Newbie Photographer, Recent Shoots C&C

ShutterbugSarah · Jun 15, 2012

Still trying to figure things out, I'm mostly having trouble with composition, but I guess that comes with practice.
1.

_DSC0058-2 by SarahSurfr, on Flickr

2.

_DSC0193-2 by SarahSurfr, on Flickr

3. (I honestly don't know why it looks so HDR-ish, I think Flickr is to blame...)

_DSC0109-1 by SarahSurfr, on Flickr

4.

_DSC0337-1 by SarahSurfr, on Flickr

5.

_DSC0133-2 by SarahSurfr, on Flickr

Bellezzo · Jun 15, 2012

The last one is very cute. I think maybe the first two looks a bit too yellow?

Ernicus · Jun 15, 2012

Last one is cool, I'd love to see more of her tats on her leg.

Your mark/siggy thing is wayy too visible and distracting, if you feel you want them on your photos, I'd recommend turning the opacity way down, it draws the eye off of your subject.

PinkDoor · Jun 15, 2012

Hi! I really like #3, it's fun and does not look staged

tirediron · Jun 15, 2012

C&C per req:

1. Definitely a warm/yellow cast to this image even on my less than stellar work monitor. If this was shot in RAW, try going back for a WB adjustment and cooling it off a few hundred degrees. The composition really doesn't do a lot for me, in fact the first thing that came to mind was, "Passport photo". Tight composition and flat lighting. She's a pretty girl with a nice expression, but...

2. This is a much better shot, but again too warm, and very even (flat lighting = even, lacking contrast/shadows, generally not considered ideal for portrait work). Some fill light on her face would have helped and added a catchlight to her eyes. Consider a reflector, even something as simple as white posterboard.

3. This is almost a good shot but too things bother me. First and foremost, the cropped elbows. It's fine to crop limbs when you have to, but if you do, do it boldly and NEVER at/near a joint, or along a lateral axis. The other concern is the washed out background. Here again, using a flash for supplemental lighting would have allowed a more natural looking background and more dramatic, contrasty light on the face. The image also leans to the left slightly.

4. A very awkward crop IMO; if you going to crop the thorax, do it either above or below, but never through the breasts. I think this would have been better shot in portrait orientation.

5. There's a really good shot here, but I don't think you've quite nailed it. Her expression says, "This is the last one, if you don't put that camera away after this, I'm going to break it!" While I'm personally NOT a fan of tattoos, I think you could have really used this one to advantage if you'd had her cross her legs the other way so that it was more exposed. I would also like to see the modern Coke machine gone; it really takes away from vintage diner feel of the image. Try re-shooting this and posing her such that she's taking a sip of her drink and using both hands (one on the base of the glass, one on the straw) and looking slyly toward the camera with just her eyes.

Overall, nice work but of course, there's always room for improvement.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

ChristianGrattan · Jun 15, 2012

Great

Did you have source images as a jumping off point?

ShutterbugSarah · Jun 15, 2012

Thanks for the input everyone!

Haha as for my rebuttle...
The first two shots are for her headshots; I had taken more exciting pictures, but she wanted something simple. Also the lighting is to make her pop more, she is a VERY fair skinned girl and often didn't stand out well from neutral backgrounds.

The 3rd one I actually don't like to much,,, the crop is awkward but this is before I got my external flash.

And the 4th one is actually a crop, but I thought her face looked fierce.

And for the 5th one, believe me the coke machine bothers me, but we were in the middle of a BUSY restaurant. This was the only area of the bar that did have a ton of commotion.

Bellezzo · Jun 15, 2012

Oh I just say your reflection in the third picture in the sunglasses... Lol, sometimes it's cool but I don't think it really fit this image.

DiskoJoe · Jun 15, 2012

#4 FTW!

Studio7Four · Jun 15, 2012

C&C per request:

1) I agree that the composition is a bit passport-y, but that's fine with me if that's the type of headshot you were going for. The only issue I have with the composition of this one is the little hint of her blue top showing in the bottom left corner. I would prefer to either see more of the top, so it's obvious what she's wearing, or crop/clone this bit out to get more of a beauty shot feel. I agree that this shot is very yellow. Much of that is no doubt due to her skin tone, her hair color, and the neutral background, but I suspect that some of it is a white balance issue (looking at the whites of her eyes). Particularly with so little background showing I would recommend having her in front of a more colorful wall (still solid color, but not a neutral). Neutral is great when the subject's skin and hair have the depth of color to set him/her off from the background but does nothing for a subject who will blend in.

2) Again, I like this composition, but I think you have the same white balance issue as the first shot. The lighting here is not as flat as the first shot, but it's from such an angle that most of her face is flat lit and a bit dim.

(Aside - I'd like to see more from this shoot. These shots show potential in that shoot, and I'm curious to see the more exciting shots that you like.)

3) A fun capture. I think I'd like to see it a bit brighter, with a bit more contrast to bring out some texture in the sky. My first take was that he is standing, leaning towards the camera a bit. My second take, however, seeing the crop through his elbows (and the text on his shirt) is that he's sitting with his elbows propped on a table. And I'd definitely recommend doing some cleanup on his sunglasses to remove the reflected objects (you, the car, the other pedestrian).

4) I really like this one - great color, nice symmetry (right down to having the line between green and orange of whatever she's lying on/holding being centered). The green and orange work really well with her dress and hair. One suggestion I have would have been to have the background object go all the way to the bottom of the frame - those dark areas under her arms just look out of place.

5) Honestly, this one just says snapshot to me and is IMO the weakest of the bunch.