Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | People Photography | Join Upload & Sell

4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

Chad Bassman
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

In between youth sports leagues I'm always trying to improve my photography skills... don't hold back, I've got thick skin and know that these have plenty of room to improve! TIA!!!

Sep 22, 2023 at 09:49 AM

tschopp
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

I'm probably one of the least qualified here to comment, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Also a request not to hold back. The pictures are probably better than I would have done, so comments more on what I found distracting with the goal of something to think about.

1. The cloud is amazing, but it feels like it is stealing the show from the subject that I assume is meant to be the person. I find the use of flash where it is obvious and it stands out that flash is used to be distracting.

2. I like this one a lot more. I still think the flash is a bit overdone in comparison to the background. It looks like the highlights on the shoe may be blown out. I see a bit of a color temperature discrepancy between the flash and the background. It looks like the flash is cooler. You could potentially measure ambient color temperature and gel the flash to match, but outdoor in sunlight I would think it's not needed most of the time. I'm assuming this was late afternoon, but still full sun. How much flash power were you using?

3. I like this!! The subject has nice pop out of the background and I think it would print nice. Maybe a bit more sharpening than my taste. I would dial that back a bit.

4. I would move the couple a bit forward. It looks like some blotches of sun on his face and dog that are a bit distracting and blown out. It looks like more consistent shade more forward. Here a bit of fill flash to brighten them up slightly. Shade from vegetation can give a green cast to the light, your photo looks fine, but that kind of shade can do bad things to skin.

Sep 22, 2023 at 11:45 AM

Chad Bassman
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

tschopp - thank you so much for your c/c... great points about balancing ocf/ambient and I concur re: too much ocf. I'll try to do better with that next time. Also, the cloud issue hits home as well! I'll see what I can do re: flash color vs ambient color but haven't used any gels before.

Sep 22, 2023 at 03:50 PM

themb3life
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

Ok well I have thick skin too because I am fat!

On the young man, I can tell you used a wide angle lens, for portraits not the best focal choice. You see the shape/size difference of his head vs his feet. Being on the same plane is really important here.

Lighting, you did pretty good. Maybe dial the power back a hair. What type of lighting are you using? Modifier? I suggest a softbox with a grid to isolate the light to the subject now all the grass/weeds around him.

The couple shot, #3. Very well done but the flash is too strong for my taste (see above questions). When using flash, I want it to balance the light not BE the light during the day.

#4 shot, you are very close. Watch for the sun creating odd shadows on the body/face thru the leaves. On my HS Sr shoots, I have them move around to where the lighting is neutral with no hotspots. I can see spots on the male’s face.

Watch a lot of Youtube on portraiture, that is how I started then you advance the more you shoot. You are on the right path so keep it up!

Sep 23, 2023 at 10:36 AM

VailJohnson
Offline
• •
[X]

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

Reflect soft light rather than blast an obvious bright flash.

Right up against a bush? Doesn’t work for me.

Don’t have super HDR skies

Does it have to be posed? Or look like it’s posed? Here are some tips on how to shoot people so it looks natural. Especially people with dogs. A real missed opportunity to make some natural looking playful photos.

https://www.adorama.com/alc/8-tips-for-capturing-genuine-emotion-in-your-photos/

#4 isn’t close IMO. It literally looks like every single photo posted on the internet “couple with dogs”.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/a-couple-with-their-dog-at-their-fall-engagement-session-in-philadelphias-fairmount-park-horticultura--103442122680348705/

Identical. I know maybe people want this sort of thing for their album because it’s all they see.

Even just asking them to walk their dogs a few times and talk to each other

Look at this session here. See the difference between yours and these?

https://www.123rf.com/photo_65853150_couple-walking-the-dog-together-in-the-park.html

Could be as simple as that.

Your photos look like you’re literally saying ONE TWO THREE ….. CHEEEEEEESE!!!

Sep 23, 2023 at 11:27 AM

Danpbphoto
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

Hi Chad!
Des Moines was were I was born(19470), my father graduated from Drake(1940's) after his military service ,and we moved to Ft. Dodge. I miss Iowa very much.

There are some great suggestions, concrete comments made here. #1, his eyes caught me right off. Not sure how that came about.

Now the cloud color is NOT unusual for Maryland. See it all the time here.
Now the couple with their "children" is especially endearing to me. Very well done! Both images.
Thumb:

Sep 25, 2023 at 09:48 AM

kaplah
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

Chad Bassman wrote:
In between youth sports leagues I'm always trying to improve my photography skills... don't hold back, I've got thick skin and know that these have plenty of room to improve! TIA!!!

1) this is a nice classic shot, pretty well composed and good technicals. I might have: oriented the flash to put some light on the tall grass behind his head instead of the ground (would have framed his head nicely); gelled the flash to at least 1/2 CTO/CTS (to fit the background mood); move the camera lower to get his eyes more centred.

2) feather the flash up a bit, off the ground; get the subject's left hand on his left (or right) knee; had the subject drop his leading shoulder (either by reducing pressure on the right arm or shifting where his buttocks are putting weight on the ground).

3) flattering, shows connectedness of all, good lighting (can't do much about the female subject's shine... or could you?); I might have tried moving to the left to get the fountain out of frame, or at least burn down the highlights.

4) composition looks a bit forced / strained (I'm going to guess this was near the end of the session and patience was slowly draining); colour balance is quite blue; camera right's dog has a lot of blown highlights (as does the male subject), there is a "tunnel" behind them, but they aren't framed by it (perhaps moving the camera to the right a bit).

Let's have two notes on this:
- personal preference / reaction plays a role
- it is easier to critique than to do.

Oct 01, 2023 at 01:21 PM

J. Pow
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

When I first started portrait photography I always struggled because I thought I needed a dynamic background. With this being said I had alot of photos that came out "flat" and not that good because there was too much emphasis on that. I got alot of great advice on FM and from a friend who said shoot the subject and create contrast between the them and the background. When I did this it really took the photos to another level. At first you really want the background in the photo but it wrecks it by "stealing the show" I think if you shot these at 2.8 or lower and created some depth and distance between them and the background they would clean up tremendously. Believe me you will still know the background is dynamic with a ton of bokeh. Just my opinion. You already have all the elements for some great shots! So great job!

Joel

Oct 02, 2023 at 07:09 AM

amacal1
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

A lot of good advice so far. I'll only comment so far as I'm qualified to...

As for subjects, backgrounds, and poses:
#2 and #3 are my favorites from the set. #2 and #4 have the most natural looking and comfortable subjects/poses. #1 isn't so bad, except the subject looks a little uncomfortable or unnaturally posed, and between #3 and #4 the smiles look so much more natural and comfortable on #4 (though #3 isn't bad at all, which is why it's among my favorites from the set).

As for processing:
#1-#3 are all very good, on their own. #4 isn't necessarily bad, but color balance is a bit off, which really stands out when it's presented right next to image #3. You were likely struggling with speckled light in the shaded forest making it difficult for you to pick a WB you like, while also having lots of green color cast from the foliage. This issue trips me up all the time since I live in an area with nuclear green foliage throwing lots of color casts in my natural light shots. The green cast is tricky, but it could still probably stand to be warmed up a little, especially if you're going to present it along with image #3. Also, I think they may be oversharpened in processing. It gives a "crisp" look, but maybe a little too crispy in this case. Especially image #3, where there are some strange artifacts or something going on in the water in the background. It almost looks like blown highlights, but I suspect is maybe an artifact from a sharpening/masking algorithm.

There's a similar problem between image #1 and #2. Each are fine on their own, but when presented together they should be more similarly processed. Either cool off image #1 or warm up image #2. Similarly, the highlights are popping and the shadows are dark in image #2, but more subdued highlights and bumped up shadow areas in #1 don't quite match. Neither looks "bad", but pick one or the other and try to process both to the same stylistic choice if you plan on presenting together for a more consistent set.

Overall, good effort. Nice images and I'm sure they were happy with them, #2 especially. If they weren't happy with that shot, then nothing could make them happy! You have a lot of good/great elements that you executed well, all things considered. I'd say the biggest thing you could work on is just consistency in processing.

Oct 05, 2023 at 09:22 AM

Chad Bassman
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

Thanks Dan! I'm a '74 and graduated from Drake in '00 with an mba.... lived in dsm my entire life thanks for all of your help on these forums and for saying hello here too

Nov 25, 2023 at 09:13 AM

Danpbphoto
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

Chad Bassman wrote:
Thanks Dan! I'm a '74 and graduated from Drake in '00 with an mba.... lived in dsm my entire life thanks for all of your help on these forums and for saying hello here too

My father graduated from Drake in 1948! He finished his college after 3 years in the Navy-WWII.His roommate was Steve Allen!
Still have my Drake Bulldogs hat!

Miss Iowa very much!
Thanks!
Dan

Nov 25, 2023 at 09:54 AM

KE_Photo
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · 4 pics for quick review - A few recent seniors and an e-session for c/c

Nice efforts. Just an echo but also a tip. 1-3 are all too much flash - while 4 appears to be none...

Turn your flash OFF.
Set the exposure for the scene/subject.
Then turn the flash ON and set the level accordingly.
How?
Easiest way - Just cheat and chimp until the flash level looks good on test images in camera (barely noticeable) - (chimping is taking a test shot and reviewing it in camera BTW.)
If you're using TTL, use FEC in camera or reduce on the flash or remote with negative values (from 0.00 to -0.70 or more for instance)
To goal is to just attain a touch of flash - not anything more. One you have it down then you'll be much more in command of the ambient to flash ratio.

Lastly - HSS/Flash in the almost night hour is always going to look like a deer in the headlights - shoot earlier unless that's the look you intended to achieve!

#4 - a touch of fill flash here would have been nice to fill the shadows on the faces. Also set the white balance to warmer (shade is cool WB).
Watch out for patches of direct sun hitting faces or clothes. Keep moving until there are none - or they are pleasing - in cases of backlighting or rim light for instance. This changes rapidly as the sun moves during shoots so you'll have to monitor it closely at all times. I annoy my subjects a lot of times by having them constantly move and adjust - even by inches sometimes, haha.

Nov 25, 2023 at 10:33 AM


FM Forums \| People Photography \| Join Upload & Sell

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.