The Ellegant Ella!

[DGMPhotography]

Hello,

So I did a photoshoot yesterday with my beautiful friend, Ella. I could use some C&C.

1) Nice and close. I feel like it might be a tad bit unfocused, but that might be because it's cropped from the image below.


2) Sitting down.


3) Standing. Yeah, the sun was a bit harsh as we went out around 5pm. We're gonna try to go around dawn or dusk next time though, or find more shading.


4) Now for some reason she didn't like this one, but it's one of my favorites!


Thanks!

 

[SCraig]

Pretty lady but personally I don't like portraits shot from above the subject.

 

[DGMPhotography]

I read that it's best to shoot females from above, and guys from below, so that's what I was following. She's also super short haha

 

[tirediron]

"Shooting from above" generally only means very slightly above, such as this example.

While your model is very attractive, there really should be some variation in her expression (That's YOUR job!). It also appears that your DoF was rather more shallow than would be ideal as her chin is quite soft. While you've done a good job of dealing with a strongly backlit subject, the pop-up flash is really NOT the ideal tool for the job. Consider getting your lights off of the camera, and using reflectors as well.

 

[SCraig]

Shooting anything alive from a position well above it puts the subject in a subservient position. Like a judge sitting above the courtroom and looking down on the people, it diminishes them. Likewise, shooting someone from below puts them in a position of power. I prefer not to give the impression of power or subservience. I feel that all people are equal so I shoot anything alive at eye level whenever possible.

 

[TimothyJinx]

I personally like #1. I like the very close crop on the face. I also think the angle is good on this one. (is it a close drop of #2?). It looks like you may have her left eye in focus but not her right. That's ok if you were going for an extremely shallow DoF as an effect. But I think typically you want to at least get the eyes in focus and if other features fall off then that may be ok.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Why is pop-up flash not good? In fact, what is the pop up flash good for? haha. And SCraig, I see what you mean - I think in this case, it's a matter of "different strokes for different folks." I will try to experiment a bit more though and yeah, I realize her looks were very similar in every photo. We're going to go shoot again sometime, and I'll try to get her to be a little more creative xD

 

[tirediron]

The only approved uses for the pop-up flash are (1) Sudden Sasquatch sightings; and (2) unexpected alien encounters. The pop-up flash produces very unattractive pin-point catchlights in the centre of the eye, and generally causes harsh shadows because it is always coming from exactly the same direction as the lens (FWIW, a speedlight in the hotshoe isn't any better unless it's aimed off-axis or bounced).

 

[DGMPhotography]

The only approved uses for the pop-up flash are (1) Sudden Sasquatch sightings; and (2) unexpected alien encounters. The pop-up flash produces very unattractive pin-point catchlights in the centre of the eye, and generally causes harsh shadows because it is always coming from exactly the same direction as the lens (FWIW, a speedlight in the hotshoe isn't any better unless it's aimed off-axis or bounced).

Hahahaha, that's what I thought. So maybe if I had a speedlight pointing at the ground and reflecting or something like that?

 

[Starskream666]

if you had a speedlight at the ground you wouldn't see any of the light

 

[tirediron]

Based on the sun and your camera postition, I would have placed my speedlight just slightly camera right and slightly above eye level. Remember when you're using the sun as a key, you usually want your fill to look natural, so position it so that it seems natural, and not as if you have two distinctly different light sources.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Based on the sun and your camera postition, I would have placed my speedlight just slightly camera right and slightly above eye level. Remember when you're using the sun as a key, you usually want your fill to look natural, so position it so that it seems natural, and not as if you have two distinctly different light sources.

That makes sense, so would the speedlight be on a tripod or something?

 

[kathyt]

Based on the sun and your camera postition, I would have placed my speedlight just slightly camera right and slightly above eye level. Remember when you're using the sun as a key, you usually want your fill to look natural, so position it so that it seems natural, and not as if you have two distinctly different light sources.

That makes sense, so would the speedlight be on a tripod or something?

Yes, you could put it on a tripod or light stand. I use a gorillapod alot and wrap that around stuff or just set it on something. It is smaller. I will also bounce my flash off of my reflector that is leaning on a tree. Try different things and see what works for you.

 

[SCraig]

You'll also need to find some way to trigger it since a D5100 doesn't have a built-in Speedlight Commander.