Studio shots

[Cely]

Hey everyone, I just took some studio pictures of a client of mine.
Tell me what you think.
1.

2.

3.

4.

 

[rabhobbes]

Just wondering , what the photos were for? Just personal use, or ???
First, I think you did good overall. Nice lighting and pp. Good ideas.
Here's my thoughts...

#1...I almost really like it. I might play with the crop/compostion. Come in a bit closer, and angle it so his fist is not so perfectly parallel
to the edge. Might give it a bit more action feel. To me as it is it looks slightly static.Here's an edit:

Like the lighting on 2 and the composition, but the perfect reflection of your strobe in his sunglasses really distracts me. (Hey! We were in a studio! Taking portrait shots!) Kind of like when the mic gets in the shot of a movie scene for me...I lose the fictional story. That's just how I see it, you may have been going for that on purpose...
I would like a bit more contrast on the shot as a whole too, but again that's my taste.

I really like #3! The 2 little hotspots on his forehead are slightly annoying, (I have the same problem in my shots and have been getting more aware of them when they happen and try to fix them). I like the postion he's in, the angle of his shoe, and his arm veins.:thumbup:
(His left arm is crying out for a tattoo. )

Cheers,
Rebecca

 

[Cely]

Thanks for the comments! I agree that the strobe is a bit distracting. However, I am not too good with photoshop, and I don't know a good way to get rid of it.

He wants these for personal use by the way. Haha

 

[JerryPH]

#1 - A few issues that bug me. First off, nothing is in focus. Not his hand, not his face, not his shirt. Rule #1 of portraiture is focus on the eyes and make sure they are RAZOR sharp. If the eyes are not the part that is the "subject", that is the part that needs to be sharp. His expression is... well, not exciting, not scarey, not mean... what really is he trying to express?

If you want anger, MAKE the subject express it!:

#2 - Back light is blasting away WAY too hot, and the front is IMHO underexposed. Those glasses are REALLY distracting becuase they are too big for his face and that reflection of the umbrella and strobe is not an attractive feature (please don't say you will address this in PS. Address it IN THE SHOT ). Zack Arias suggests something that I really like... "if you ever start to get lazy, or say that you can address it in photoshop later, give yourself a big smack in the back of the head...".

#3 - Pose is interesting, lighting just starts to get interesting but falls on it's face off into unattractiveness on camera right. I'd add a reflector to that side, pull the model 6-7 feet further forward and blur out that ugly backdrop. Ugh, those glasses are still there.

#4 - Lose the glasses, focus on his FACE not his feet. The personality of a person resides in the face (the EYES), not the traditional unlaced runners. I would have added a hairlight/rim light on THIS shot and done something about the unattractive material all over the floor.

Shows tons of promise... needs work.

 

[Cely]

Jerry, that is the type of C&C I like to hear! Thanks a lot for the info.

For number one, I was trying to get his hand in focus and the rest of his body to be blurred or out of focus. But I couldnt really work with a lower aperture because of my lighting set up. I know what you mean that his eyes should be razor sharp though.

Also for the reflection of the light, how could I make it look more natural? As you can see, its light shooting into an umbrella, is there a way I could make an umbrella look more natural?

Thanks for all the comments!

Edit: By the way, I agree that that is an ugly backdrop...however its one of the only ones I have to work with