Since my last few posts were pure dancers, thought I should show something that is really a little bit more normal for me.
I shot this senior portrait session back in late November on an unseasonably warm day, and just got to editing it this weekend. This girl is one of my senior ambassadors, so we don't actually have our album ordering session until next month as we just did the final shoot of the year for my ambassadors, the Ice Queen concept shot. I should be sharing that next week, been looking forward to finishing that one up.
We started this session at her home, as she wanted shots of her playing her musical instruments. And they had this insanely good wall in a room where gorgeous natural light was flowing in. From there, we went to her church as she wanted a shot of her in front of that. And then we wrapped up at a park next to the Fox River, one of my favorite places to shoot as there are industrial looks as well as nature settings.
3. We got to the church just as the setting sun's shadows was creeping up to the base of the church. I've got two Yongnuo's at full power lighting her up as she's in full shade and the church and sky are brightly lit. http://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3858/32607848303_a63177e7f3_b.jpg
A very interesting set particularly in the way she seems to change depending on the setting. In the first two indoor shots with her instruments and the rather formless dress, she seems so young. But, zoomed out in daylight settings and a more fashionable outfit, she seems more mature.
I am not sure what lenses you are using but, perhaps, the first one may have some distortion giving her hands a bit more prominence than might be desired. I am not sure if it is that or just the brightness of her hands. I would decrease their brightness to keep the overall attention on her face. Plus, the shadowing of her face seems to give that side some red and purple tones that are absent from the next shot. The second shot is more successful in my opinion. The even lighting contributes to the sensitive mood.
The daylight shots are mood elevators with the first bringing out a sense of joy as well as some great, vivid colors. I like the way her leggings match the window trim in number 4 but she is a bit swallowed up by the drama, color, and size of the brick wall. . In the next shot, the ivy creates a strong background but her bright face and clear eyes keep the focus on her. #6 gives her an air of maturity and I think her hair looks terrific here. Bright and finely detailed. #6 is nice but not as notable as the others. Her legs seem awkwardly posed to me. To my eye, she seems a bit overwhelmed by the surroundings in the last two. She seems a little washed out in #7 perhaps from the flash. And, the background seems too bright and vivid in the last. The same look and tone but in a dark setting might appeal to me more--perhaps a studio shot.
I hope you don't mind all the notes. I like the entire set. Saying 'great job' would also be appropriate and I am by no means a pro. So, two cents is my nominal fee. One more quibble: I might lose the watch in a couple of the shots. I like the nice bracelet in the second shot.
#2 is my favorite. Looking at it after the fact like this, it is a shame that there is a green vase(?) and some gold colored thing at the top of her head.
I hope you take this as a constructive option...not criticism, but processing option.
I recently have been fussing with Perspective Warp and I used it on the church....but after I got the church where it looked like it wasn't leaning so much I found that the young lady shrunk and maybe the proportions werent right.
I ended up cutting her out of the original and pasting her in. I may have had the scale off but you get the idea.
Additionally, You can see that when I was done that the warp had moved things a lot, so it seems that you want to start with a smaller church so in the end when the warp has occurred that there is "room om the photo".
Just a thought......your thoughts?
Perspective Warp to correct the church from leaning over.....
Hey, thanks for your detailed feedback. I always appreciate that.
By the way, the watch was a birthday gift from her father. It was pretty important to her.
Brev00 wrote:
A very interesting set particularly in the way she seems to change depending on the setting. In the first two indoor shots with her instruments and the rather formless dress, she seems so young. But, zoomed out in daylight settings and a more fashionable outfit, she seems more mature.
I am not sure what lenses you are using but, perhaps, the first one may have some distortion giving her hands a bit more prominence than might be desired. I am not sure if it is that or just the brightness of her hands. I would decrease their brightness to keep the overall attention on her face. Plus, the shadowing of her face seems to give that side some red and purple tones that are absent from the next shot. The second shot is more successful in my opinion. The even lighting contributes to the sensitive mood.
The daylight shots are mood elevators with the first bringing out a sense of joy as well as some great, vivid colors. I like the way her leggings match the window trim in number 4 but she is a bit swallowed up by the drama, color, and size of the brick wall. . In the next shot, the ivy creates a strong background but her bright face and clear eyes keep the focus on her. #6 gives her an air of maturity and I think her hair looks terrific here. Bright and finely detailed. #6 is nice but not as notable as the others. Her legs seem awkwardly posed to me. To my eye, she seems a bit overwhelmed by the surroundings in the last two. She seems a little washed out in #7 perhaps from the flash. And, the background seems too bright and vivid in the last. The same look and tone but in a dark setting might appeal to me more--perhaps a studio shot.
I hope you don't mind all the notes. I like the entire set. Saying 'great job' would also be appropriate and I am by no means a pro. So, two cents is my nominal fee. One more quibble: I might lose the watch in a couple of the shots. I like the nice bracelet in the second shot.
ucphotog wrote:
#2 is my favorite. Looking at it after the fact like this, it is a shame that there is a green vase(?) and some gold colored thing at the top of her head.
All lovely photos.
Thanks for sharing.
Dave
Thanks, Dave. As for those things on the piano, it's kind of funny how it works. I always look over the scene and the background because I want to control everything that's going into the picture. I removed some pictures from the wall behind her as it would have been distracting. But for whatever reason, I liked everything else as it was. It felt right staying in there.
I appreciate what you did with the building. Honestly, here's the deal. I average 8 to 10k pics a month on a slow month, and I need to get the pics back to the clients pretty quickly, and looking good, consistent with my brand and style. Frankly, my clients are going to notice the distortion on the building. They're going to look at their girl and say, "Oh, she's so pretty!" And then they're going to see the church behind her looking majestic and they're going to love that shot of Kayla in front of the church. If I took the time to fix the distortion, they would never notice that. And the time spent on that is time I don't have. Even if it only takes 5 minutes, it's not worth it to me. If I putting this in a gallery show, then I would probably fix it.
There are images I put more time into, just not this one. I actually just liked this one, and included it here, because I was happy with the matching light on her in the shade set against her church and the sky in direct sunlight.
Ron
Herb wrote:
I hope you take this as a constructive option...not criticism, but processing option.
I recently have been fussing with Perspective Warp and I used it on the church....but after I got the church where it looked like it wasn't leaning so much I found that the young lady shrunk and maybe the proportions werent right.
I ended up cutting her out of the original and pasting her in. I may have had the scale off but you get the idea.
Additionally, You can see that when I was done that the warp had moved things a lot, so it seems that you want to start with a smaller church so in the end when the warp has occurred that there is "room om the photo".
FR_Expat wrote:
Great shots!
For the outdoor ones, the flashes were pointed directly at her or bounced in umbrellas? If so, what kind?
99% of the time, I work alone. I've tried using softboxes on my speedlights, but the slightest wind will blow it over. When I'm using a speedlight, I"m almost always using it so I can shoot into direct sunlight, and sometimes so I can shoot right into the sun. So I use either two or three Yongnuos, often at full power. Direct sunlight is harsh and contrasty. Two or three speedlights at full power area also harsh and contrasty, so for me it's a match.
That was the case with the church shot. Two Yongnuos at full power. Pointed directly at her.
I also used the flash on the shot of her sitting on the bench. You can see shadows from the lights. I may have only used one flash on that one, pointed directly at her.
friscoron wrote:
99% of the time, I work alone. I've tried using softboxes on my speedlights, but the slightest wind will blow it over. When I'm using a speedlight, I"m almost always using it so I can shoot into direct sunlight, and sometimes so I can shoot right into the sun. So I use either two or three Yongnuos, often at full power. Direct sunlight is harsh and contrasty. Two or three speedlights at full power area also harsh and contrasty, so for me it's a match.
That was the case with the church shot. Two Yongnuos at full power. Pointed directly at her.
I also used the flash on the shot of her sitting on the bench. You can see shadows from the lights. I may have only used one flash on that one, pointed directly at her. ...Show more →
I think all these are great with well blended use of flash. I understand exactly what you are talking about, working alone, and the issues with gear. If I have a willing parent I'll use their help to hold a monopod with a softbox or umbrella but most of the time I have to work it out myself. I've wrestled whether to add higher power lights to my kit but each time the easy and weight of speedlights wins out. Good job.
I appreciate what you did with the building. Honestly, here's the deal. I average 8 to 10k pics a month on a slow month, and I need to get the pics back to the clients pretty quickly, and looking good, consistent with my brand and style. Frankly, my clients are going to notice the distortion on the building. They're going to look at their girl and say, "Oh, she's so pretty!" And then they're going to see the church behind her looking majestic and they're going to love that shot of Kayla in front of the church. If I took the time to fix the distortion, they would never notice that. And the time spent on that is time I don't have. Even if it only takes 5 minutes, it's not worth it to me. If I putting this in a gallery show, then I would probably fix it.
There are images I put more time into, just not this one. I actually just liked this one, and included it here, because I was happy with the matching light on her in the shade set against her church and the sky in direct sunlight.
Ron
...Show more →
I thought the volume per month might be a big issue.....that is a lot of fussing and not sure that it would be worth it, i.e. no one is paying more or less as a result. I too like the lighting on this photo. Your stuff is always good!
Herb wrote:
I hope you take this as a constructive option...not criticism, but processing option.
Just a thought......your thoughts?
For every item Perspective Warp "corrects", it introduces other distortions at least as troublesome. This is a photo of a pretty girl standing in front of her church, not a photo of a church with a girl standing in front.
To paraphrase the hammer analogy, "When you've got a new perspective correction software package, all buildings in photos need to be corrected."
friscoron wrote:
99% of the time, I work alone. I've tried using softboxes on my speedlights, but the slightest wind will blow it over. When I'm using a speedlight, I"m almost always using it so I can shoot into direct sunlight, and sometimes so I can shoot right into the sun. So I use either two or three Yongnuos, often at full power. Direct sunlight is harsh and contrasty. Two or three speedlights at full power area also harsh and contrasty, so for me it's a match.
That was the case with the church shot. Two Yongnuos at full power. Pointed directly at her.
I also used the flash on the shot of her sitting on the bench. You can see shadows from the lights. I may have only used one flash on that one, pointed directly at her. ...Show more →
Thanks for the feedback! I'm trying to work more on using speedlights these days!
