Something new for me!

Greyhound Rick

Hello everyone!

Well......Im probably the most single subject photographer you will ever meet! Ive been shooting for a little over a year and 99% of my photos have been of greyhound racing! (Ive posted in the "Sports" forum a couple of times). Now its time to try some other things!

Im new to portraits and have a lot to learn, but its fun to try something different and I appreciate the opportunity to have you folks critique my shots.

Im thick skinned and actually enjoy my subpar areas brought to my attention. That way I can get better. So please dont worry about hurting my feelings. I welcome and respect your input very much!!

I convinced our daughter Valerie to let me practice with her yesterday and we had fun. Sorry about the less than professional facial expressions and setting, but I wanted to see how my focus and lighting were.

I think I need to get more lighting into her eyes and as far as focus goes....well...Im never totally happy with my focus, but it seems to be pretty good.

I changed the exposure a bit and cropped in Capture NX but didnt do any other PP.

Thanks for your help and your comments!


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thanks again for your time and help!

my best,

Rick

ccheroke

I like the first pose but like the lighting in the third pose. But then again I am not an expert
on portraits either. I do like the capture of a personality if possible too.

Nikolai

Rick,
first of all, congratulations of getting out of rut:-)
I have a feeling you're shooting very wide at very close distance. If this is true, you may want to consider to back up and use the longer lens. Anything shorter than 50mm on APC (and 80mm in FF) is not very suitable for portrait work...

Greyhound Rick

Thank you ccheroke and Nikolai for your input!!

Im shooting with my 85mm f/1.4 on my D300. Im going to try to back up a bit and change the lighting some to see if that helps a bit and also try to soften up her skin a little bit too. Kinda harsh in these. Youre right....a little more space would be a good thing!

take care,

Rick

Greyhound Rick

Well, Im going to try some different approaches to lighting, poses and settings next attempt to see if I can improve! Ive got a LONG way to go!!

I just ordered the new "Creative Lighting" DVD by Bob Krist and Joe McNally thru Nikon and should have it soon. Has anyone seen it yet? Im looking forward to studying it so I can attempt to get better.

take care,

Rick

Greyhound Rick

No make up or any prep here, just sat Val down to try a little different lighting. Not having the right equipment is challenging!! But.....its fun to try to make do with what I have!

Changed the settings to soften up a bit and not to thrilled with the focus here, so maybe will tweak back next time. I like the light a little better but need to get more fill on the side and try for more pop with some back lighting.

Will keep trying and need to get to the camera store to get some goodies to help make this learning curve go faster.

Shooting racing greyhounds is hard, but this isnt easy!!

Any direction you can give me would be most appreciated. Would really like to get decent at portraits and not afraid to work at it!! I think Im going to try some white poster board on Val's short side and see if I can get some more light reflected on to her face that way.

my best to all and thanks for looking!

Rick

patrickbellair

good for a first shoot, try to work with expression, make up and light next time

Greyhound Rick

patrickbellair wrote:

good for a first shoot, try to work with expression, make up and light next time

Thanks Patrick!! Will do!!

my best,

Rick

1pocket

Rick, The first three you posted were all kinda square on shots. The single you more recently posted is way more interesting because of the angle involved, imho. Try more angles

Greyhound Rick

1pocket wrote:

Rick, The first three you posted were all kinda square on shots. The single you more recently posted is way more interesting because of the angle involved, imho. Try more angles

thanks very much for the suggestion!! Will do!! :-)



Well, I switched daughters here and took a few fun ones with Gina tonite. She put on a fun hat and made some fun faces.
Opened up the aperture to f/4, played with the light a little and I think improved the presentation a bit (I hope!)
I should have used a white reflector to get a bit more light on her. Will try that next time.


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thanks again for looking and thanks for the help!! :-)

patrickbellair

Hello, it's better maybe try to take care abour the details, like the top of her jacket, wich is cut too short maybee next it will be better to take it off, if it's not a part of your picture... a little "vignette" and a color correction could be great too have fun

Greyhound Rick

patrickbellair wrote:

Hello, it's better maybe try to take care abour the details, like the top of her jacket, wich is cut too short maybee next it will be better to take it off, if it's not a part of your picture... a little "vignette" and a color correction could be great too have fun

Thanks again for the input!! :-)