my gf needed a fun head shot for something. "fun" meaning not a passport photo against a wall. this morning we headed out to a botanical garden type place and found this nice dogwood tree.
i shoot almost exclusively birds, so my 500/4 and 400/5.6 would be useless for this.
the only other lens i've got at the moment is my 17-40L which i decided to put on my 7D (instead of my 1D). i figured since i was using such a wide lens i might want a bit more working distance than the 1D would give me.
i think the shots look good, but i am curious if i could have done anything differently to make them better. i just don't know what the guidelines/rules etc are for this type of photography. for instance, what about the bit of sunlight on the top of her head in the third shot? do people like this or does something like this mean an instant throwaway?
birds portraits are so much easier than people! (see shot 4 from a local marsh yesterday)
I can see you're good a shooting birds, but not so good a shooting birds...
You've captured a nice smile, but there's a lot you can do to improve this type of shot and no, the light striking the top of the head just looks messy.
Try more distance between subject and BG. Try a less distracting BG. Avoid distracting complementary colours. Use light to enhance and shape facial features. Use a wider aperture.
It's a very nice shot, and a lovely girlfriend you have there! I like No. 1 better as you have some separation from the dogwood flowers -- which are a bit more distracting than I'd want in a headshot. No. 2 and 3 are more distracting as they are covering part of her shirt. But No. 1 works really well for me.
Keep the background simple. Way too much to take attention away from her. All attention should first go the her eyes, not the background. Crop tighter and even into the hairline to move eyes to top 1/3 of frame. think you have green color cast from the background under the neck. I prefer to shoot slightly down on headshots vs up. Provides better shadows.
It's a great first attempt, and you have quite a few strong points in this photo. GF or not, you managed a wonderful expression from her and that's invaluable. You also posed her somewhat away from the camera in a more flattering way. You have a good foundation. if she is a willing participant, I would try again and I would attempt to make her more of the subject as you did your bird in your bird shot.
ChiShutter wrote:
I would use the long glass! Step her away from that background and use the length to just crush the foliage into creamy bokeh goodness.
Yes, longer focal length. 40mm and 25mm is asking for distortion issues (none seen in these pics).
Oh, and that Virginia Rail better be a pet - this is the People forum! (just kidding).
I agree that the flowers/leaves would have been better OOF. As recommended a long lens and distance between her and the BG would go a long ways. In addition I'm seeing green shadows?
Jun 20, 2013 at 12:29 PM
Charlie Shugart Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
I like these, Dorian.
And a nice-looking lady friend she is.
I have no expertise about posed portrait shooting- so I won't even try.
However, perspective and proportion are more affected by distance from camera to subject than they are by what lens you use. (In bird photography it's seldom an issue- unless you can photograph wild birds from three feet away ).
8-12 feet away from the (human) subject is often considered optimum, so stand there and use the most suitable lens you have, which would be your short zoom- racked out to its longest focal length. Then crop the image in processing.
A telephoto lens (or any lens) from 20 feet (+ or -) will emphasize the two-dimensional aspects of the lady and her face will look flat. Not a good thing.
Charlie
