The full frame life's for me!

[elizpage]

Needs some retouching obviously.. but this unedited except for 1 filter ^_^
She's never had a photo shoot done before, so I gave her one before she moves overseas for 3 years. She's gorgeous, no?

 

[elizpage]

A totally different feel shot - I like this one more.

 

[Parker219]

Lets see the fully edited final product.

 

[vfotog]

A totally different feel shot - I like this one more. View attachment 106780

the background really takes away from the image

 

[robbins.photo]

Glad your enjoying the new gear. Nice to see your getting out and having some fun with it, keep us posted!

 

[elizpage]

Glad your enjoying the new gear. Nice to see your getting out and having some fun with it, keep us posted!

Thank you!

 

[pixmedic]

I'm viewing from my phone, so I probably can't give any super detailed critique, but I think both of these shots could have benefited from some fill flash. Especially #2. Full frame is great, but all the ISO performance in the world doesn't do anything to help shadows.

I like the pose in #1. She has a very authoritative look.
Color is nice, and wb looks good.

The background in #2 really does hurt this shot. I think this one really needed flash too. I don't get a great view on my phone, but it seems to have very dark and unflattering shadows across her face. I will get a better look at it when I get off shift tomorrow and can get look from a calibrated monitor.
I do like the pose here.

 

[JustJazzie]

New cameras are such fun, glad to hear you are enjoying yours.

I think number one is the stronger of the set. The lighting is better overall, and the background is less distracting. I like her expression here!

Number two seems underexposed to me, and the background doesn't really suit the feel of her pose well. The trees through her head, the cars, and the bright orange traffic cone really clash with the relaxed feel of the subject.

 

[Designer]

I am really just enjoying using the Full Frame aspects of my camera.

Congratulations on the new camera! I really mean that, and I am somewhat envious of new and more capable gear, so there's that. I am also very glad you posted these shots and that you are fully enjoying your new full-frame camera!

 

[elizpage]

I'm viewing from my phone, so I probably can't give any super detailed critique, but I think both of these shots could have benefited from some fill flash. Especially #2. Full frame is great, but all the ISO performance in the world doesn't do anything to help shadows.

I like the pose in #1. She has a very authoritative look.
Color is nice, and wb looks good.

The background in #2 really does hurt this shot. I think this one really needed flash too. I don't get a great view on my phone, but it seems to have very dark and unflattering shadows across her face. I will get a better look at it when I get off shift tomorrow and can get look from a calibrated monitor.
I do like the pose here.

Thank you! I think they probably could have as well. I just didn't really have that option.

 

[FITBMX]

Is the fact that I would have deleted these images before they saw the light of day constructive criticism?

It is post like this that make me hesitant to post my photos. This helps no one, and not funny!!!

 

[FITBMX]

You did get some good C&C above. Now you got a full frame, what are you saving up for next? I know new gear doesn't make the photo better, but lets face it, we are all looking to upgrade something!

 

[Vtec44]

It is post like this that make me hesitant to post my photos. This helps no one, and not funny!!!

Hater's gonna hate. I find that established photographers usually don't hate on others.

 

[rexbobcat]

The comments on this thread are unnecessarily harsh.

 

[sashbar]

It would be much more constructive to give me an image that would have been shot in a similar situation where you feel you did better or the person did better. Or actually some.. Idk.. Tips? Rather than just giving me nothing that I can work with rather that I need to work on the basics...

Tips?
1. There is "Just for Fun" section on this forum where members post their fun pics, if you post in other sections, you are open to C&C which may be quite harsh. There is nothing personal in this criticism, so do not take it personal. Critical posts may be not pleasant but they are much more useful than "what a nice photo!" and "oh, she is gorgeous" .
2. As many mentioned, watch the background, vfotog was spot on regarding the background in the first image hitting right at the top of the head, it struck me immediately as well. You may not realise it but these little things are very telling about you as a photographer. Try to separate such lines, watch what is immediately around your subject head, otherwise it just looks untidy and casual. Even if it is a fun shot, as you stated, it is a good practice to pay attention to details. Look for split backgrounds around your subject's head, i.e. backgrounds of different colors, texture etc. and if it is there, ask yourself it you need it, or if it is better to move your subject a bit. I like the background in the first image, it creates a good color scheme with her dress, but it needs to be used better. The WB is slightly off on my iPad.
3. Your background will influence the way your subject is exposed, depending of what exposure mode you are using. If you shoot against the more or less bright sky using a matrix mode, as in the second shot, prepare either to crank the exposure compensation up and blow the living hell out of the sky or use a fill flash. Otherwise your subject will be severly underexposed as in your second image. Such aggressive background may also shift your WB, it looks way off in the second image.
4. Read about different positionings of the camera. There is an old standard rule for a classic portrait stating that the camera should be positioned at the eye level or slightly higher. It is not a strict rule anymore, since portraits became more creative, but you still need to bear it in mind, because in general it is a more flattering position and there is a good reasoning behind it. My tip is to bear it in mind as your starting position, examine the shape of your client's face and then decide if it is justified to move lower or higher. It will depend on the subject's face and your creative idea. If your client has a very long nose for example, you may go lower, it helps to shorten it. If you want to open your client eyes, move a bit higher, the eyes will look larger. If the lower part of the face is heavy, you need to think twice before going lower, and there should be some overriding creative idea for you to do it, if you know what I mean. Usually photogs avoid creating double chins or shooting into nostrils what happens when you shoot from a low position.
5. As I said earlier, read about the light. It is such a vast area of photography, no one will explain it in a forum post. And it is such an important thing. Just look how her eyes are lit, must be some beautiful eyes, but it looks like two black holes in the first image. It just kills the shot to me. The light is completely unflattering in both images for various reasons and in more than one way. Honestly, I would not even take my camera out of my bag with this light.
6. There is also a lot of small, but important things that more experienced portraiture photographers here may point to and give you a better advice than I am capable of. There are some seriously solid photogs here. But as I said in my other post, judging by your photos - and this is just my impression looking at these images, others may disagree - the best tip will probably be - take time to learn the basics. Buy some good photography books, not just portraiture, that you might have probably read, but some other genres, and especially books on understanding and using light, and spend some time reading and digesting the information. I hope you are aware that the camera sees the world in a completely different way compared to how our eyes see it. I think that understanding these things will be a huge investment in your photography at the moment.