it has been a while

jayegirl

I haven't had much time to indulge my photography habit lately but I managed to squeeze in some time to take pictures for a dear sweet young lady to use on an announcement. The occassion is the completetion of her Master's Degree in Social Work. She knew what she wanted and we had a great time for about an hour in the courtyard on her campus. Her ultimate goal was to get a mature looking photo for the announcement and we had fun taking others. Thought I would post a few of my favorites.

1. Her eyes really are that blue.


2. She likes her photos from this angle.


3.

4. My personal favorite


5. The cap and gown would not cooperate so this is the only decent one we got.


6. The one she chose for her announcement
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jayegirl

alexkhoo82 wrote:

Very nice shots! Your shots portray her as a very sunshine and cheerful young lady~ I like these~

Thank you!

speedsk8r

Very nice love the expressions on her face very pleasent.

Scott_Quier

The best of the group, IMO - FWIW, is #2 followed closely by #6 and I think you did a pretty good job. I'm sure your client is quite happy with them.

Some food for thought for the next time:

• One reason #2 works so well is because you have shot from an elevated position which tends to elongate the body and/or minimize "non-optimal" body proportions.
• Photograhing women (and guys for that matter) square on is usually not as flatter as when they are photographed turned from the camera 10 to 45 degrees. You're just starting to get an angle in the first and last photos.
• Watch your backgrounds for distracting elements. In #2 and #3 (with an appropriate crop) you were successful RE backgrounds. The bench in #1 and, especially in #6 is a huge distraction, mostly because it is so bright compared to your model. Even in #2, if you could burn down the brightness of the first slat of the bench you would have a much improved shot.

If you haven't delivered the photos yet, I think you could improve #6 a bit by using a dark vignette to tone down the background a bit.

heatherfeather

Wow, she has the most beautiful smile and eyes. I think you did a great job. I do agree with Scott's pointers. And his picks, come to think of it. You certainly brought out her beauty with these photos!

jayegirl

Thanks everybody for the pointers. It was middle of day with plenty of challanges! Appreciate the pointers! I love the processing tips and will use those to practice later. I actually shot these in raw and I don't quite have the post down yet.

She was in a rush to get the pictures. I created an announcement for her. Will post it and a practice texture later.

glennp

Very nice photos. I especially like #2 & #6 as well. She has beautiful eyes a great smile.

glenn