Portrait Practice

[Ouhei]

I'm going to be doing some engagement shots for a friend soon and decided I needed some practice as I've never done anything like that before. So after a day of taking pictures for my girlfriends shop (she sells vintage hats) I made her go outside so I could take some pictures. I know the setting isn't anything special, but it was just a quick thing to make sure I was thinking in the right direction for camera settings.


331of365 by PictoriousPhoto, on Flickr


Ashley Portrait by PictoriousPhoto, on Flickr


Ashley Portrait 2 by PictoriousPhoto, on Flickr

The shop pictures were kind of fun for me too, as I finally got all of my flashes in. Here's a couple from that (keep in mind, these are largely "product" shots and are cropped square because that's how Etsy (site where her store is) wants them.


Poppycock Shoot 02 (new lights) by PictoriousPhoto, on Flickr


Poppycock Shoot 04 (new lights) by PictoriousPhoto, on Flickr

Thanks for looking and I welcome critique/comments.

 

[Trever1t]

They look good to me. Composition is good and lighting/focus very good.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

What's her Etsy name?

 

[Ouhei]

What's her Etsy name?

chic vintage hats for the modern lady by PoppycockVintage on Etsy

 

[tirediron]

They're a very good start. You've already mentioned the location, so I'll just remind you to always keep background in mind, and watch for things such as trees or light standards which might appear to grow out of the subjects head in the final print.
1. Very nice; well lit with a nice pose and expression. I think you could probably boost saturation on her face/hair a touch, but that's minor. Do consider getting your flash off of the camera and off to the side however.

2. There's a reason that the vertical orientation is referred to as "portrait". There's a great deal of wasted space here which adds nothing to the image.

3. As per #2, and remember to level your images in post if they're not shot level!

4, 5. Both need some fill light on the dress (alterantively choose lighter, brighter clothing. Make sure that you put more separation between the subject and background. This will eliminate the minor, but annoying shadows and the appearance of the texture. As well, what is she looking at? No need to have her staring directly down the lens, but at least toward the camera unless there's a reason that we can see (ie, we can see what she's looking at).

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[Karri]

I like them! They seemed extremely over-sharpened here in this thread, but when I looked at them on Flickr, I didn't see that. If you do any of the couple for the session on a wall like the last two above, watch the shadows and lighting on those pictures. I think a nice set overall!

 

[kundalini]

As a first time go at it, not too shabby.

A couple of things to take in consideration.

Apart from #1, all shots have what is referred to as 'football shoulders, as in, square to the camera. A more dynamic look would have her turn 30-45° to the camera. This will also aid in giving a slightly more exaggeration of lighting ratios if any exists without having to add more light.

If the model is standing and the feet are NOT part of the shot, have her rest one foot on a 4-6" (soild) object. These are often referred to as an apple box. Have her put her weight on the back heel.

If the model is sitting, have a small 'wedge' of some sort (shallow pillow, etc) for her to place under her far cheek. This will cause her weight to be placed on her hip rather than a flat bottom. Likewise as in the standing position, you can place a box, two-step ladder, etc out of frame to create a more dynamic pose. These 'props' will also releax your model because they now don't feel quite so exposed and gives them something to concentrate on.

If possible, have your model 5-6 feet away from the background to increase separation (last two shots). This will help to make them 'pop' more in the photo.

The need to practice, practice, practice can not be over-emphasized.

Good luck and keep posting.

 

[Ouhei]

Thanks for all the compliments/tips! I'm just getting started at this so any help is appreciated.

For the portrait shots, the first one is by far my favorite, I snapped probably 10 pictures and those were my favorite 3 so I figured I'd post more than 1 so people had more to go on.

For the shop shots, those are all right off my camera and cropped, I think I'll go back and add a bit of fill light to try and brighten up the dress a tad. I'll be doing another shoot with her for the shop this weekend probably and I plan on changing my lighting setup a little.