C+C My portraiture efforts (2 'shoots') (10 pics)

Howdy y'all,


Just thought I'd throw up a thread and see if I could get some opinions on my below photographs.

They're from two different portrait efforts. The first with a male that I just literally was winging it with (it was impromptu and just done on the spot with a single flash unit atop the camera, and it was in the night time, too, so high ISO was the order of the day).

The second one, with the girls, was planned in advance and I used off-camera flash and such. This is the first time I've ever really done any portraiture indoors at all, so i was learning as I went).

So yeah, I just thought I'd ask and see if ye love or hate the photographs, want to congratulate me on an amazing effort, or give me a bollocking and speech on portrait basics :P (also, ignore the watermarks if you can, I'm just lifting these from my Pix, where I watermarked them as they'll be getting used on facebook sooner or later).


First, the spur-of-the-moment shoot with the guy;

1.



2.



3.



And the ladies;

4.



5.



6.



7.



8.



9.



10.




I was happy enough with how the photos turned out wtih the girls (though the door being opened/view into the bathroom of #7 annoys me, and I should've noticed it at the time). As I say though, first time shooting indoors and that kinda photography, so I wasn't fully familiar with what I was doing and overlooked a few things that should've came to my attention.

For example, throughout the entire shoot, the flash was too far from the umbrella I used, so the light was spilling outside the umbrella and creating noticeable patterns on the wall from where it spilled over (obviously not too noticeable at the time, or I would've noticed it). Thankfully in any of the photos it affected, it was easy enough to crop out.

The outdoor shots I wasn't too thrilled with. They're alright for what they are, but I think they should've/could've been a bit better. An umbrella or softbox and flash trigger would've made a good deal of difference I'd say, so I may try something similar again in future if I get the chance, but prepare for it a little better this time.


So anyway, yeah, as I hope to do a bit more of this in future, and obviously I hope to improve, any feedback, good, bad or indifferent, would be greatly appreciated (and just to note; I'm not expecting anyone to give a full on one-by-one C+C on each image - though if anyone wants to I'll happily take it on-board, but I realise that kinda thing takes time to write up, so I'm just looking to see if there's a particular photo you love or hate, or a recurring problem or issue you notice at all)


Thank you, ladies and gents

kelly1

1. Seems to have a purple colourcast. I think a longer lens would have helped too.
2. So so
3. Good shot!
4. Awkward pose, lighting too contrasty IMO
5. Nice.
6. Awkward pose.
7. Eh..., moving along
8. Too much of the bed, not enough model. Maybe use a higher perspective.
9. I like it!
10 By far the best IMO! Monotone works well.

Thanks for sharing.

bullpost

Male ones in general are very good. There seems to be a colour cast in number 1 as previously mentioned but other than that a really strong set of images.

Not so keen on the girl ones - some of the poses seem too forced for my liking. The skin tones in some of them are plasticky and finally backgrounds are too cluttered in some of them.

pearljamfan

i really dont like the one with the girls and their BIG MASSIVE SHOES.! 7, but i do like the last 2. i think some blurred backgrounds would look nicer and crop number 8 and show more leg. but at least youve gone out and made a good start!

BlastedGlute

You need to control your highlights. It drives me soft to see skin tone run right into the wall behind the subject when the shot isn't intentionally high key. The last shot is the nicest for the simple reason that you got most things right with it. Skin tone and shape is recognizable, the pose isn't quite as awkward as it could have been, and the general tone of the image is believable to be as relaxed as such a scenario should be. I quite like the first and third pictures of the guy. Not sure any of the others do much for me.

The Snipe

Number for the model in number 10?

I'm surprised people are saying they like the male ones so much. Maybe it's because I wasn't really prepared for it or such that I have a prejudiced negative view based on when I was actually taking them?!


I was generally quite pleased with the female shots, but I do agree with some of the comments (though I think that the poses look fine to me, with #7 being the only one that seems uncomfortable or awkward).

I know #7 isn't exactly loved, but as I say, this was my first time trying anything like this or indoors so I wanted to try out a few different things as I went along.

I agree that I need to keep an eye on my highlights for future shoots (though I do like bright photos). In #4 I was looking to get as contrasty as I could from left to right (i also ran a gradual density filter across the photo from left to right in Camera RAW to try and make it more so, but I do agree that the arm/shoulder area is blown out too much).

I'll have to keep my eye on my flash power next time and see if I can sort out those issues.

I realise I may obviously be completely biased (they're my photos, afterall), but I think that I quite like a lot of them, to be honest. Some mistakes, of course, but overally I'm very pleased with them. For my first time trying indoors and all (though again as I say, I could be just biased, but sure that's why I put up the thread' to get people's impartial opinion).

It seems most people like #10 most, and I agree, it's my favourite too, but judging from the comments, no one seems too fond of #4, which would be a very close 2nd in my opinion.

I usually bookmark these threads and return to them every now and again and especially so before an upcoming shoot to take advice on board, so I do genuinely appreciate any and all comments or critique.

sineadw

Way way way way way too much processing on the skin tones. I'm sorry, but the shots of the girls look very cheap and tacky to me. But maybe that was a look you were after, so I won't say any more. You *really* need to tone down the processing by about 90% though. They look plastic.

Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure

nonsequitir

sineadw wrote: »

Way way way way way too much processing on the skin tones. I'm sorry, but the shots of the girls look very cheap and tacky to me. But maybe that was a look you were after, so I won't say any more. You *really* need to tone down the processing by about 90% though. They look plastic.

Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure

I agree.

DougL

sineadw wrote: »

Way way way way way too much processing on the skin tones. I'm sorry, but the shots of the girls look very cheap and tacky to me. But maybe that was a look you were after, so I won't say any more. You *really* need to tone down the processing by about 90% though. They look plastic.

+1

sineadw

sineadw wrote: »

Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure

Exactly the kind of thing I want to hear. Any honest opinion is a good opinion.

sineadw

If I can make a few suggestions then; before you shoot again, take some time to study professional work (and by that I don't mean people who call themselves pros on the internet - try to get a few good books, do some research etc.). Look at the poses the models are using. I'm assuming you were working with amateurs here, and maybe you can't afford a professional (if you can, get one. They *really* help a shoot), and I'm afraid it shows. The girls look awkward and badly posed, and it gives an overall sense of amateurism, which to be honest leaves a bit of a bad taste and a sense of exploitation in the mouth with this genre. Not that I'm suggesting exploitation for even a second! I'm just expressing what I thought when I looked at the images.

Try to immerse yourself in really *really* good images. Bring source photos to shoots for reference (i wouldn't dream of doing a shoot without having a reference point to start at). One thing I do when I'm reading a portrait image to try to backwards engineer the lighting is to look at the catchlights in the model's eyes. Between that and squinting so you just see areas of light and dark, you can usually get a fair idea f how it was done (I also squint a lot in the studio when I'm setting up lights. Makes me look like an eejit, but it works).

And watch your details. You have your skin tones processed to within an inch of their lives, and yet you left the soles of the models' shoes all manky. Be sure to look *all* around the frame and not just at your subject, and that'll help eliminate issues like the umbrella shadow and the open bathroom door, etc.

Oh, and see if you can get a professional stylist.

Keep posting