First guy photoshoot

System

Hey, this was my first true photoshoot to take a guy out on. Guys are a little harder when they are teenagers to convince to take out, but Cameron was totally willing. He's a guitarist and songwriter. Here are a few examples.. and the rest are at http://jondraperphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7491743_NyLhc#483500651_JhiEq

jeffreaux2

Teen guys...in general...are not "harder" to photograph, but rather require more in terms of directing and posing than the average teenage girl. Putting them at ease with the camera is....of course...the responsibility of the photographer. No magic bullet advice for that, as each different person may require a different approach.

For the sake of critique...

1
The background you chose here doesn't work for me...and this from someone(me) who shoots a LOT of portraits against walls. The dark seam in the tin at the center of the frame is distracting and should have been avoided. The fact that we can see the end of the wall and some out of focus stuff beyond is equally distracting.....even though its out of focus, the eye is naturally led there......and stops to try to see whats going on back there. The pose is okay, but I think it would have more personality if he were angled a bit more to the camera....where we could at least see his far shoulder.

2
I like the thirds composition but....youve cropped out parts of his head and feet on an otherwise full length shot. Also, I believe cloning out the power lines/poles on the mid to right section of the upper frame would strengthen the thirds composition.

3
Nice detail shot....but not a portrait...Ill skip it.

4
This misses on several counts. The chosen background swallows him up since his clothing is of a color that is really to similar to that of the background. The pose.....arms crossed.....together with the shoulders square on to the camera are extremely defensive in nature. He has drawn the line in the sand and doesn't even want a camera to invade his personal space. This is the weakest image of the three portraits you posted.

I sincerely hope that my critique doesn't cause any discouragment....and that it is taken as intended...for the sake of improvement. I offer my suggestions only because there are some things I found in the images that I truely did like.

Nikolai

Nice series! Guys *are* hard to shoot well

1. Nice senior portrait. Too much negative space though. And while the rule of thirds is a nice safe approach, sometimes you gotta break the rules, too:-)
2. Great, but the chopped top of the head and feet are leaving a "meh" feeling
3. Hands on the guitar. Duh...
4. Almost like #1, but with more "posed" feeling", harsh light and overall "muddy" color scheme

Next time:

• have him not looking directly into the camera
• try extremes: very low/high angles, very wide/long focal lenth
• try to include way more/less environment

HTH

Elaine

1 - I really like it! The colors and light and textures are very appealing to me. And I happen to like negative space, so that works for me, too. His shirt sleeve is flipped up.

2 - Nice conversion. I really wish his feet were included. And if they were in the shot, then I would wish his head weren't cut off. So, yeah...I'd rather they were both there.

3 - Great detail shot!

4 - Harsh light, cold body language and expression, and these muted colors don't draw me into this one.

Look forward to seeing more of your work!

PS - I also like 2, 6, 10, 19 in the gallery. Overall, it looks like it was a good shoot!