Need some help/feedback on my fashion shoots!

[Fiji-Fujii]

Hey, guys!

Aside from nature & wildlife photography, I'm also very (!) interested in fashion photography. I'm currently lacking models though, so I'm "using what I can get" and asked my brother to help me out a couple of times. I also do self-portraits a lot but I'm trying to do them in a way that they don't just look like regular selfies but fashion shots for practice instead. I don't have studio lights or any other equipment I think I'd need, so I'm always using one of our doors as a background.

(I won't deny my narcissistic tendencies at this point, I enjoy looking at the results of my selfportraits and also editing them to make them look even better. But it starts getting boring at some point, so I'm currently trying to convince a couple of friends, male as well as female, to stand as models for me and help me practice.)

Idk, tell me what you think. How can I improve on this? Is there anything I should change, or is it good the way it is? What do I have to keep in mind when doing shoots like these? Is there a technique to go with that? I'm absolutely clueless, I just do what I feel is right, haha!

(The ones with the door painted green are older, my other brother repainted it black a few months ago.)

#1: Mr. Fedora

#2: Mr. Fedora 2

#3: Baby, It's Cold Outside

#4: Claire's Jewellery (I currently work at a Claire's store, by the way. Trying to advertise just a little bit here, haha!)

#5: New Glasses

#6: Rocka Rolla

#7: One, two, three, ROCK!

 

[robbins.photo]

Really like the poses in 4 & 5, but in both 4 & 7 looks like you cut off the hand at the wrist.

Usually better if you can to either show the hand or crop further away from a joint

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[Fiji-Fujii]

Really like the poses in 4 & 5, but in both 4 & 7 looks like you cut off the hand at the wrist.

Usually better if you can to either show the hand or crop further away from a joint

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Now that you mention it, you're right. That does look weird. I didn't even notice it before. 7 is from a very recent series, so I can totally go back and edit that. No idea where I keep 4 and the rest of that, tho.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[tirediron]

The poses work well enough for the most part, aside from the points noted above, but the exposure, WB and saturation are extreme, and IMO, NOT appealing at all. All of these would have benefitted from fill light, and all should, IMO, be taken back into the pixel room and massaged to produce more natural skin tones at a minimum.

 

[Fiji-Fujii]

The poses work well enough for the most part, aside from the points noted above, but the exposure, WB and saturation are extreme, and IMO, NOT appealing at all. All of these would have benefitted from fill light, and all should, IMO, be taken back into the pixel room and massaged to produce more natural skin tones at a minimum.

Would you be willing to edit the raw versions and then tell me what you did, and explain a little, so I understand what I can do better in the future? I'm hesitant to post the unedited stuff here, but I can try and PM them to you.

 

[tirediron]

I can take a crack at them this evening.

 

[Fiji-Fujii]

I can take a crack at them this evening.

Awesome! I'm not forcing you into it tho, only do it if you really feel like it. I'll try and send a PM asap.

 

[pixmedic]

there isn't a very consistent pattern of editing on these.
some seem very warm, other seem very cool.
#1 and #2 are perfect examples. same person, same location, totally different skin tones.
i think the posing is good on these, but the white balance and saturation need some adjusting.

 

[Fiji-Fujii]

there isn't a very consistent pattern of editing on these.
some seem very warm, other seem very cool.
#1 and #2 are perfect examples. same person, same location, totally different skin tones.
i think the posing is good on these, but the white balance and saturation need some adjusting.

Yeah, I have a tendency to saturate a lot. Like, really high. I don't really know how it works yet, at this point all I'm doing is experimenting.

 

[pixmedic]

there isn't a very consistent pattern of editing on these.
some seem very warm, other seem very cool.
#1 and #2 are perfect examples. same person, same location, totally different skin tones.
i think the posing is good on these, but the white balance and saturation need some adjusting.

Yeah, I have a tendency to saturate a lot. Like, really high. I don't really know how it works yet, at this point all I'm doing is experimenting.

experimenting is good.
ive done a lot of experimenting in my day.
you would be surprised what sort of pleasant results it can yield.

 

[Fiji-Fujii]

there isn't a very consistent pattern of editing on these.
some seem very warm, other seem very cool.
#1 and #2 are perfect examples. same person, same location, totally different skin tones.
i think the posing is good on these, but the white balance and saturation need some adjusting.

Yeah, I have a tendency to saturate a lot. Like, really high. I don't really know how it works yet, at this point all I'm doing is experimenting.

experimenting is good.
ive done a lot of experimenting in my day.
you would be surprised what sort of pleasant results it can yield.

Haha, so people often say! At this point though, I feel like I'm stuck with my lack of knowledge and experience, which is why I decided to put the portraits up here for you guys to criticize.

 

[Donde]

On "Mr. Fedora" the hands are more illuminated than the face drawing the attention to them. Don't know if that's what you wanted. On "One, two, three, ROCK" which I quite like and is my favorite of the group I find myself glancing over at the door handle. Were it my photo I'd just clone it out.

 

[Designer]

I like your poses, but you really should attempt to find a way to get more light. Even some utility lights would help. Or if the sun is out, use a reflector. (large white panel)

The other thing that I notice is something that looks like over-sharpening. Or something about the processing that has taken you skin out of the realm of reality.

With that last shot, you should have included both hands. Yes, I know it would make the shot tall, but since your arms are positioned like that, we need to see your hands out there. Nothing special with the hands, so just "pointing" or some artful gesture. You know.

 

[Derrel]

I think fashion images benefit from unusual color toning and bold, striking looks, but I do think a little bit more shadow detail and a little bit more subtlety in the highlight tones would help benefit these.

As fgar as "what to do"...the leather jacket shot has nice highlights on the jacket itself, which gives it shape, and dimension, and texture. In situatioins with dark clothing that is fabric, like the suit shots, I think a LARGE fill source, like a large expansde of concrete sidewalk, or the side of a building that is in sunlight--both of those make good reflectors for shadow fill. Then, with the subject in open shaded light, you can get good fill, minimal eye-squint, and also, pick up some catchlights on the eyeball surfaces.

Areas like the ENDS of alley-ways are good places to shoot early and late in the day. Large expanses of open sky above create eyeball catchlights that are good.

 

[Fiji-Fujii]

@Donde: Haha, whoops, that door handle. You're right, I should look into how to properly edit things like that out in PS. And thanks!

@Designer: Yeah, light is one of my main problems right now. I'm currently debating on whether I should invest a bit of money into a set of semi-professional studio lights or just try and find alternatives. Money is quite an obstacle in my case, unfortunately. If it wasn't, I'd have bought a real macro-lens at the time I got my cam as well, but I simply cannot afford it. Not with everything I have going on in my life right now, haha! Sadly.

I do some additional sharpening of my pictures, yes. I didn't think it was that obvious, though.

As for the hands on the last shot, I looked at the raw image once more but the problem is, the door is actually relatively small and the frame and everything around it looks really, well, not that great. I wanted to exclude all of that at all cost, I'm currently trying to figure out how to crop it the best way, haha! It's harder than I first imagined.

@Derrel: That sounds like a good idea, I might try that next time. Need to convince my bro to get is arse out of the house, tho. Until now, we both thought the inner yard with the black door was the perfect location for a quick shoot, haha! Seems like it's really not. We need to put more effort into our work in the future.