Senior Photos for C&C please

[Parker219]

For C&C please.


If 6 photos are too many for individual C&C, then maybe just general thoughts, comments, or anything that stands out good or bad. Thank You




1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

 

[tirediron]

Not bad; a few thoughts: All would have benefitted from fill light (1, 3, and 5 especially). I would suggest playing around with some alternative crops to avoid quite so many centered compositions, and try and avoid the 'football shoulders' look of 1 and 3. #6 is a a nice pose but the background hurts; notice the way you've almost got her head framed by the entrance arch in the background?

 

[Parker219]

Good tips. Thank You.

No I didn't notice that on 6, but that's why it is good to have others look at it.

 

[pixmedic]

#2 is nice as a horizontal shot. #1 is nice shot wider as well.
the rest i think would look a little more polished shot (or cropped) vertical and tightened up a bit. theres really nothing going on around the sides that gives the photo much benefit from being there.

overall, its a nice set.
most could have benefited from some fill flash. #1 and #3 are really nice, but would have been great with flash.

 

[Austin Greene]

#1 you need to go back into lightroom. Use a brush and carefully boost her skin by about .2 of a stop and the shadows by 15 or so. All of the rest need work on composition. You've got poles coming out of her head, hands cut off by trees, etc. Good colors though.

 

[Derrel]

For C&C please.
If 6 photos are too many for individual C&C, then maybe just general thoughts, comments, or anything that stands out good or bad. Thank You]

The thing that stands out is her "picture face" fake smile...perfected most likely since she was a small child, she's not comfortable or at ease in front of the camera in the majority of these shots. This is one of the things one needs to watch for, and to be able to overcome by establishing some kind of rapport with the subject. Clown around a bit, talk to her, joke around, get her to loosen up a bit. Shot #4 is the only one that looks genuine...the smiles in 5 and 6 are good examples of very forced picture face. The thing in #5 is she is making the proper faked showing of the teeth, but her eyes are not conveying the right expression...apprehensive eyes, and a big, fake, toothy "smile". If you cannot come to any kind of rapport, at least come to an agreement about how expressions will be photographed.

This is something that needs to be discussed with every person before a session...the photographer needs to talk with the person about HOW their expressions will be captured, the variations in expression that are desired, and so on. There is very little worse than a fake, dishonest smile...a quiet, pensive, or even emotionally blank or hard-to-decode look is more pleasing than a false smile. I can almost guar-an-tee that her mother is one of those moms who chirped out, "SMILE! Smile pretty!" before EVERY shutter click, for this girls' entire upbringing.

This USED to be a HUGE problem in the days of film, and far,far fewer images being shot, and a much higher intrinsic value being placed on every snap of the shutter. And while the issue still exists, you need to be aware of this problem--it's a big,big issue, and learning ways to deal with it is important in photographing people.

 

[Austin Greene]

This is something that needs to be discussed with every person before a session...the photographer needs to talk with the person about HOW their expressions will be captured, the variations in expression that are desired, and so on. There is very little worse than a fake, dishonest smile...a quiet, pensive, or even emotionally blank or hard-to-decode look is more pleasing than a false smile. I can almost guar-an-tee that her mother is one of those moms who chirped out, "SMILE! Smile pretty!" before EVERY shutter click, for this girls' entire upbringing.

THIS. I couldn't agree more. Before every shoot I make a point of telling every client that "no smile is better than a fake smile" and that there is no pressure on them whatsoever to have some big, toothy grin. I usually mention that most of the shots that make it for me don't feature someone smiling.

9 times out of 10 you can literally see clients relax after they hear that.

 

[Parker219]

Good suggestions everyone.

I am looking back to see if I got any shots with flash for the photos you mentioned...or with a more natural smile.


7.

8.

9.

10.

 

[FITBMX]

Good suggestions everyone.

I am looking back to see if I got any shots with flash for the photos you mentioned...or with a more natural smile.

This set looks better to me.
But their are a few things I noticed.

#7 and #8 I would do some cropping on, they are both to wide of a frame for me.

I really like #9 but her sandals really distract me, they are to bright. You can use LR to fix that easily, other than that it's a good photo!

#10 needs a little crop work as well, and may be a tiny bit soft, but not that bad.

overall I like this set better!

 

[Parker219]

^ Thank You ^

Good suggestions.