The Sweetest Smile

[PatrickCheung]

i did a really crude, quick shoot with my friend from church today. we had 30minutes between two services to shoot, so it was extremely rushed. i had on me my D60 with the Kit Lens and Sb-600 attached to it beforehand so i shot with that. I didn't have enough time to switch lenses and shoot... well i didnt have time to fumble through my extremely inconvenient bag to grab the lens hahah. we also didn't have much time to find a nice background... the area around us was either houses or iced over fields... the empty fields would've been nice but the ice was too slippery to stand on. instead, we found the closest... relatively open and unoccupied place, and just started shooting.

this is my first ever shoot... well it wasnt really a shoot, but first planned portrait taking session! i know i'm not gonna get a lot of comments (i never do!)... but here are a few of my favourites:

More info and the rest of the photos can be viewed here

 

[ShutterCraz]

Hi Patrick... well... I'm new to the forum... mind I break the ice..??
Like the enthusiasm... and Like you said... abit rushed...
Personally.... love number 2... among the 3...
#1 and #3 is abit distracting with regard to the background
As for #2... although its my fav... the blue dustbin and the hair near the lips kinda distracts me...

Must have been cold...

 

[PatrickCheung]

thanks for commenting :] don't be afraid to comment!
oh damn... i didn't notice the blue bin there before hahaha... i'm gonna try and fix that today! the backgrounds are horribly crowded and she seems a little out of place there... but i think it was the best we could do with what he had to work with.

:] and yeaahh it was cold!

 

[Caity]

Hi! First, lovely model... She seems very warm and accessable, and has a beautiful smile.

Out of all three I really like the 3rd best... And I agree, less distraction in the background would improve it greatly. I think even just removing the car and the bit of building in the crook of her elbow would help. Edit: Scratch that, even leave the elbow part and it would be good... I can't decide! Ha.

I feel it man! I would love to see more.

 

[Derrel]

The second photo is the most warm and engaging,and I like the expression she has. I do see some haloing around her body,and I think maybe it would look a bit better if her face and hair were a bit lighter. It looks like you've decreased the brightness of the pavement all around her, and it looks like you went a bit too far in darkening the periphery. Considering the rather barren environment, I think you did a reasonably good job of selecting a background and making a picture that is warm,friendly, and engaging; if this is your "first shoot", you did very well--much better than many people's first shoot!

 

[Nikkor]

I really like these. I'd say there looks to be a little too much of the HDR effect on her face in the first one, but other than that, I really like them! She was brave! It looks freezing!

 

[Chris Stegner]

They all look nice, as does she. But they all seem to be lacking mid-tone detail. Maybe they're just slightly over saturated or something?

 

[The_Traveler]

She has a nice smile but these pictures are all well underexposed.

Look at the histogram of the outlined area. The entire range is low- almost below the midline. The lighter tones are the grey scarf and her face is showing color noise already.

Use the histogram to understand your exposure.

 

[PatrickCheung]

thanks for all the input guys!

Caity: yeah! she was amazing to work with... i think it was her first shoot too! i think she did amazing for her first shoot.

derrel: you've got to be one of the most encouraging, helpful people in this forum. yupp there's haloing around the body, i kinda wanted to give her a "glowing" effect, kinda like.... lighting up the dark, gloomy scene and the grey skies that stayed for the rest of the day. kinda like a "light in the darkness" idea. iunno. i dont think i succeeded hahaha. the haloing was a little amplified when i added a bit of vignetting. i wanted to darken the area around her because it was a bit too bright... but i didn't want the entire background darkened, so i added vignetting to try and achieve the "glowing" effect.

Chris: i always read comments about missing mid-tones... i don't quite understand that D: can you clarify it for me?

Traveler: yeah, when i looked at the photos after, i realized they were too dark. someone else on this forum told me to overexpose in a way that gives maximum brightness, but doesnt blow out any colours. i'll definately keep that in mind next time

also! i just got a friend to help me hold a reflector for my next shoot. i don't quite have the money for a proper reflector (christmas break stole my money), so i'm wondering if white bristol board will do?

i really enjoy portraiture! that's surprising because i thought that'd be the last area in photography i'd ever consider trying, reason being that i hate letting people down... and i dont wanna let my models down with my crappy photos. :] i'll definately practice portraiture, so i won't let anyone down in the future!

 

[Caity]

Did she enjoy the experience? Tell her at least one person thinks she should keep posing for you! I remember my first "shoot" (I cringe to call it that though, I had no idea what was going on really) with my wife. I was SO afraid she wouldn't like them, or that she would be like "What are you DOING?" when I asked her to do different things/direct her... And you could sense my fear I'm sure through the photos! Over time though it got better, and this may sound bad, but I put less emphasis on what she liked (she's a nurse, and knows very little about actual photography. She thinks everything is pretty) and more on getting the image like my "vision". Of course I never discredit her outright... She IS my wife afterall, haha! One thing I learned though, if it's someone you know, don't get too heavy into critiquing too critically right away... They're learning too! Also if it's a technical problem with the picture, tell them that, so they don't think it's *them* that made the photo not exactly how you envisioned... And if it is them.. Well. I still can't handle that part of it too gracefully!

As far as the bristol board... If it's white it will reflect! Heck I've been using my drop ceiling in my basement to bounce light off of lately.

 

[PatrickCheung]

i hope she did! hahaha apparently this "shoot" was better than the one she had with her grad photographer... who made her very uncomfortable. i really hope she'll continue modelling for me too! like i said, she's amazing to work with. yeah i really need to be more assertive when directing so i can get the shot i want. i hope i can improve on that as i do more shoots! i think the most difficult part is getting them in the exact pose though..... 'cause what you say might not translate to the exact pose you want when they hear it D:

thanks a lot for the comments :]

 

[Caity]

Yeah we had a senior picture photographer who was notorious for making the girls he shot extremely uncomfortable. But people still went to him. I don't get it.

I totally get you on the posing! I still have to take a minute and think about how to say what I mean... Sometimes it's just way easier if I move her myself haha, although I know with most "models" a no touch rule is absolutely the best (only?) way to go... But you know, some of the best shots were when I would just let her kind of do what she wanted, and gave extremely minimal directions... But that was only after we'd shot a couple times (me just practicing how to use my camera) and she'd been able to see the results.

When in doubt... Show her yourself, haha! That way she can see what you mean. Of course it will look different, but the general base is there and you can direct her into the rest of it.

 

[Layspeed]

Patrick, I think you did good. Like others have said, they do look underexposed. I see you had your Sb600 with you, did you use it? I'm sure the next "shoot" will improve. Keep at it.

 

[wtdeane]

Patrick! That is an awesome first "session". Kudos to you! You seemed to have elicited some expressions that are quite nice. I very much like #3.

I have to say, you need to find a better shot. As soon as I saw #2, I said, he's a Toronto boy! I check-out your profile and sure enough…. Markham!

Keep playing. Keep practicing. Maybe take a day-trip to the vinyards of Niagara in the spring.

You're off to a great start sir.

Cheers!

 

[PatrickCheung]

hahaha how'd you tell i was from toronto? man, guys, thanks for all the encouraging comments. i actually did another shoot today with the advice you all gave me, i'll post that up later, but hopefully i've improved a bit. :]

i agree, i love her expressions! her smile is just so bright :]

yupp... i need a better place... i'll be hunting for new spots and the weather's nicer! D: