[C&C] Portraits of African Children

Seachmall

These are some photos from a recent volunteer stint in Africa. They're my first serious attempts at portraits so I'm looking for constructive criticism and any helpful comments.













Thanks.

P.S. I hope it's not an issue that there's 6 not 4 (as the charter says), if it is I can edit it.

magicbastarder

i don't think the harsh light was doing you any favours, unfortunately. the highlights are a bit much.

Seachmall

magicbastarder wrote: »

i don't think the harsh light was doing you any favours, unfortunately. the highlights are a bit much.

Do you think this is true for all of them (ignoring the second last in which half the face has lost detail)?

Looking at the third last and last, for example, where only a fraction of the faces are overexposed do you think it's a major issue here?

(I'm guessing any bit of detail loss is a no-no given that they're supposed to be portraits.)

Unfortunately they were shot as jpegs and that detail is unrecoverable.

Also is the background being overexposed much of a problem (as it's not the focus of the shot)?


Sorry for the bombardment of questions, but I gotta learn somehow

YellowOnions

I think you're doing very well. Especially considering its your first go at portraits.

I always think portraits should be natural and relaxed rather than posed or forced. I think they are smart and poilished and look nice and relaxed. Personally I wouldn't be too upset about the odd bit of burnt out detail.

I perhaps would crop out the patterned wall in the first one and the writing on the t-shirt in the third one. Those little bit are a bit distracting as the boy is so lovely and has lovely smooth skin and bright eyes.

theres my 10c worth Overall I think you've done a great job.

chisel

1 and 3 have the makings of good portraits, but you need to crop closer I think.No. 1 in particular the child is kinda lost in the dark of the shade. No. 4 is probably the best of them but you do need to bring back the highlights a bit on all of them (#5&6 are very blown out and look like you won't be able to recover the highlights). On the plus side, your focus etc looks good. Portraits of kids are hard enough, I think you've done well here.

Hugh_C

Personally I really like 2. Best of the lot.

Photographing black people in harsh sunlight presents a load of exposure challenges; I spend a fair bit of time in Africa and avoid shooting at midday like the plague. You have to wait till early evening or early morning when the sun is lower in the sky. You pretty much have to overexpose to get any facial detail by half to 1 ev in my opinion. And shoot RAW. Either that or carry a bunch of lights and read/memorise every word written here

angeleyes

I love No. 1 and 3 and the subject(s) are cute out. Did you use any filters at all on your lens? This would help with the harsh sunlight situation. I would also recommend shooting in RAW.

I hope you enjoyed your work in Africa and so for me well done on all counts!

Gortan60

I think you did a fine job overall, fourth from top is my favourite...very sombre

sarkozy

Nice photos. Where were they taken and who were you volunteering with? I ask because over 60 NGOs, many of which send volunteers and development workers overseas, are signatories to a Code of Conduct on Images and Messages. They're encouraged to work with volunteers going overseas to help them understand the issues and sensitivities around taking and then publishing photos.

I think the photos are nice, they feel positive, and the exposures seem right to me. I would have liked the subject to have names and have got some more context to make better sense of them.