Senior Portraits C&C

[Dinardy]

I tagged along with a close friend to shoot her sister in laws senior portraits. I have slowly been working into second shooting weddings and portrait work regularly as the opportunities have presented themselves. I'm becoming more comfortable, but still feel completely out of element with the posed
work.

My photos are supplemental to the primary, so they don't really present as a complete set. I liked 1 & 2, I was also using a MF set of lenses, I think I need glasses...

These are up for your critique! Please and thank you.

 

[AmberAtLoveAndInk]

1, 3, & 5 are my fave but I think they are all gorge! My only critique would be her expressions in some, in my favorites listed she looks the most naturally posed/happy where as others you can see the "pose, ok, ok hold it! Yep, got it!" Instruction from her face. Really though, very nice!!

 

[Dinardy]

1, 3, & 5 are my fave but I think they are all gorge! My only critique would be her expressions in some, in my favorites listed she looks the most naturally posed/happy where as others you can see the "pose, ok, ok hold it! Yep, got it!" Instruction from her face. Really though, very nice!!

Thanks! Yeah what I was hoping to catch were those candid moments. I know very little about posing and was kind of just... sneaking a shot here and there when the primary would walk away or review her shots. Out of all of them I really liked 1, which sort of spoke for the moment. She has a really corky and funny personality, we all ended up having a pretty good time with it (we all were in a wedding together a few weeks ago). But again thank you for the critique!

 

[Dinardy]

I'll bump once for C&C please!

 

[tirediron]

Take my comment with a grain of salt since 'senior portraits' are not something that's common in Canada, and with which I have no experience, however, what strikes me when looking at this as a set, is that I don't really see much of 'her', rather I see a young lady who appears to be trying to pose like a model. Consider situations, clothing, and poses which showcase her personality and interests; sports, fashion, whatever it may be.

 

[Dinardy]

Take my comment with a grain of salt since 'senior portraits' are not something that's common in Canada, and with which I have no experience, however, what strikes me when looking at this as a set, is that I don't really see much of 'her', rather I see a young lady who appears to be trying to pose like a model. Consider situations, clothing, and poses which showcase her personality and interests; sports, fashion, whatever it may be.

Thanks tirediron!

I was a little taken back by the poses my friend was putting this girl in, but I went with it... I see what you're saying, and if I ever did venture into senior pictures I would keep that very important notion in mind. I don't know her super well, but she has a pretty corky and fun personality and went with the whole thing with laughs and smiles.

 

[KmH]

The light was to high. She has dark eye sockets (raccoon eye) in a lot of the photos.

Most pros use flash and/or reflectors when shooting outside on location so they have a lot of control over the light direction and quality.

Many of the poses accentuate her girth. A major responsibility of a portrait photographer is to minimize issues a person has with their body that tends to make them less attractive, be it an unattractive nose, big ears, scars, bad skin, weight, eye glasses, or whatever.

Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere
Off-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Photographers
On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography
Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography

http://www.dg28.com/technique/why_we_use_lights.htm
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

 

[Derrel]

Yeah, you kinda missed focus on a couple of those. Focusing has become amazingly critical on 24 megapixel digital...it reveals every mis-placement of the focus zone. The more I look at my images these days, the more often I see missed focus...it used to be almost invisible except in really badly missed examples back in the 2.7 and 4.2 megapixel days of the early 2000's, and even in the 6- to 8- and 10-megapixel eras, missed focus was in many ways not as big an issue as it is now.

I think it'd be tough trying to "sneak" shots or work as a second shooter when another person is photographing...I've never second shot with anybody, but I have had people tag along with me and shoot people sessions, and the dynamic is a bit different with that second person and that second camera entering into the equation.

Girls of her age are often pretty self-conscious in front of a real camera, even though they might have done 2,000 selfies with their phones.

 

[Dinardy]

Yeah, you kinda missed focus on a couple of those. Focusing has become amazingly critical on 24 megapixel digital...it reveals every mis-placement of the focus zone. The more I look at my images these days, the more often I see missed focus...it used to be almost invisible except in really badly missed examples back in the 2.7 and 4.2 megapixel days of the early 2000's, and even in the 6- to 8- and 10-megapixel eras, missed focus was in many ways not as big an issue as it is now.

I think it'd be tough trying to "sneak" shots or work as a second shooter when another person is photographing...I've never second shot with anybody, but I have had people tag along with me and shoot people sessions, and the dynamic is a bit different with that second person and that second camera entering into the equation.

Girls of her age are often pretty self-conscious in front of a real camera, even though they might have done 2,000 selfies with their phones.

Yeah I missed a lot of images due to being OOF. Perhaps it's time for an eye check-up...