T-Shirt Promo Shoot

[DeepSpring]

Some of you might have seen my post asking help for this shoot, and it is finally done. This was my first "real" photoshoot so I'd like to hear some feedback. It is for my bands newest (and only lol) t-shirt
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

 

[Big Mike]

Nice work. #2, 3 & 4 are my favorite.

They all have a kind of cool feel to them, with lots of contrast. I do think that the shadows are just a bit too dark though. But maybe that's part of the moody feel to it...which may go with the image of your band.

 

[woodsac]

I also think the shadows are a tad dark, but no big deal. Technically, I think they're fine.

But in my opinion, they're just boring? I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be looking at the shirts or the people. There is no real emphasis on either one. Maybe try some risky crops or tilts? I just think they need a little flare.

 

[DeepSpring]

I also think the shadows are a tad dark, but no big deal. Technically, I think they're fine.

But in my opinion, they're just boring? I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be looking at the shirts or the people. There is no real emphasis on either one. Maybe try some risky crops or tilts? I just think they need a little flare.

I'll fix the shadows for what we put on our site.

As far as the boring goes I think I just need to do this a few times and get a firm grasp of the basics and rules and then I can start breaking them and making it more fun

Thanks for the replies

 

[Big Mike]

Also, it looks like on #4 & #5...that you are focused on the wall, rather than on the model...and you DOF was not deep enough...so she is out of focus.

 

[Digital Matt]

I'm concerned about the sharpness. That's the biggest glaring negative to me on these. The concepts and poses are cool, and yes the shadows are too muddy, but the high contrast look works to an extent.

 

[DeepSpring]

That's one of the biggest problems I have been facing recently. The focus dot seems to be on her face and in the view finder it looks to be in focus but so often when I see my pictures bigger on the screen they end up not being so in focus. For this I realized I didn't need to have such a shallow DOF because it's just a wall behind me nothing to blur or anything. But other times when I have a big aperture how can I look for that?

 

[Big Mike]

Perhaps you are focusing on her face...and then refocusing when you take the shot? What I do, is to focus on the subject's eyes, then recompose without letting the auto focus activate again. If you have the AF active with a half-press of the button (the standard) then you should be using single shot mode and making sure that the focus is locked before you recompose.

On my cameras, I have the AF set to the * button, behind the release button...so I activate the AF with my thumb to focus, then I recompose and just press the shutter release.