my wife

[nolanator]

yesterday i went to the ventura county fair which is located here in Ventura Beach, and thought i would take some pictures. i didn't get too many due to the large amount of people, but i did get a couple, which i'll post later. What i wanted help with now though, is taking shots of people. My wife went with me and i got two shots, which i personally think are legitimately good, which is good because i am looking forward to hearing what you more experienced members KNOW is proper and correct as opposed to what i THINK is right. please C&C and give me tips. thank you!

1.

2.

and here's one more similar to the first one processed differently
3.

thanks again for looking

meh...photobucket took out some of the detail

 

[MelissaMarieImagery]

A pair of sunglasses would have fixed the fact that her eyes are really, really squinty!

The composition and lighting is nice though, and I love the blurry boardwalk in the background.

She looks much warmer in the last shot than the first, which is good because the first one she looks kind of "sick"

 

[thenikonguy]

what I do to stop the squinty eyes, is, have them close their eyes, I count to 3, and on 3 they open.. I put my camera on continuous mode, so when I press the shutter, I get 4 photos, that way, I pretty much never get squinty eyes.. it seems to work well for me.

 

[nolanator]

A pair of sunglasses would have fixed the fact that her eyes are really, really squinty!

The composition and lighting is nice though, and I love the blurry boardwalk in the background.

She looks much warmer in the last shot than the first, which is good because the first one she looks kind of "sick"

ya desaturation is tough to pull off on people. i see what you mean

 

[MelissaMarieImagery]

what I do to stop the squinty eyes, is, have them close their eyes, I count to 3, and on 3 they open.. I put my camera on continuous mode, so when I press the shutter, I get 4 photos, that way, I pretty much never get squinty eyes.. it seems to work well for me.

Great tip!!!

 

[kundalini]

Just a couple of observations.....

To pull off a good shot in those conditions, I think you need three things at a minimum. A fill flash, a diffuser and a third person to hold the diffuser.

#1 - Fill flash camera left to bring out details. As is, it is completely lost on your subject. Diffuser high and camera right to knock down the sun. This would also aid to have her less affect by the sun and naturally reduce the squinting. The horizon is pretty much centered and acts as a guillotine. The DoF is nicely done.

#2 - Again, some fill flash would've helped. However, I think the best recommendation is for you learn where to meter. Whenever you shoot towards the sun, silhouettes are likely unless you meter correctly and add that bit of flash. The sky is going to be blown regardless, so meter your exposure off your subject to get the correct exposure. There are other measures you can take to get what you want, but firstly learn where to correctly expose your subject.

#3 - You brought out some detail on the pier, but unfortunately you also caused her skin tone to become overly orange-to-red looking.

Lastly........ Ace of Spades!!!!!!!