please critique round two photos

[12sndsgood]

this is round two of me tring to improve with the help of.... well myself. think i did better on the focus this time. and worked on diffrent angle and setups to try and just see what happens. still didnt like most of them. but let me know what you think on this set. i think its an improvement on the first set.

1.)


DSC_0016 by Sndsgood, on Flickr

2.)


DSC_0050 by Sndsgood, on Flickr

3.)
this was shot with the camera about 8' off the floor looking down.


sunrise_2 by Sndsgood, on Flickr

4.)
and another black on black shot. should definatly use the lint brush before i wear that again.


DSC_0046 by Sndsgood, on Flickr

5.) and of course sometthing stupid at the end


DSC_0064 by Sndsgood, on Flickr

i think on allot of these i really could have benifitted with a reflector and maybe another flash to light the hair. the dark hair on the black backdrop just blends in to much. or im just not good enough at getting the seperation.

 

[The_Traveler]

I think you are right about the light to get separation from the background.
Looking at #1, imo, sharpness is excellent but your light is way too harsh, and the color balance is off.
Your head is too low in the frame.


I worked on the color balance, cropped it, reduced the light to cut down on the harshness some.
Looks a bit better but, imo, self portraits is too hard when you're trying to figure stuff out.
Screw this self-portrait stuff, get someone else to shoot so you can look through the lens.

Lew

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

 

[12sndsgood]

thanks guys. i see what you mean. id definatly rather have someone in front of the camera. the person i was going to shoot got busy this week so it was shoot myself or shoot fruit or something.if i could get someone to shoot every day id be a happy camper lol.

 

[jaicatalano]

Alright a couple of things..

Bring your main light on the other side.
Use a hair light.
Tilt his head down a bit. Pose him but don't make it look like a pose.
Tell him to breath. Try different faces then take the shot.
No hand on the chin. He looks very uncomfortable.

 

[12sndsgood]

couple of questions. why switch sides with the main light? is it my positioning that causes the need for the switch of sides?
i definatly want to pick up another light scource or two.
the two poses where im looking up were a couple of shots i tried with the camera up really high looking down. i normally try to keep it around eye level.
i was uncomfortable lol. im not fond of being on that side of the camera. but i was the only available so i used myself for practice. i definatly need to research on poses.

thanks for the responce. really curious to hear the answer of switching light sides.

 

[phototod]

Your placement of the main light is good like it is for the way you are posed. For me the direction of the face determines the side the main light comes from. Which for traditional short lighting your placement is correct. Of course that is purely your choice but that is the traditional way to light portraits, which I use 90% of the time. I agree that you need s little more fill light and hair light.

 

[12sndsgood]

traveler mentioned about my color balance being off. i was using an umbrella reflecting back off of it.would a gell or white balance adjustment fixed the issue of the photo being a bit to cold? is this something fixable in the shot versus fixing in post. i'll be honest. looking at my viewfinder after i take a pic. something like this i wonder if i would even notice. i probaly wouldn't even see it until i bring it up on the computer. definatly think i need to slow down and take more time looking at pics and adjusting them before i post them up.