I am working on building a beauty, glamour and boudoir portfolio to supplement my wedding business. Would love to hear your thoughts on this gal's session!
She's beautiful, they're well shot and well lit however she seems more camera aware than i'd expect for typical boudoir. Number 1(and 2 to a lesser degree) is a great example of what I'd expect from the genre. The playfulness in 5 is great.
Thanks, Vcook. She was aiming more for glam (she's a makeup artist and wanted to use some portraits for her About Me section of her website) - #1 was more for her husband.
aohara2001 wrote:
Thanks, Vcook. She was aiming more for glam (she's a makeup artist and wanted to use some portraits for her About Me section of her website) - #1 was more for her husband.
In that case, in my opinion, I'd say you nailed it.
I really like a lot of the images, and here are a few things that stood out to me
The editing seems superb! However, I do feel like it lacks cohesion as a set. That's not necessarily a bad thing, merely an observation.
Lighting is great. In only one image did I notice the lighting wasn't quite what I personally would want, and that's image number 2 where there's no catchlight along with a heavy shadow over HER right eye.
There are visible details in the brightest parts of the images as well as the darkest parts of the image. Great job balancing the two perfectly and not over/underexposing.
In image number 7, I'd clone out the corner behind her. All of the rest of the images the background appears to be uniform - in this one it's not.
Her eyes seem out of focus in most of the images. They just lack that super-fine sharpness I would expect. That could be a symptom of downsizing but I don't believe it is in this case. Is it possible your lens(es) is (are) front focusing?
You mention boudoir photos. Some of these are definitely leaning that way and if there are more personal pictures she asked NOT to be shared, I completely understand why you didn't. This is just merely something I've noticed in boudoir photos that seem to be the most impactful TO ME. Wider angle lenses. The boudoir photos that have really stood out to me include more of a scene.
Having said all of the above, I really like the images and the critiques above are pretty minor and I think you did a great job overall!
Thank you Jonathan! A few questions-
- how is the editing not cohesive?
- I was on the fence about the corner. I agree with you to clone it out
- Focus was spot on -- I noticed when I posted they didn't appear sharp. I haven't been on FM in ages and this is the first time I've posted from my website so I have to look at how they are sized/posted. I knew I would get a comment on a bit of softness - they truly are sharp full res
- this was more of a "glam" shoot than boudoir. She wanted fun images to use on her website (she's a makeup artist). Image 1 & 2 were my visions and not what I would necessarily call boudoir, but even with that said I tend to exclude environment in portraits (not sure if that's a good or bad thing).
Thank you for taking the time to provide your comments!
aohara2001 wrote:
Thank you Jonathan! A few questions-
- how is the editing not cohesive?
- I was on the fence about the corner. I agree with you to clone it out
- Focus was spot on -- I noticed when I posted they didn't appear sharp. I haven't been on FM in ages and this is the first time I've posted from my website so I have to look at how they are sized/posted. I knew I would get a comment on a bit of softness - they truly are sharp full res
- this was more of a "glam" shoot than boudoir. She wanted fun images to use on her website (she's a makeup artist). Image 1 & 2 were my visions and not what I would necessarily call boudoir, but even with that said I tend to exclude environment in portraits (not sure if that's a good or bad thing).
Thank you for taking the time to provide your comments!...Show more →
Looking back, I think I gave the wrong feedback regarding editing. I think it was more that images 3 & 4 seemed so different than the rest of the set. 3 also has a warmer feel to the image (hence the editing comment) while 4 is black and white. I actually really like the warmer look to number 3, and b/w is ALWAYS welcome in my book! So to me, they just didn't seem to "fit" as a set. I think if there were additional b/w images, the 1 wouldn't feel so out of place to me.
Re: focus, I've had the same thing happen to me, where downsizing made an image appear soft - so I completely get what you're saying.
Thanks for sharing these images! They really are great!
These are really impressive! Technically, they are superb - all of them. More importantly for me is how you were able to connect with this beautiful young woman, and capture that in a way that makes the viewer feel that connection also. Awesome.
Wonderful set with #1 and #5 being my favorites. We all seem to have one eye that is weaker than the other which, for me, seems most obvious in #3. In #5 her semi-profile and gaze back at the camera aligns her eyes perfectly. Plus a great smile in #5! Incandescent. She looks great with the puffy black nightgown and a darker background. They really bring out her wonderful skin tones. Her red nails and lips make a great accent. The light background in #7 makes her seem pale. #6 has the same basic look as #5 but her smile seems less natural and the crop of her foot is something that detracts for me. Her left hand looks blurry and swollen--but the right hand looks great. Neither high key works for me. #1 is perfect.
