what do you guys think?

C&C is appreciated greatly!

DOF in #1 is very distracting. 2 is better but needs more light in her eyes.

hmmm, should have got a reflector lol...

and what can I do as far as number one?
I shot in F/8 for that shot

fill flash would of helped #1 and yes a reflector would of helped out for #2.

hope that helps.

later
B

yeah that helps thanks, other opinions and thoughts are all welcomed!!!

I would crop the top portion of the photo to make it more compliant with the Theory of 3rd's with her head in the top horizontal and her knees in the bottom horizontal line. The skyscraper is distracting and I think you really want me to focus on the girl. You have a beautiful model. Show her off in the best possible way.
Hope this helps.

ejmcceney wrote:
I would crop the top portion of the photo to make it more compliant with the Theory of 3rd's with her head in the top horizontal and her knees in the bottom horizontal line. The skyscraper is distracting and I think you really want me to focus on the girl. You have a beautiful model. Show her off in the best possible way.
Hope this helps.


+1 on that. The Tower Cranes draw my eyes in.

The other issue with #1 is that her feet look huge because of the perspective.

For #1, the cranes are the focal point of the photo which *happens* to have a person sitting on a bench. I like the fountains in the background, however.

Many times, the adage "Get close. Then get CLOSER." holds very true. Same here. Get closer to your subject (via focal length! Don't get in her face with a 15mm wide angle!) so that we know what the subject of the photo is. As mentioned, if you cropped #1 horizontally, it would be much stronger.

#2 has really flat lighting and her expression is not going to win any awards. She doesn't look happy.

Is this what you mean by the crop? take off the top part of the crane and building, and kinda seem to center her more in the picture?

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I'm sorry some of the IQ was lost but here is my try with your picture. Hope you don't mind.

Franklin, there are some good suggestions already. The key to the shot is thinking about the background before you click the shutter.
Consider it carefully and move around until you get the best place to shoot from.

You want your model to really stand out against the background.
Look for brights and darks. Your model will stand out well if

She is the brightest part of a dark frame. Imagine her against the dark green foliage.
She is the darkest part of a bright frame. Imagine her against the blue of the sky.
The background is OOF and she is not.
The background is exposed differently than she is.

Avoid
The tree growing out of her head (you didn't have that problem)
Leading lines that lead the viewer's eye out of the frame. (horizontal line of fountains)
Distractions (the skyscraper)

It's worth saying it again - Consider the background carefully for each shot.

I hope this is helpful.

FranklinRomero wrote:
Is this what you mean by the crop? take off the top part of the crane and building, and kinda seem to center her more in the picture?

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A good start, but I wouldn't center her in the photo. Your subject will often times look better when NOT smack dab in the center.

Google "rule of thirds" for some fun reading on composition.

sweet, thanks very much guys!

With that 18mm on the D90 you must have been very close to her feet, which is why the feet and hands look out of proportion to the rest of her. With that lens, try backing off from her, take the shot, then crop in PP.

Plus all the background stuff Jim said.

Larry

Pandacat wrote:
With that 18mm on the D90 you must have been very close to her feet, which is why the feet and hands look out of proportion to the rest of her. With that lens, try backing off from her, take the shot, then crop in PP.

Plus all the background stuff Jim said.

Larry


+1 poor choice of perspective, unless you really want that big foot foreground look.

agree on the BG comments and on the need for fill too. she's too pretty not to get it right

lol... alright, well sadly I can't afford to buy a fill flash right now but I will try to see if my on board flash will help any. thanks

In PS lighten the shadows and crop the hell out of it.

Since nobody else has said it yet: Cute girlfriend!!!

haha yeah, she is gorgeous! thank you very much.

what would the background have looked like if you had moved abut 60 degrees camera right? you might have had a nicer perspective of your GF. she could have quarter-turned from her waist to face you which might have still given the hair highlights but have put more light on her face. also you would have shown her attractive legs to much better advantage.

you don't need an expensive flash. you don't need a flash at all. how about a reflector - cheap esp if you DIY. how about a folding diffuser, DIY? a friend of mine uses bed sheeting w/ racks made from lumber seconds.

hey, i mentioned how pretty she is - no credit given from evex

google helmut newton. see what the master of tough portrait lighting does!

Great advice mike! well it was downtown at a local park so mostly everything would have been building in the background. I really liked that one place since the water in the background.

Here is another shots I liked as well.

franklin, question for you: do you see any difference in the lighting quality among these three shots? just the light. not talking composition or anything else. yes, this is a quiz

The on with the circle where she is sitting seems a little underexposed, the top one I really like because everything is even and no shadows, the last one has too many shadows on the face because of the sun... so yes in light, yes.

hoping to pass the quiz!

well done, franklin. yes, #1 shows good use of light. the others much less, just for the reasons you mention.

now, if you added a reflector in her line of sight, perpendicular to the wall, you'd have a bit more magic. and if you decided to follow one of the standard portrait composition rules - keep the subject's eyes in the upper third of the image (ejm's advice above), it'd be even more stunning. crop it and see if you agree.