My First Model Shoot. C&C

Candid Arts · April 11, 2009

So hey dgrinners, I did my first model shoot thanks to a local photographer (Brandon Perron @ brandonperron.com) that saw my For Hire add here on Dgrin. Here are a few of the photos from the day. I've still got a lot to weed through and edit, but as for the ones I've edited, here are a couple of my favorites. The entire gallery can be found here.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

rutt · April 11, 2009

3, 7, & 8 are really nice. I hate selective color and don't see the reason for 2 unless it's an ad for the jeans.

Candid Arts · April 11, 2009

rutt wrote:

3, 7, & 8 are really nice. I hate selective color and don't see the reason for 2 unless it's an ad for the jeans.

Thank you. As fr the selective color, that's the same thing that the photographer that invited me along for the shoot said. So I edited it again and left it in full color.

whiterice · April 11, 2009

rutt wrote:

3, 7, & 8 are really nice. I hate selective color and don't see the reason for 2 unless it's an ad for the jeans.

Rutt said what I had on my mind RE selective color.

I like 3, 6, and 8. Nice job!

rutt · April 11, 2009

Candid Arts wrote:

Thank you. As fr the selective color, that's the same thing that the photographer that invited me along for the shoot said. So I edited it again and left it in full color.

Nice in full color.

Candid Arts · April 11, 2009

whiterice wrote:

Rutt said what I had on my mind RE selective color.

I like 3, 6, and 8. Nice job!

Thank you. This seems to be a reaccuring thought regarding selective color. However I always see selective color photos in wedding shots (w/ and w/o people in the photo) and others. Hmmm...Is it just in modeling photos that selective color is not liked or what?

rutt wrote:

Nice in full color.

Thank you.

rutt · April 11, 2009

I don't ever like selective color. Well I liked it once in Schindler's List the first time I ever saw it. After that it was a gimmick. Just because you see it doesn't mean it isn't a gimmick. You see lots of gimmicks all the time, right? Doesn't mean they aren't gimmicks.

Nikolai · April 11, 2009

Congrats on breaking the mold! :-)
Nice series!
Here are some random thoughts.
#1 Good pose. Face is a bit too bright.
#2. As many already said, selective coloring doens't work here (unless you go for jeans commerical:-). However, the full color version reveals a very distracting background (esp. the red road cone)
#3. Very nice
#4. I think it would have been better without the sign or at least not that close to the sign. Easy to clone it off in post. I also think there is either too much or too little of the negative space. Pose is rather uncertain. Arms hanging down like ropes never call for a strong image. I would also try to get lower.
#5. I like the idea (and slight desaturation), but her right arm "givies away" the static pose and makes the whole image less believable
#6. This would be a perfect image for selective coloring, leaving only black, white and red. I still don't like a chopped off foot
#7. Nice. Love the treatment too. But I would get lower.
#8. Very nice. Reflection is a great help. I wonder if CP would make a difference.
HTH

Candid Arts · April 11, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

Congrats on breaking the mold! :-)
Nice series!
Here are some random thoughts.
#1 Good pose. Face is a bit too bright.
#2. As many already said, selective coloring doens't work here (unless you go for jeans commerical:-). However, the full color version reveals a very distracting background (esp. the red road cone)
#3. Very nice
#4. I think it would have been better without the sign or at least not that close to the sign. Easy to clone it off in post. I also think there is either too much or too little of the negative space. Pose is rather uncertain. Arms hanging down like ropes never call for a strong image. I would also try to get lower.
#5. I like the idea (and slight desaturation), but her right arm "givies away" the static pose and makes the whole image less believable
#6. This would be a perfect image for selective coloring, leaving only black, white and red. I still don't like a chopped off foot
#7. Nice. Love the treatment too. But I would get lower.
#8. Very nice. Reflection is a great help. I wonder if CP would make a difference.
HTH

Awesome, the person I was waiting to hear from most. Thank you, your post is exactly what I was looking for.

#1. I see what you mean. I'll try and fix. Maybe some Burning is CS3.
#2. Agreed. Maybe take the color out of the cone only, or just clone it out in general? However I kind of like it there showing the "street" feel to it.
#3. Thank you.
#4. I have a couple other ones farther from the sign in the gallery, I kind of liked the effect that she was "parked" by the sign, however I don't think standing up convey's that as much as I wanted it to.
#5. This one the one image that I actually posed the model and had her do something. As I am new to people photography, I'm uncomfortable yet posing the model. So I was happy with the result. However I do see what you mean with the right arm.
#6. I see what you mean with the foot. I'll try the selective coloring on that one. Thanks. Do you like the fact that the sign is in focus and the model is not? I have one where it is switched as well, but I prefer this one.
#7. Thanks...and duely noted.
#8. Thank you. CP?

Thank you for all your insight. I will be doing some more shoots with this photographer and more models, so I'll be keeping these tips in mind.

Candid Arts · April 11, 2009

Ok. I finished editing all the photos of this model. The rest of them can be found in the gallery linked in the first post. Again, here are some of my favorites of the rest:

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

Thank you all for your input.

I have some more shots of two different models I will be posting as well once I get them edited.

Nikolai · April 11, 2009

Candid Arts wrote:

Awesome, the person I was waiting to hear from most. Thank you, your post is exactly what I was looking for.

We're here to help :-)

#6. ...Do you like the fact that the sign is in focus and the model is not? I have one where it is switched as well, but I prefer this one.

I was playing both scenarios in my head. I'm not sure. However, you're the artist, so it's important what you think.

#8. Thank you. CP?

Circular Polarizer. Great way to control reflections.

Candid Arts · April 11, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

We're here to help :-)

I was playing both scenarios in my head. I'm not sure. However, you're the artist, so it's important what you think.

Circular Polarizer. Great way to control reflections.

Got it. Good idea. I'll play with it next time I'm out shooting.

Nikolai · April 11, 2009

#9 Nice composition, but I don't find this angle particularly flattering for her.
#10. Again, nice compo, and I even like here looking out the frame instead of into it. Facial skinn look a bit too plastiky though.
#11. Nice, but I'm not sure about llight falloff on her forehead and the strand of hair covering her right eye.
#12. Interesting pseudo IR. The facial expression is abit uncertain though (was she tired?)
#13. Nice bold tilt. I would crop tighter from the left, though, the image loooks unbalanced
#14. Interesting. I think I would like it more rotated 90 degrees CW. A bit too tired look again.
#15. I like the blue jeans matching the water reflecting the blue sky. Light pattern on her face is a bit uncertain and the face looks blown out a tad with pretty much no details on her cheek..
All in all I think you did amazingly well, especially considering it was your first shoot. All those are just tiny nits. I wish my first one were this good...

Candid Arts · April 11, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

#9 Nice composition, but I don't find this angle particularly flattering for her.

Alrighty. Thanks for the input.

#10. Again, nice compo, and I even like here looking out the frame instead of into it. Facial skinn look a bit too plastiky though.

I'll see what I can do on the skin.

#11. Nice, but I'm not sure about llight falloff on her forehead and the strand of hair covering her right eye.

Hair was a pretty big issue that day as the wind kind of took over right on the river.

#12. Interesting pseudo IR. The facial expression is abit uncertain though (was she tired?)

Tired? I dunno...uncomfortable/inexperienced? maybe... Once I got home and looked through the photos, I noticed the facial expressions I wasn't entirely happy with. Definitely something I need to work on and be more aware of. As well as have the confidence to ask the model to do something, and the comfortableness with the model.

#13. Nice bold tilt. I would crop tighter from the left, though, the image loooks unbalanced.

I'll see how that looks. Thanks.

#14. Interesting. I think I would like it more rotated 90 degrees CW. A bit too tired look again.

I just rotated it in LR...and definitely better. Thanks.

#15. I like the blue jeans matching the water reflecting the blue sky. Light pattern on her face is a bit uncertain and the face looks blown out a tad with pretty much no details on her cheek...

I took a look at her cheak at 100%. There is definitely detail there. The only parts that show any blown out highlights is the flower she's holding a little bit, as well as some white in the background. But her cheek looks fine to me.

All in all I think you did amazingly well, especially considering it was your first shoot. All those are just tiny nits. I wish my first one were this good...

It was my first shoot with someone other than my room mate. I've done two shoots with her, but that doesn't count. But...this coming from such a great portrait photographer as yourself means a lot and is extremely inspiring. Thank you so much for your help.

My First Model Shoot. C&C

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