Teach me how to portrait senpai <3

[Willvs]

Hi everyone! This is my first time on the forum.. Photography is my hobby and I would really like to take great portrait shots. The only photos I shot were in the zoo, and these photos were from animals and not people.. I will show my best photo from the zoo below, maybe some one give some feedback of what's good or wrong with it. I will also show a picture that's my inspiration for portrait. I would really like to make a similar photo but I don't know how and how they edited it...

I hope some one could help me out!

Cheers

Link to the portrait example: Instagram post by Selena Gomez • Jun 25, 2016 at 9:03pm UTC

 

[zombiesniper]

If you did not take the second picture please link to it. It is against forum rules to post pictures that you do not own the rights to.

I'm just starting into portrait photography myself so I'll let the more experienced members provide their input.

 

[Willvs]

@zombiesniper Thanks for the reply! I updated the post.

 

[table1349]

Portrait Photography Tips - dPS
8 Tips Every Beginning Portrait Photographer Should Know
7 Tips Your Camera Manual Never Told You About Portrait Photography | Fstoppers
Portrait Photography Bootcamp with Lindsay Adler | CreativeLive - Learn. Be Inspired.

 

[waday]

I would really like to make a similar photo but I don't know how and how they edited it...

Your photo looks a bit underexposed. Maybe bring up the exposure a tad?

Outside of that, if you're looking for the "matte" look, here's a really good overview. It's super easy to do in Lightroom:
How to Create The Popular Matte Look in Lightroom | Fstoppers

 

[SoulfulRecover]

Learn to read light and the rest comes easy.

Watch this series on YouTube:

 

[BrentC]

What waday said. Bring up the exposure.

 

[Derrel]

The Selena Gomez shot had a large source of soft, diffused light illuminating her, and then the black point was "lifted" in software, which gave that overall low-constrast look to it; that look is popular right now, and its misty, hazy look is similar to an old-time look, that of a very,very soft fog filter or a very thin white diffusion filter used at the time of shooting.

The image was likely worked on by a high-level photo retouched for eight to ten hours, to perfect evey single minute detail, as per the art director's explict instructions. So...start with a world-recognized woman with a beautiful and flawless face; then, do a one-hour makeup job on her; then light her; then retouch the selected image for a whole day. Easy!

The video that SoulfulRecover links to above is actually pretty good! I watched several sections of it, and thought the advice and the instructional examples were excellent.

 

[Designer]

None of that evil GMO light for me!

It is not called "Frankenlight" for no reason!

Beware!

 

[Ysarex]

So...start with a world-recognized woman with a beautiful and flawless face; then, do a one-hour makeup job on her; then light her; then retouch the selected image for a whole day. Easy!

You left out the cosmetic surgery -- you can't skip that step.

Joe

 

[Ysarex]

What waday said: your owl is too dark. Something more like this:

Joe

 

[Derrel]

So...start with a world-recognized woman with a beautiful and flawless face; then, do a one-hour makeup job on her; then light her; then retouch the selected image for a whole day. Easy!

You left out the cosmetic surgery -- you can't skip that step.

Joe

Yeah, she has had several procedures, according to this website that specializes in following and reporting on cosmetic surgery among celebrities.

Selena Gomez Plastic Surgery for older looks!
***Of course, that was "then" and this is "now"--super-puffed-up lip job in early February of 2017 photos...

Selena Gomez Goes Overboard With Lip Injections, Top Docs Believe