Portrait of My Wife C&C Needed

[Bgagnon127]

Hi All, Looking for professional feedback regarding posing, lighting, composition. Not on my wife unless it's positive I'm really just starting to get into this people photography thing so I really want honest feedback that helps me get better. Thanks for a response.

#1 This one is more accurate in regards to her personality, pretty reserved but really nice. Did you get that from the photo?

#2 This one is a bit awkward and I don't love the pose, but I'm still lacking the eye to really say how to make it better. Any comments that are helpful.

 

[dxqcanada]

Ah, posing ... I have always hated that.

I think this does not need a full body shot ... the stool does not add to the shot.

The second shot looks like she is falling backwards ... it looks like you told her to pose that way.
A loveseat would be better for that pose.

You really have to keep an eye on your background material ...
in the back there are ripples that are reflecting light.
on the ground, caused by your wifes shoes.


What is your lighting setup ?

 

[photosanity]

Yeah, definitely use a back drop that can not be wrinkled.

 

[mwcfarms]

In number one she looks more natural. Her bottom feet turning in look shy and if you are going to have her knees turned to one side try not to make that the side cropped more. There is more space on the right side of the frame. So you could have the chair over a bit more and her knees angled to the left. Also the head is pretty close to the top of the frame. Would be a very tight crop for a full body shot. I think you also need to move her away from the backdrop more. Try to get some separation from the subject and it. Its very obvious that it needs ironing. The second one she looks really uncomfortable. I love her expression in the first one, it seems very natural. The I wish you would hurry so I can stop indulging you sweet look. I'm not sure since I am not a lighting expert but the hair light looks a bit low maybe one number one. The catchlights look to be a bit centered as well. Overall really good I think for just starting out. I also tell all women to put there chin down and try to stick it out a bit. This prevents any appearance of a chin-chin from showing up.

 

[gsgary]

Turn the chair away from the camera and shoulders and have her turn towards the camera and you get a slimming effect because the shoulders look narrow, having her too straight on to the camera is making her look wider than she actually is, also try some short lighting which means you light the side of the face farthest away from the camera which puts some shadow on the other side of the face, if there is too much shadow use a reflector to bouce back some light into the shadows

 

[GreatPhotoRace]

Hi All, Looking for professional feedback regarding posing, lighting, composition. Not on my wife unless it's positive I'm really just starting to get into this people photography thing so I really want honest feedback that helps me get better. Thanks for a response.

Haha, I'm not sure if I'd even want to hear a positive comment. What if someone were to say... "hello there, veryyyy nice." Just kidding.

 

[Bgagnon127]

Turn the chair away from the camera and shoulders and have her turn towards the camera and you get a slimming effect because the shoulders look narrow, having her too straight on to the camera is making her look wider than she actually is, also try some short lighting which means you light the side of the face farthest away from the camera which puts some shadow on the other side of the face, if there is too much shadow use a reflector to bouce back some light into the shadows

Interesting lighting suggestion I'll have to try it and see if I like it. Thanks