Thanks everyone for the comment. I fixed the nose thing and I am working on the white balance. I am learning lightroom as I go, so all tips are appreciated. Here are the corrected copies with the nose fix.
The bokeh is reallllly distracting, IMO. When I looked at the photos, all I could look at was the background because the circles really stand out and distract me.
Lindsay Echo wrote:
The bokeh is reallllly distracting, IMO. When I looked at the photos, all I could look at was the background because the circles really stand out and distract me.
For me it is the "Charley Brown Zig Zag Pattern" sweater that is eye-catching and a distraction.
My Simple Suggestion: tell the girlfriend/woman/mother to wear a "non striped" or plain top. Let the shape of her lovely face be the most striking thing, not the sweater pattern.
Men: remember this next time you think about wearing your "Oogli" sweater to an event where you might be photographed.
The woman is pretty. The garment in this set of images (and the other one with the grass/glass/houses) is a very "bold pattern" of repeating horizontal stripes. Avoid those.
Steady - Thanks again for the comment. The funny thing about your post is when she wanted to wear this sweater which is about the same as the one before, I commented on how it looked like a charlie brown shirt!!!
bugspit wrote:
Steady - Thanks again for the comment. The funny thing about your post is when she wanted to wear this sweater which is about the same as the one before, I commented on how it looked like a charlie brown shirt!!!
And you wisely said nothing.
She is your girlfriend....next time, buy her a new top and ask her to wear it for the shoot.
Then tell her and show her what a nice difference a plain top made in your photos. (hint hint). "That is what I would do."
CircleMGraphic wrote:
Skin tones are a bit off. A little WB work should do the trick.
Can somebody explain how you would do that other than "by eye" assuming the OP didn't use a custom WB or reference card ?
I'm interested cos I'm in exactly that position !
To the OP - really like #4, maybe could be cropped from the bottom some. The others are a bit "stiff" and posed. As others have said, try and get them more relaxed, chatting, laughing, interacting, both with you and each other.
Try getting them to look in opposite directions then when you say the word both look at the camera, etc etc.
Your daughter's arms look a bit wierd (no offense intended) in some of the shots - maybe it was really cold ? they look a bit red and blotchy ?
Keep practicing. I'm in exactly the same boat but am managing to rope friends in to practice on at the moment rather than my less than enthusiastic family !
Skin tones, oof in #3, and like others said, just a bit stiff.
Given the fact that it was outdoors though, and obviously if you ever want to keep taking pictures you can't tell your significant other to change her top, I liked them.
One thing I had noticed when using that 50mm 1.8 was the AF sucks (at least on mine). One time I shot a car show indoors with poor lighting only to get home and realize a good 25% of my shots were oof. Just be careful with that thing.
One thing I noticed was aperture selection in #2 (f1.8) didn't allow both (either?) of them to be in focus. When you have two models, one behind the other, you can't expect narrow DOF to work.
Linday mentioned the bokeh, and I see it too. Is the bright bokeh possibly from you increasing levels in PP?
#1 The full hands should be showing and not clipped.
I would like to add one comment about the birthmark...always ask the client. My sister-in-law only has one eye, and wears a bandaid patch over the other eye socket. She has been this way for as long as she can remember, and is comfortable with it, regardless of whether other people are or not. For our church directory, the company took it upon themselves to clone in an eye for her, and she was MAD!
I am not saying don't change the birthmark. I am just saying remember to ask the person who will hopefully be purchasing the photographs. =)
Andy - Thanks for the tips on getting more relax poses, thats something I have been struggling with.
JIm - I agree the 1.8 didnt work, I was experimenting with that one, and I failed! Do you have a preferred apenture when shooitng outdoors portraits?
Chris - Thanks for looking and the comments. The nose blemish was actually not a birthmark or anything of that sort, it was a scab. It was going to be cloned out on the final print, but I got lazy when posting here. Here mother wanted it fixed for printing. I appreciated the story, this is what I get the most out of this forum, not only what to do, but examples on what not to do.
