blocked - under exposed, no detail, pure black, all 3 color channels at or close to their minimum - 0.

SoulfulRecover · May 24, 2016

Totally dig #2, blown sky is no issue for me in this one as its such a small amount of the image. Because of the concrete line through the image, my eyes do not get drawn to the sky at all anyway. I just wish he would have said "f the water" and took a more centered stance in the pipe line. Id probably clone out the larger trash in the pipe too

dxqcanada · May 24, 2016

Remember, you do not follow the model ... the model follows you ... you setup the shot so the model moves into your frame of focus.
#2's the best of the images ... the tube kinda works.
The last one is also pretty good ... though the lights in the background get in way.
Always, always be aware of your background ... spend time looking at the background. What the camera is going to see, where the light hits it ... how it will affect the image ... even take a picture of it first without the model and look at it.
Your model should be the sharpest thing in the photo, even if it is just part of the model ... so make sure focus is right on (where you wanted it).

FYI: I hate doing portraits, so my advice may completely suck.

Prime35 · May 24, 2016

These seem to have a retro feel to them, I feel like this may be your style. I like the image with the tube, it brings some interest into the photo, but like soulfulrecover mentioned, i wish he was more centered. The last image is nice, I feel like it may be a bit soft though, maybe just my eyes. I personally like the OOF lights in the background, maybe place them where they don't intersect with his head? Good work

cauzimme · May 24, 2016

Not a fan of the #1
#2 my favorite, great lines, nice composition, I don't mind the sky at all.
#3 too soft for me, boring
#4 great light, nice composition.

Overall you did a great job for your first shoot

Congrats!

BananaRepublic · May 25, 2016

andrewdoeshair said:
90% of my experience behind a lens has been grabbing the camera from a drawer in my salon and snapping three to twenty pics of a client in one or two posed locations near my chair with a one to five minute time limit. 8% has been birds and lizards, 1% has been family gatherings, and the final 1% was this "shoot."

Whenever I do hair for a photo shoot, somebody else is an expert (I'm just hair). The photographer can either coax "it" out of a model, or the model already knows how to turn "it" on, but either or both of them makes magic. On this day I invited a client of mine to come have a beer at the salon then let me take his picture. My objective was to gain experience behind the camera (and hopefully gather content for my hair portfolio) to see how far I was from being able to do what the photographers I've worked with in the past would do. I wanted to see if I could help this very normal looking dood look really great in a photograph. After I cut and styled his hair, I took him to a hiking trail near the salon and wanted to get pictures of his hairstyle falling apart while he ran around and climbed on things.

I think I got like, two decent shots, but overall I feel like most are super cliche. Some look too posed to me, even though they weren't necessary POSED, but lightly directed. When I finished editing the keepers I looked through them and felt like it was a win in that MOST of these images I got a great representation of what the model actually looks like (in some he actually looks better than in real life, according to him). But I also felt disappointed because of that cliche feeling. I imagine every local n00b photograper has gotten these exact shots in these exact places. I mean, I know I have to suck for a while before I can be good, but I'm having a hard time thinking outside of the box.

On the plus side, I learned heaps that day. We were way up the trail as the sun was going down and I was REALLY happy I brought a light. I also learned that it's really hard to run after a model shooting with a prime, and for the first time I actually put my Sigma 24-105 F4 Art to use (I use their 50mm F1.4 Art for most of my work at the salon and never had a real need for the zoom).

Anyways, here's the keepers. I don't know where to improve from here. I know it's not my gear, necessarily (I've been eating ramen for months to get my kit straight), I can't imagine a speedlite or a faster lens is my problem. Do you guys ever do any extravagant editing with photos you feel came out too "cliche" in order to spice them up? Maybe that would help me. I dunno. What ya got?! Help! please and thank you

Just curios, how long would your hair have to to achieve something like the style in shot 1

andrewdoeshair · May 25, 2016

@BananaRepublic long enough to bend under its own weight and flap in the wind but not so long that it covers the whole ear. Kind of different length requirement for everyone, based on their hair texture and the specific anatomy of their head. Like asking "how much string do you need to tie a knot?" Or "which aperture setting will put bokeh behind this bowl of fruit?" The length kind of depends on the exact situation, but the description of the hair's behavior or where it sits relative to the head is the most universally translatable factor. 2 inches does something different on everyone. I hope that helps. I'd guess kasey's hair is about 6 inches at the front and 2 to 3 inches on the sides. It's naturally very curly but was blow dried straight for this shoot, the hopes were that his running around and sweating would make his hair start to "fall apart" and curl back up a little. One of the hardest things to do with hairstyling is make hair look like it wasn't just styled, and those are looks that don't get a lot of coverage from salon and barbershop outlets online, so I wanted to get that here.

Streets · May 26, 2016

Nose jewelry ruins everything, but I'm old so what do I know.

andrewdoeshair · May 26, 2016

I'm at work for the next 6 hours taking clients but my last client of the day is a pretty good looking guy with cool style who has agreed to let me learn to take pictures of him. I just got a second and third speedlite (first one is a Canon 430ex ii. I bought it without reading much and am disappointed it can't do a lot of basic things but can do other stuff that I don't care for. The second and third are the dirt cheap Altura things on Amazon, I'll upgrade the whole setup later if the learning process goes well), more receivers (cowboy studio), some stands, and a few modifiers. I'm going to sit him on a chair in an alleyway with my camera on a tripod while I move and adjust all the lights to get a feel for it. I've never used more than one light source and I'm looking forward to trying it out. I've watched and read a lot about 3 point lighting and can't wait to understand it in a practical way. The alley will be dark by then but the stores all have neon signs and dirty yellow lights in back so it makes for some interesting colorful background. I'm hoping the speedlites will be able to light him subtly enough that the background isn't wasted and lost. I guess I'll start with them all at their lowest power and let the learning commence.

@Streets ha! Yeah, kids these days...

Granddad · May 27, 2016

Streets said:
Nose jewelry ruins everything, but I'm old so what do I know.

I'm with the Veteran on this, I like #4 but for the fact that it looks like his nose is dripping.

Take note of what dxqcanada said, YOU as photographer call the shots, there's no harm in asking him to remove his nose jewellery if you think it's going to spoil the shot you want. I sympathise, learning to direct my models/subjects was a tough lesson for me (still learning it) but they want a good shot that compliments them as much as you do. As you gain confidence you'll be more comfortable in playing the part of the expert. When a model tries to take over (unless they're very good and experienced) it's time to find a new model.

LARZRARZ · May 27, 2016

These aren't bad at all for your first model/portrait shoot. I would go as far as to say they're quite good, and I don't think they'r too cliche. However, it's good that you're harsh on yourself and strive to do better, and having such a mindset will ultimately make you a better photographer (or hair artist). You should at least know that you did well on these shots though.

Some feedback in order from favorite to least favorite:

My favorite is the last one. Your lighting is really nice and forms his features very well, and the deep shadows add some great intensity. I also like how the orange tones contrast with and compliment the blue tones. If the use of the complimentary colors in this shot was unintentional, well call it a happy accident but also take note of how using those colors together really helped bring the image together and use that theory for future photo shoots. If you were to crop a little bit off the top I think you would have a slightly more pleasing composition.

My second favorite is the second image. It's a fun composition, but honestly I think that is the main merit to the photo. Otherwise I'm not a fan of his expression, and his leg positioning is awkward to me. Also don't forget to ask your models to remove everything from their pockets before you begin shooting, and groom the set as you would groom the hair. Even though it's a grungy setting, I personally don't think garbage on the ground looks good in any portrait.

The first image is nice in that it shows the hair from behind. I would remove the hanging wires in post production if you can.

I don't like the third image. His expression and posing look a bit uncomfortable and awkward to me.

I have no issues with the nose ring, but I'm a millennial, so I'm used to seeing that sort of piercing on my peers a lot.

chuasam · May 27, 2016

If the goal is to show your hair work, I like 1 & 4. 3 doesn't work because of the weird expression he is making. Clenched fists make it look like his fingers are missing.