I've only done a handful of senior portrait sessions, but I think it's becoming one of my favorite things to do! On Wednesday I had the pleasure of photographing Esin and her horse for her senior session. Here are a few of my favorites...
Thanks Rob! I mainly used the 70-200 f2.8 and 85 f1.2 on these. I think I may have taken a few with my 24-70 f2.8
Rob Hickey wrote:
Great variety, and execution as a set. Plenty of solid individual keepers throughout. Client must be very pleased. 7, 11 & 13 are my favs.
What's not to love, right? Youthful exuberance and complete control of almost every facet of the shoot (the latter of which is missing at weddings). Nice job.
Excellent set, love the colors and the subject's disposition. I could not help but notice that they are cropped so as not to show here entirely. I understand the composition works but I found it unusual not to see some more full body shots.
regardless, they are excellent, thanks for sharing.
Really nice series of images. What I think comes through most in the shots is how much fun she is having.... lots of genuine smiles in the mix. Great job!
This is great, Morby. Unbelievable you don't do a ton of these. She's gonna have a hard deciding whether 9 or 13 is her huge print on the wall! Great job! So many really great shots, and like Hatch said, so it's obvious how much she's enjoying this.
Oct 19, 2013 at 02:57 PM
Andre Labonte Offline • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
What is with all the empty space above her head in most of the images. Poor framing in most of these. The there are a few which are excellent like 8, 9 and 13 is close but still too much empty space up top.
I see your point, Andre, but I actually like every one of his compositions. Some he is using leading lines, like the fence in 11. Others, the sky or the trees in the BG, just work nicely exactly as it is -- for me, anyway. Each of us will see the composition differently. I'm not right, you're not wrong, we just see it differently.
Andre Labonte wrote:
What is with all the empty space above her head in most of the images. Poor framing in most of these. The there are a few which are excellent like 8, 9 and 13 is close but still too much empty space up top.
9 is bar none the best and 13 a close second.
I would disagree with you as well. I think the negative space doesn't take away from the images. The framing is playing in to the rule of thirds from what I see... my eye is immediately drawn to her as the center of focus. Having the additional background or open space sets the scene IMO. I think there is nice mix of her filling the frame and the use of negative space/rule of thirds.
jdevarie wrote:
Excellent set, love the colors and the subject's disposition. I could not help but notice that they are cropped so as not to show here entirely. I understand the composition works but I found it unusual not to see some more full body shots.
regardless, they are excellent, thanks for sharing.
I didn't even notice! That would add variety. I do have some full body as well, but I guess I was drawn to these more when posting.
friscoron wrote:
This is great, Morby. Unbelievable you don't do a ton of these. She's gonna have a hard deciding whether 9 or 13 is her huge print on the wall! Great job! So many really great shots, and like Hatch said, so it's obvious how much she's enjoying this.
Thanks for the comment! I hope to do more moving forward. Last Spring I did a few senior sessions for free to get a my name out there in the high schools and build a portfolio. This Fall I've had a bunch of requests and have booked about 5 or so. I hope to do this much more!
hatch1921 wrote:
Really nice series of images. What I think comes through most in the shots is how much fun she is having.... lots of genuine smiles in the mix. Great job!
Hatch
Thanks! I'm kind of goofy during these shoots and it got her laughing.
Andre Labonte wrote:
What is with all the empty space above her head in most of the images. Poor framing in most of these. The there are a few which are excellent like 8, 9 and 13 is close but still too much empty space up top.
9 is bar none the best and 13 a close second.
Thanks for the comment and feedback! I see what you're saying, but for me I like the negative space and it's more my style. I do have variety in the overall set, but I find negative space more interesting. Cropped in is nice, but too much can be boring
morby wrote:
Thanks for the comment and feedback! I see what you're saying, but for me I like the negative space and it's more my style. I do have variety in the overall set, but I find negative space more interesting. Cropped in is nice, but too much can be boring
I agree, too much of the same old same old is boring, but breaking with good technique for the sake of it does not work either unless there is a compelling reason to do so, for instance, in #5, which works well. On the other hand, 1, 4, 6, 10, 12, and 14 would all be superior if you had gone with a more traditional framing ... I did not say close cropped, but more tradition in placement. On the other hand, shots like 2, 5, 7 and 13 work very well with the extra space as the backgrounds add to the composition and it is not so stark that it looks like you got bumped as you pressed the shutter. 6 and 12 in particular look are too stark ... part of it is you cut the natural flow of her body that forms a certain harshness.
Again, I think you have some excellent shots here, and your idea is working in some cases, but not so well in others ... it may be worth spending some time figuring out what elements make the difference.
