Portrait/Fashion: Jade - Self-Critique (C&C appreciated)

[helenjune]

Hi guys,

These are my recent images from a photo shoot, and so far I consider them my best work yet.

Now to tear them apart.


#1

Camera: Canon 5d MkII
Aperture: F1.8
Shutter speed: 1/1000

Positive Attributes:

• Good exposure
• Model looks engaged? (well, to me she does)
• Good colour balance

Negative Attributes:

• Not sure about the models expression, I don't really like it personally.
• Possibly needs more colour?
• I've overlooked editing out the stray hairs again
• Even though the model is engaged, this is still a bit boring to me as a photo.
• Not sure about the focus and sharpness - especially on her right eye.

#2

Camera: Canon 5d MkII
Aperture: F2.5
Shutter speed: 1/1000

Positive Attributes:

• Good exposure
• I like the composition of where the model is standing in relation to the background
• I like the movement in the photograph with the skirt being all skirt-y.

Negative Attributes:

• I don't think her pose and look is strong/decisive enough, she looks a little unsure to me
• I don't think I put enough space for her feet in the foreground, it looks strange to me and like there should be kind of an equal amount of space under her feet and above her head.
• I feel I have neglected to clean up the smudges on the wall to the left.
• There's a strange line on her skirt on the bit that flares out to the right that I haven't corrected and not so sure how to without doing a dodgy job- having checked the original, I know that this was just how her skirt was normally.
• I'm not sure about her fingers being curled like they are.
• No real connection from model to the camera, for me.

#3

Camera: Canon 5d MkII
Aperture: F1.8
Shutter speed: 1/1000

Positive Attributes:

• Good exposure
• I like the shape she is making with her body

Negative Attributes:

• Her eyes are sleepy looking - I did critique her on this during the shoot but a lot of her images came out with these kinds of eyes and I don't like the way it is affecting this photo.
• There's a light spot on her skin above her breast that I couldn't seem to get rid of, it annoys me.
• Boring, meaningless, superficial

All in all, though I believe these are the best pictures I have taken to date, they are still far too superficial and boring for my liking. I didn't plan this shoot very much at all, apart from selecting the location and getting a makeup artist to do TFP with, I didn't go in with a specific mood or feeling I wanted to capture, so both the model and I were a bit lost with what we were doing and this of course was reflected in a lot of her expressions during the shoot - I think that's definitely my fault and responsibility.

Any advice or C&C you have for me is more than welcome!

 

[Brinr]

Great self critique I love that you do this. Great work as well, I would say that #2 the background is a little busy and does nothing to really "enhance" your model (ie no lines or shapes to push the eye towards your model). I'm not sure about the tilt on the windows in #3, if you corrected would it give her too much forward lean? That's all I got. :thumbup:

 

[Rebekah5280]

The models eyes are so dark, especially in #2 and #3, but even in #1, they still seem too dark, no spark.

 

[shortpants]

Well they're certainly not terrible! Being a bit lost as you said is probably what your problem was. It is a good idea to go in with a plan, have something visual in your head about how you want things to look. You seem to know what you DON'T want it to look like. It's nice too that you can critique your own photos. You'll get there in no time.
The way she's posed in 2 and 3 looks odd to me. Definitely like she doesn't know what to do. I would look up poses and have them memorized so you can direct more.
Your light overall is nice, I think I would just like to see a little fill in her eyes, they're not completely raccoon-like but they're a little dark.

If you're new to photography, you're doing great.

 

[ghache]

i think they look great I like the model, outfit and the tones are really nice.

Like mentionned, pay attention to makeup and the eyes, when shooting natural light without any reflectors or fill light , have your models wear a more peachy/nude makeup style instaid of smokey eyes because she will end up looking like a racoon . They are not too bad and ive seen and done worse myself. hahaha

:thumbup:

 

[MWC2]

I like these, but I'm with you on her eyes. I think that if her eyes were brighter, more alive, the whole feeling of the images would change. That's all I got, I love everything else about them (ok I don't like her shoes with the skirt but that's a personal thing, lol).

 

[gsgary]

Apertures are too small with a F/F camera

 

[amandalee]

I thought these were great! I agree with the eyes though everything else looks great. I will say that #2 looked awkward to me... a little unbalanced maybe? But awesome job!

 

[Derrel]

Close examination makes me think you might have had slightly nicer-looking shots by stopping the lens down to f/3.5 or so...

I think your self-critiquing skills are quite impressive for a beginning shooter. These are not terrible...the model's clothing looks "fashiony", and the location looks quite nice--clean, tidy, and somewhat elegant. The makeup looks adequate, but her expression/posing/eyes are probably the weakest aspects. I think you held up the photography end of things okay, but I do think you should have stopped the lens down just a bit more, for a better-quality image.

 

[christian.rudman]

i think they eyes thing was just a makeup deal, she has gorgeous eyes to start off with anyhow. i love the tones in them all, great with the orange skirt and her skin. every one of these shots the subject is centered, would be nice to see some variation in placement. and a smile once in a while! especially powerful in say image #2. she doesnt seem to change expressions at all, but i think that part is something for you to direct her in. she doesnt seem like she is in her element per se, but the possibility is there. great photos really, just some minor changes that i think really could effect the moods of the photos. keep up the great work!

edit: and as the gentleman above me pointed out, stopping down a bit would have given you a little better dof with her without ruining your bokeh too much. im excited to see what you do next!

 

[The_Traveler]

2 & 3 just look awkward and contrived to me. The background is at odds with her.

#1 is very nice but, as said before, the background is annoying.
I think it is over-exposed quite a bit.
She doesn't look luscious, she looks bleached out.
There are really blanched areas on her nose and forehead.

Here is a link to a bigger one.

 

[ghache]

2 & 3 just look awkward and contrived to me. The background is at odds with her.

#1 is very nice but, as said before, the background is annoying.
I think it is over-exposed quite a bit.
She doesn't look luscious, she looks bleached out.
There are really blanched areas on her nose and forehead.

Here is a link to a bigger one.

you totally scrwed it up.

 

[Derrel]

I have a question for the OP: what application are you using to create your JPEG images?? I pulled the images from the web into two different image viewers,and both show incorrect parameters for the image height; other applications, like Photoshop, seem to recognize the proper image height. Here is what I mean:

 

[The_Traveler]

you totally scrwed it up.

Wow, once I read your incisive analysis, I just had to agree.
It was the depth of thought, the great examples and, of course, your winning way of expressing yourself just convinced me to throw up my hands, get out of photography and go back to being a meat packer, my original occupation.

Oh, and your spelling too - impressive
Perhaps you are not familiar with the word.

 

[kundalini]

The posing issues I see in #2 and #3 seem to be the result of off-balanced footing and improper weight distribution. If the feet are not set correctly, it translates throughout the entire pose, even if you're doing a head and shoulder shot.