My first Senior portrait

fredjclaus

Please let me know what I could do better. This is my first senior portrait session. The pictures were taken at a Christian camp that the subject's mother is the director of. It was a beautiful area but the subject and his mother wanted just a couple spots used for the shoot. I have more on my website but these were a sample of what I did.

Tim Kamppinen

One thing that you could work on is your lighting. Light makes an image (it's "photography" -- "light writing" after all) and knowing how to use it will improve your photography tremendously. This doesn't have to mean using flash (although that's one great way to control the light) but can also be learning to see the natural light that will work for your shot and using it to full advantage.

These shots seem to all have been taken on a fairly overcast day. That can be good in once sense, because the light is soft and doesn't cast any harsh shadows, and everything in the scene fits into the dynamic range of your camera. However, it can also be problematic because the light is coming from directly overhead, which produces "raccoon eyes" because the brow casts a shadow down over the eyesockets. This problem is evident in the photos you posted.

There are ways to fix this, however. You could use a bit of flash for fill, to lift those shadows. You could use a lot of flash (off camera if you want it to look good) and make that your main light. You could use a reflector (can be as simple as a piece of white foamcore or even a light colored building or sidewalk) to bounce light back up under the eyes. Or you could move into an area of open shade where the light is coming from all around instead of top-down.

If you're interested in the off-camera flash route, be sure to check out http://www.strobist.com for all the info you'll need to get started.

fredjclaus

Thank you Tim, I didn't notice the eyes until you mentioned it. I will have to remember the reflector idea next time. Lighting is my weak point and I will definately check out Strobist for help with that.

adbsgicom

I think you want some stronger poses, especially in the fire-fighter setup. He seems like a kinda happy kid, but it doesn't work really well with the firetruck IMO.

fredjclaus

Good point, thanks.

Mitchell

Any tighter crops?

These all look kinda blah due to the flat lighting and the centered compositions. Mix it up a bit next time.

Darren Troy C

Very centered crops....plain expressions. (I know he's smiling in all of them but it's identical in each one) Small apertures, bokeh backgrounds, other looks and comps (different direction for him and your camera other than straight-on) and some post-processing umph to up the wow-factor a bit.

Hackbone

What Fred, Tim and Mitch said. No 1 is asking for a tighter crop to keep the fireman clothing and not the jeans.

No 2 has too many things pointing to the subject. Gives me a horror feeling plus the grab my crotch has got to go.

3 & 4 rember to look for an overhang or shaded area to get away from the dark sockets or put a gobo over their head to block the skylight.

For posing remember guys like to lean on things!!!