Senior Shoot- C&C welcome

westerngirl14 · Oct 12, 2010

So this was my first senior shoot! I know it's not perfect (far from it!) but keep in mind I am only a beginner. And since I'm beginner, that's the reason I'm posting this... Critiques are WELCOMED! be HARSH. :lol:

I want improvement in my shooting... so I need advice from the PROS.

and here they are: (HE is my brother, btw!)

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and btw, some of these pictures look grainy on here, but that's just because I uploaded them pretty small so they would upload faster. GRrr and now they look bad quality. Goes to show you can't cheat and win.

tirediron · Oct 12, 2010

C&C per req:

1. I don't think this image is the ideal candidate for a mono conversion. The whites in his shirt and the brightness of the arms are really distracting. I also find the background a little distracting.

2. Not sure if there's a WB issue or not, but I'm see parts of his shirt as slightly pink, and others blown out. Remember, fill light is your friend!

3. This one appears slightly soft and again, blown highlights on the shirt.

4. Ahh, much better in colour, but there's something odd about his face; did you do any post on this?

Overall, they're not too bad. A couple of common issues: Most images have the subject rather more centered than is generally considered ideal, and your backgrounds are too sharp and distracting. Find homogenous backgrounds, separate the subject from them and use large apertures, UNLESS they contribute to the image, as in say, the boy is from a farm-family you have a tractor in the near background. Also, don't forget to have the subject smile, or at least have different facial expressions. You're the photographer, you're the expert, take charge!

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

SrBiscuit · Oct 13, 2010

sitting with arms on knees,
sitting with arms on knees,
sitting with arms on knees,
sitting with arms on knees...
mix it up! have fun! get him up and moving...try some standing...try some sitting differently....variety!

4 is the clear cut winner for me, but i would reshoot it without the rusty fence. the natural setting of the BG looks nice, but is defeated by the fence.

good job overall! keep shootin! :thumbup:

westerngirl14 · Oct 13, 2010

tirediron said:
C&C per req:

1. I don't think this image is the ideal candidate for a mono conversion. The whites in his shirt and the brightness of the arms are really distracting. I also find the background a little distracting.

2. Not sure if there's a WB issue or not, but I'm see parts of his shirt as slightly pink, and others blown out. Remember, fill light is your friend!

3. This one appears slightly soft and again, blown highlights on the shirt.

4. Ahh, much better in colour, but there's something odd about his face; did you do any post on this?

Overall, they're not too bad. A couple of common issues: Most images have the subject rather more centered than is generally considered ideal, and your backgrounds are too sharp and distracting. Find homogenous backgrounds, separate the subject from them and use large apertures, UNLESS they contribute to the image, as in say, the boy is from a farm-family you have a tractor in the near background. Also, don't forget to have the subject smile, or at least have different facial expressions. You're the photographer, you're the expert, take charge!

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

on #2, it was shot in normal coloring and then I photo edited it into antique, and that's why it is given the "pinkish" color cast and overall "funny" lighting. He liked it in the antique coloring better than the normal!

Mm, yes, lots of blown places, I know. I shot these back in the spring being very novice with photography (still am, actually!) and did very badly with my highlights, as I can see now.

On #4, I did nothing to this picture...No post editing. It is as it is, so if something looks wrong about his face, well...that's just my brother for you. :lol:

:lmao: Haha

Background... to "busy"..I agree with you. Again, I was very inexperienced and just using what i had in the flower garden. :blushing: WHY did I use that ugly old fence anyway? LOL chalk it up to my lack of knowledge.

THANKS for the helpful critique! I am LEARNING from this!

westerngirl14 · Oct 13, 2010

SrBiscuit said:
sitting with arms on knees,
sitting with arms on knees,
sitting with arms on knees,
sitting with arms on knees...
mix it up! have fun! get him up and moving...try some standing...try some sitting differently....variety!

4 is the clear cut winner for me, but i would reshoot it without the rusty fence. the natural setting of the BG looks nice, but is defeated by the fence.

good job overall! keep shootin! :thumbup:

HANDS ON KNEES, OH MY STARS YOU'RE RIGHT!!!:shock: I never even realized I only had him sit like that! tHAT IS SO EMBARRASSING.:blushing: LOL...well he is not a very photogenic sort didn't want to be there in the first place so he wasn't in to making up his own poses and I, the little novice photography sister didn't do a good job of "shoving him around" and MAKING him pose I guess.
THANKS for the HEADS UP! very helpful

D-B-J · Oct 13, 2010

he looks so angry in all but the last one. Try some different angles, poses, and maybe have him smile some more? lol

SrBiscuit · Oct 14, 2010

nothing to be embarassed about at all!
it's the process of learning. so many times i dont see flaws in my photos until someone points them out...then i see it! D'OH!

keep shooting, keep learning! it's fun!

westerngirl14 · Oct 14, 2010

SrBiscuit said:
nothing to be embarassed about at all!
it's the process of learning. so many times i dont see flaws in my photos until someone points them out...then i see it! D'OH!

keep shooting, keep learning! it's fun!

Thanks so much!

Encouragement is so...well, ENCOURAGING.:mrgreen: Yes, I will DEFINITELY keep shooting...you couldn't pry the camera out of my hands if you tried! LOL

RauschPhotography · Oct 14, 2010

What were you shooting with? Looks very point and shoot-esque.

westerngirl14 · Oct 14, 2010

RauschPhotography said:
What were you shooting with? Looks very point and shoot-esque.

LOL, you're so very very true. I was shooting with an Olympus SP-500 UZ.... nothing so very great at all! Just using what I had. You see, these senior pictures are of my BROTHER and he hates getting his picture taken (that's why there are hardly any smiles...That is his normal "look" . I made him smile for that last one though!) so he didn't care what the quality of them were anyways, because the only reason he was getting them taken in the first place was because Mom was making him... and he didn't want to shuck out a bunch of money for it (though Mom would have paid for a professional), and he wanted his little sister (mE) to take them... SOOO with all that said, it was the first time I EVER took pictures of someone, other than just random candid snap shots... Very amature I can see now, but well, just wanted some constructive criticism on my very first try at portraiture.

THANKS ya'll for the comments! It's greatly encouraging and helpful!