I did a little photo shoot of my sister yesterday, trying to get some nice photos of her. I'd like C&C on especially the lighting of the last of them, but also posing, etc. The first set were taken outdoors under the clouds. The second taken indoors with a large softbox above and slightly right of camera, small umbrella below slightly camera left, and shoot through white umbrella above and behind slightly left of model. I used my 50mm at first, then switched to my 24-105 for most.

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7 I intentionally did not light the backdrop, not going for white. Should I have?


#8


#9


#10


#11

A good looking red head in a yellow Mustang convertible. Wow. I'm single !!!

On a more serious note, you did an excellent job. Some are going to knock you about the vine coming out of her head in #3 & 4, but I see what you were trying for. For some reason, I don't like #10. Can't figure out why. But all are well lit and great shots.

Larry

Pretty model very natural look. Nice. My 2 cents

1. Nice
2. Keep both her feet on the sidewalk, and closer to the edge of the gate, maybe a tighter crop.
3. Probably a sharper angle against the wall, with tighter DOF, would make this nice. I'd crop tighter here also.
4. Nice but sharper shoulder angle here also, love her eyes here.
5. Nice I'd open up the F stop a bit, and get that noisy background blurred, did you use fill flash on this?
6. Nice, I'd prob just get a tad lower, to get another drivers view, and get the background more blurred
7. Nice, I'd leave a tad bit more space in front of her.
8. Nice, but side crop seems a little to tight for my taste.
9. Open up more space in front of her and slightly crop the top of her hair, ever so lightly. This has allot of potential, cropping would make this a winner!
10. No not that pose
11. No like the composition or pose

Good stuff Emily

Phil

http://philteves.smugmug.com/gallery/6344323_2xRs7#400526423_HC27o

The first and third are pretty standard portraits, and well done, too. The rest would also be standard, but standard snapshots, except the lighting is so good, it's hard to classify them as snapshots.

Thanks a lot for the constructive feedback. This gives me some more things to think about and improve. It is all helpful.

Phil, I didn't use any fill flash on 5. The cloudy sky provided some great light. You are right about the DOF. I had another shot of her that I thought a bit more interesting with the whole car, but the DOF was too deep and there was too much clutter in the background up the street.

Much appreciated!

Emily

your sister is nice

L33t wrote:
your sister is nice
+1 Nice set and I'm sure she will appreciate them.
The only thing I would suggest is to tone down the bags under the eyes a bit. I use a 44% opacity brush and clone from the cheek bone and bush over the area under the eye to reduce the shadow which tends to show there. this still leaves laughter lines and looks natural without looking PS'ed.
John

Hmmmm, get her away from that wall! Her skin tone is almost exactly the same, and probably tinged by reflected light from it. It looks like a pretty bkg, but she gets a little lost in those first few.

John,
Thanks for the advice on PS for shadows under the eyes.

jfinite, I wondered about the color of the wall reflected in her skin tone, but am still pondering it. I kind of think it gives a softness to overall tone of the photo, which is something I liked about using the wall as a backdrop. But I can see your point as well.

I appreciate all the C&C.

All are Ok...but need more pop. I would suggest the following.
#2: If you moved her inside the doorway and allowed the light from above to be blocked it would give a much softer look, the sun is a little harsh.
2-4: Too flat. Need some slight shadows for depth. The wall does not help. I would move her away and allow the wall to go soft any even a shade darker. That would move attention to the model and not the wall.As is you have a wall with a nice looking girl in front of it. What you want to show is a girl and something in the background but who cares what is is. All the attention would be on her.
The vines are in the way and you cut off her necklace. I prefer necklace in or totally gone.
4: Hand is overexposed.First place my eye went. Not the best angle for a car shot. Move to the side and maybe angle down. That would avoid the 1/2 mirror, overexposed side of car and busy background.Again let the background go soft, even a stop or 2 darker so it is not noticed. All attention on her with 2nd look going to the car and almost none going to the background. Too much going on for her to be the focus point.
The rest are too even of light. Again need some depth and pop.

WOW.... Your sister is very attractive.... Everyone loves a good looking redhead.... Flashing back to the Ann Margaret days.... I think your sister will be very pleased with the shots.... Nice work....

I agree ... you are blessed with a very attractive sister that seems to be very willing to work with you ... she has a great smile and expressive eyes ... lighting is very nice ... however .... even though she is a red head and would tend to have a pinkish skin tone, I think all of your images are a little too magenta/red leaning .... even in the white areas like her teeth and eyes ... it's much more noticeable in 10 and 11 ... unless your background is not a neutral shade ... could be a little closer to neutral and may bring her skin tones a little more contrast with the similar shades of the backgrounds in a few.

butchM wrote:
I think all of your images are a little too magenta/red leaning .... even in the white areas like her teeth and eyes ... it's much more noticeable in 10 and 11 ... unless your background is not a neutral shade ... could be a little closer to neutral and may bring her skin tones a little more contrast with the similar shades of the backgrounds in a few.

I think you are right. I brought the tint down in Lightroom and see a difference. Thank you.

Emily

jefferies1 wrote:
All are Ok...but need more pop. I would suggest the following.
#2: If you moved her inside the doorway and allowed the light from above to be blocked it would give a much softer look, the sun is a little harsh. .

#1 is exactly that - just inside the doorway. Does it seem better to you?


[2-4: Too flat. Need some slight shadows for depth. The wall does not help. I would move her away and allow the wall to go soft any even a shade darker. That would move attention to the model and not the wall.As is you have a wall with a nice looking girl in front of it. What you want to show is a girl and something in the background but who cares what is is. All the attention would be on her.
The vines are in the way and you cut off her necklace. I prefer necklace in or totally gone.

I get your points. Thank you for the feedback.

4: Hand is overexposed.First place my eye went. Not the best angle for a car shot. Move to the side and maybe angle down. That would avoid the 1/2 mirror, overexposed side of car and busy background.Again let the background go soft, even a stop or 2 darker so it is not noticed. All attention on her with 2nd look going to the car and almost none going to the background. Too much going on for her to be the focus point.


#6 is angled down more. Is that better to you?

Thanks for the C&C!

Your sister must be very pleased. My favorites are #1 and #8---I like the wall as it adds softness. It's all personal choice. Just a slight touch under her eyes as suggested above would improve but really very nice overall. The last two my least favorites..

I like the look of #1 best and the reason I did no comment. Must be the covered light. I only try to offer suggestions on what I see is a good shot but could be a lot better. As for #6, it is better than the other but still missing inpact.
Of course I may be looking at things from a different point of view than most on the forum. I shoot only for money. It is a job, no longer a fun hobby( at least not this year with all the cut backs). I critique as the editors & ad directors I sell to critique my work. A bit too much for someone just wanting family shots but good infomation if trying to make it in the photography business.

jefferies1 wrote:
I critique as the editors & ad directors I sell to critique my work. A bit too much for someone just wanting family shots but good infomation if trying to make it in the photography business.

I appreciate your taking the time to give your opinion! It helps to have these critiques!

Outdoors in indirect light the high angle of the light coming down from sky will cause the brow to shade the eyes by varying degrees. That's the case in your shots here. The solution is simple; have he subject raise their face into the light so the brows are not shading the orbits, then raise the camera by the same amount to maintain the flattering, slightly downward angle relative to the nose which hides the nostrils (the nose is more attractive from the top). Thus one of the more valuable "lighting" tools to have on an outdoor shoot is a small step ladder.

Beautiful woman!
A bump so more can appreciate!

Bill