Senior Portraits -- First attempt, C&C! (I know there tons of these, pretty please?)

[dMau1986]

Over the last weekend I shot my girlfriends' younger sister's senior portraits. This is my first portrait attempt in general, so it was all pretty new to me. I didn't charge of course, as it was a great learning experience. (Since she was youngest of three, the mother requested a group shot of all her kids in their letter jackets, which explains the final two pics)

Since I won't be able to re-shoot, I would particularly like PP advice from those of you with senior photography experience. What do people like to see in a final edit? What makes the client happy?

Below are a few of my favorites, but if anyone is really curious to help, here is a link to the full set on my flickr:
Laura's Senior Photos - a set on Flickr


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8.

9.

 

[Inst!nct]

Great photos! Not enough time for total critique but all very sharp and well composed! Just me or am I seeing a tad of vignetting around the edges?

 

[reznap]

So nice to see an actual photo thread on 'the photo forum...'

Great job lighting #6 without bad shadows..
#5's beautiful, love the light and how she's 'peeking' out.
Great expression on #7, background is nice too. Not sure about the cut off elbow but it's not really hurting the picture.

Personally I would have liked to have seen the group shots from a few steps back.

Overall a good job I'd say

 

[dMau1986]

Great photos! Not enough time for total critique but all very sharp and well composed! Just me or am I seeing a tad of vignetting around the edges?

Actually I am glad you only see a "tad" vignetting, because I was afraid I had overdone it.

So nice to see an actual photo thread on 'the photo forum...'

Great job lighting #6 without bad shadows..
#5's beautiful, love the light and how she's 'peeking' out.
Great expression on #7, background is nice too. Not sure about the cut off elbow but it's not really hurting the picture.

Personally I would have liked to have seen the group shots from a few steps back.

Overall a good job I'd say

Thanks!

The group photos were cropped, so there is room to back out. I'm not looking at them now, but I would imagine there was some other stuff in the shot that cause me to crop that tight. I'll have to check. Thanks for the input.

 

[Aayria]

These are great! Good clarity, great light, composition.... I'll bet she was thrilled! Good job =)

*the only thing I'm not fond of is the elbow chop in the first picture..but her expression is great, and I love the light there, so it makes up for the shot. Still love this set.

 

[dMau1986]

Thanks for the comments.

Anyone with senior portrait experience care to chime in regarding the post processing/framing choices I made? I really want to make sure these can pass as quality senior photos and that she will be really happy once they are printed.

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

Im not gonna cc on all of them.. lol But had i been paying for these,i wouldnt be disappointed, personally. I really think you did a great job!

 

[ceomom703]

These are very nice shots. I like 5 & 9 best because it captures the mood.

 

[eccs19]

I'm in the same boat as you, NOT a portrait photographer, but I have to agree with everyone else, I think you did a fantastic job. I'd be proud to admit I did those.