Senior Portrait Session, C&C appreciated!

jkleinhe · Jul 10, 2010

So I have ventured into the senior market and am getting my feet wet. I am doing complete natural. I would really like to excel in this market so whatever comments or ideas you may have, please do express them.

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dukeboy1977 · Jul 11, 2010

I like your work very much, BUT I can't get over the "head on the tracks" suicide pic...It scared me a lil! lol I don't understand how a chair would get into the field either so this pic makes no sense to me, but ok...You had a gorgeous subject to work with which makes almost anything look good, so...good job. What equipment are you using? You could PM me if you want to keep it private, if you don't mind sharing with me. Thank you, Jeff

Robin Usagani · Jul 11, 2010

Need to show her legs and body more. I think the red chair is an awesome idea with that background. Did you take one with her sitting on it and you shoot directly from the front with her legs crossed or something? I do not like #2 at all. I like # 6 the best.

jkleinhe · Jul 11, 2010

Schwettylens said:
Need to show her legs and body more. I think the red chair is an awesome idea with that background. Did you take one with her sitting on it and you shoot directly from the front with her legs crossed or something? I do not like #2 at all. I like # 6 the best.

Thank you for your response. I really liked the red chair too. Here are a few of her with full body. I didn't post any because I feel like they are lacking in some way. Perhaps you can give some critique on what I could do better. I am just not in love with them.

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jkleinhe · Jul 11, 2010

dukeboy1977 said:
I like your work very much, BUT I can't get over the "head on the tracks" suicide pic...It scared me a lil! lol I don't understand how a chair would get into the field either so this pic makes no sense to me, but ok...You had a gorgeous subject to work with which makes almost anything look good, so...good job. What equipment are you using? You could PM me if you want to keep it private, if you don't mind sharing with me. Thank you, Jeff

I'll be honest and say that I don't have the best equipment. I am currently still using a Nikon D90. Realistically, it serves me just as well as the D300 that many use at a fraction of the price. I am saving however for the 700 so that I can have a full frame. Not being a full frame is really, in my mind, the biggest place that my camera is lacking. For lenses I used the Nikkor 50mm 1.4, which I try to use the most. It is fast and tack sharp. At times I also used my AF-S DX VR Zoom- NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED. It is not a fast lens, but it gets the job done. I can't wait to get the newest Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens but I need to continue to get clients in order to pay for it! Hence why I would really like to get into the senior market...also I really enjoy this age group! Lastly, I always have a step ladder and reflector. That is it! I work in NC so it is HOT and HUMID. This shoot that I posted I did in 100 degree weather and I was dripping with sweat. Because of the conditions I try to have as little as possible with my besides my props. Plus I try to go to numerous locations so I don't like to bring lights and such as it takes longer for set up when I am shooting seniors. Lastly I use LR and PS to edit all of my images.

Robin Usagani · Jul 11, 2010

I know there are rules with senior portraits. But you could break the rules for the photos she wont submit. I think she could sit on the chair and not look at the camera once in a while

. Man.. now you are making me want to go to the thrift store and find an old red chair like that!

gsgary · Jul 11, 2010

The eyes look soft in all of the shots, #2 from the second batch looks the best, not a fan of the rail track shots everyone seems to be doing those shots try to look for something different

Stephen.C · Jul 11, 2010

I like 3, 5 and 6 alot =) I hope you get a bunch more seniors!

Big Mike · Jul 12, 2010

Nice work.
Overall, I'd say that they could benefit from close cropping. In #1, for example, there is a lot of dead space above her, that is not really helping the image. And while her head & torso are centred, her legs go off to the left, leaving dead space on the right. Including her knees and leaving less space on the right, would have been better.

The one that is closely cropped, #2, is (IMO) an awkward angle and doesn't really work.

Aayria · Jul 12, 2010

I would like to comment more.. but since I'm limited on time I just want to say +1 to the head on the railroad track one being scary! I like the shot where she's just sitting on the tracks, with the railroad trailing behind her.. but geez... that one with the head on the tracks is difficult to look at without cringing.

Derrel · Jul 12, 2010

Your color palette is nice: natural and lovely in appearance, and not overly saturated and faked-looking. Your lighting quality is controlled and fairly consistent from frame to frame,and your shots have a nice catchlight in the eyes, probably from the use of the reflector and natural late afternoon light. On the second set, of the boxcar and her, you show the proper use of horizontal framing in environmental portraiture, where the camera is turned horizontally to show an *interesting* background that is actually part of the composition, with a valid reason for its inclusion within the final frame. While a couple of shots could use a bit of refinement, overall you did okay on this set I think. Much better than many people do on senior sessions.

jkleinhe · Jul 13, 2010

Big Mike said:
Nice work.
Overall, I'd say that they could benefit from close cropping. In #1, for example, there is a lot of dead space above her, that is not really helping the image. And while her head & torso are centred, her legs go off to the left, leaving dead space on the right. Including her knees and leaving less space on the right, would have been better.

The one that is closely cropped, #2, is (IMO) an awkward angle and doesn't really work.

Thanks for the comments. I'm not sure how much closer I can crop on most of these in the first batch. I try and get it right in the camera so that I don't have to do much cropping once I load them into my computer. What I have found is that if I get to close, then I loose too much or it doesn't look good when printed if the client chooses an 8x10, it just cuts off too much of them. Do you know what I mean?

I will work on my cropping in the future though. I certainly don't want people scratching their heads wondering why I have so much dead space in a photo.

jkleinhe · Jul 13, 2010

Derrel said:
Your color palette is nice: natural and lovely in appearance, and not overly saturated and faked-looking. Your lighting quality is controlled and fairly consistent from frame to frame,and your shots have a nice catchlight in the eyes, probably from the use of the reflector and natural late afternoon light. On the second set, of the boxcar and her, you show the proper use of horizontal framing in environmental portraiture, where the camera is turned horizontally to show an *interesting* background that is actually part of the composition, with a valid reason for its inclusion within the final frame. While a couple of shots could use a bit of refinement, overall you did okay on this set I think. Much better than many people do on senior sessions.

Thank you for your critique! I was hoping that someone would be more of a technical speaker. If you have time, I would love for you to further tell me exactly which images need refining and how I might do it.

Big Mike · Jul 13, 2010

jkleinhe said:
Big Mike said:

Nice work.
Overall, I'd say that they could benefit from close cropping. In #1, for example, there is a lot of dead space above her, that is not really helping the image. And while her head & torso are centred, her legs go off to the left, leaving dead space on the right. Including her knees and leaving less space on the right, would have been better.

The one that is closely cropped, #2, is (IMO) an awkward angle and doesn't really work.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments. I'm not sure how much closer I can crop on most of these in the first batch. I try and get it right in the camera so that I don't have to do much cropping once I load them into my computer. What I have found is that if I get to close, then I loose too much or it doesn't look good when printed if the client chooses an 8x10, it just cuts off too much of them. Do you know what I mean?

I will work on my cropping in the future though. I certainly don't want people scratching their heads wondering why I have so much dead space in a photo.

It is good to 'crop-in-camera' and get it right in the first place. But I find that it's also really good if you can visualize different crops as you are shooting. For example, you might look through your viewfinder and think that you want to leave a little extra space because you might sell an 8x10. If you crop too close at the camera's 2:3 ration, you might miss the chance for that 8x10.

And really, cropping is pretty easy (with the right software) and most cameras have enough resolution that you shouldn't worry about it.