First "proper" Portrait Shoot - C&C if you wouldn't mind!

Dragan

Right. Was asked by a friend to take some shots for her. For my first portrait shoot i am happy enough with the results but improve lighting means some more shadows than i would like in places.

If anybody else spots any glaring weaknesses then please let me know.

This is the shot i am happiest with from the shoot.


This one is purposefully slight washed out and over exposed. Large space on the left is being kept for some script which i need to decide on.


And the last one from the group. Just trying a different angle and direction of model focus and i like it.

Thoie

I like them all (and am terribly jealous).

On the second one, the shadows around her eyes are a bit dark - her right eye is a bit panda like.

I think the shadows on the 3rd one detract a bit from her face. *waves hands vaguely* Could you brighten her face a little so it stands out more from her hands?

Of course, given my own attempts at portraits, you might want to wait for some better advice.

Hugh_C

I like the lighting in the 1st and the angle from the 2nd.

I suppose I like the high angle a lot, but I think you may be a bit too contrasty around her eyes. SHe has great eyes so it's be a shame not to see them.

Morrisseeee

There are all well thought out photos, I like the 1st one.
What I don't like is : her eyes in the 2nd one & her nose (in shadow) in the 3rd ! (note: I've nothing against her nose, its a nice nose as noses go, but not in shadow, you nose what I mean !)

Dragan

Cheers folks! I'll rework number 2 when i get home and see about bringing back the contrast a little bit.

The nose in shadow bit i will remember next time!

Some really good advice so thank you very much.

dakar

Echo the above, nicely worked set with interesting angles.

If you want the nitpicks :

#1, I find the lighting around her chin/lower half of her cheeks is a little distracting, too bright on one side, too dark on the other,

#2 I love, really great angle, you already know about her right eye, minor thing though. Great shot

#3 could be a perfume ad! I like the angle and the expression, I can't decide about the shadow, it's a bit inbetweeny, if that makes any sense, not strong enough to command attention, but not light enough to ignore maybe, not sure what I mean really!

Great first effort!

smelltheglove

As you know already through flickr I love the first one. Second one I like, I often do similar leaving spaces at the side for script. Her eyes seem a bit dark though so it would be great if you could pull them back a bit. Not a fan of the third as I dont enjoy nostrils and get no feeling from the pics.

As I said though I love number 1 and it really blows me away. Great shot.

rgiller

The first is nice but I think there's not enough contrast. It all looks very white, with not enough contrast to enhance facial features, etc

Dragan

rgiller wrote: »

The first is nice but I think there's not enough contrast. It all looks very white, with not enough contrast to enhance facial features, etc

Cheers. I did a version with strong contrast but it loses a lot. The lighting i had to hand just wasn't enough to get the proper fine lines and wash out etc ( i was working with two desk lamps! lol ).

I know exactly what you mean and i really need to rectify the lighting situation i have. Another thing for the wish list.

Fajitas!

What a fantastic model... Think I've seen her about someplace before :pac:

Well, I think the first one is great, I'd maybe introduce a bit of vignetting to get some more focus to her face though.

The second one is waaaaay contrasty alright, I reckon you need to pop that down, even just on her face, shadow, hair and top, and leave the wall as white.

The third one is the least effective of the three, in my opinion, I'd either crop tighter into her face, or have got her hands outta the shot, they're a bit distracting in it. Some eye contact and a slightly higher angle looking down could have worked well too, if you got around to it?

AnCatDubh

They are certinly very nice If i could offer the following;

#1 - very nice but the shadows on the backdrop create an unusual effect. There is a 'crease' there too in the background which looks like its emitting from the model's head - not sure where it came from. I also think as a composition it is very 'flat' - it may have benefited from turning the model to her side or moving your vantage point. Could you light the background independently perhaps?

#2 - the eye of the model has been somewhat obliterated presumably by the high contrast and added black shade(?) I like the style though.

#3 - i don't like. The lower angle is a difficult thing to capture effectively as invariably you end up giving rather beautiful people unsightly double (triple) chins in the process. Your lighting has also given in my opinion an undesirable shadow towards the top left but i don't mind the one on the middle right - its far softer than the other and not as prominent.

If that eye could be resolved, then i think #2 would be the best of the bunch (for me anyhow!).

Regards.

moralproduction

seen them on flickr,like them all too,good shots

democrates

Well that work is beyond my skills, the only thing and apologies if it's too trivial, is the bra in #3, in that pose the top part is forced out making a line against the t-shirt or whatever it's called, maybe a bra that sits flush would avoid that distraction.

Phototoxin

first one she has a Y shaped piece of lighter bakground coming out of her head whcih is distracting

2nd one the eyes scare me but the pose / anglei is nice

3rd one is good but maybe tweak the shadows to be a bit lighter if possible.

Overall I like number 3 the best, good angle and good photo and a bit different.

l pearse

l like the first one with the lights,Dragan
By coincidence l got this one today on the way home from work of local girls putting up their Xmas lights, in the hairdressers salon.:)

moralproduction

meant to ask what lighting did you use for these shots ?

Burago

Here are my thoughts:

1. The highlight to the left of her mouth is quite distracting, as are some of the highlights below her face. Because there isn't enough light in her eyes it's drawing the viewers attention away from her face.

The hard shadow (of her hand) on the right of her mouth is also very distracting

I like the idea but I feel the exposure and lighting need a little work.

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2. The best of the three by far. Good angle and dynamic composition. With or without text the use of space on the left is great. Lighting again needs more work. Too much detail lost and that eye is totally gone. Good use of the room and nice pose though, well done.

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3. I don't think this is a very flattering portrait at all. The angle doesn't suit the model and the placement of the hands just isn't right. Her nose is clipping the right eye and the view up the nostrils isn't that pretty.

The line in the background of the corner of the wall could have been used as a compositional element if it was in the centre of the frame and straight.

Lighting this from overhead down on the model would have been much better with a slightly higher angle.

I feel like this shot was almost there but as it stands it's a missed opportunity.

Dragan

moralproduction wrote: »

meant to ask what lighting did you use for these shots ?

For lighting i had two desk lamps! lol

Thanks very much folks, some great C&C in here ( i have actually been sad enough to copy and paste everything into a word document ) and hopefully none of the mistakes made this time round will be replicated next time!

Lockstep

I'm fairly oblivious to photography and the subtlties nearly always pass me by, but those were savage Dragan.
Fair play to you.

Burago

This guys blog has a lot of info on cheap and simple light using flash guns off camera rather than big expensive studio lights: http://strobist.blogspot.com/

Might be interesting to some.