A Few Shots From my First Engagement Session...

dawssvt

I looked through several e-session threads here before I went out today. I'm pretty satisfied with the shots from today for it being my first time, but I definitely see plenty of room for improvement.

C&C welcome...

1.


2.


3.


4. I'm feeling like the post work should be dialed down some on this one. It's a tad too red. What do you think?


5.

Weisel

I'm totally not qualified to be a critic yet, but here's my take. 1) looks cool to me 2) looks like a basic couple's portrait, and is nice looking, but is her face a little out of focus? His looks sharp. Did you do a glam blur on her, and not him? Even her eyes look unsharp as well. Maybe I'm wrong. 3) I really like the comp. , although it does look a tad like she's resisting him just a bit, or she's slightly unsure. Again, I'm just saying what I see. I'm likely off kilter in my analogy. Maybe I'm the one who's unsure? lol 4) I like the comp, personally, but yes, I immediately saw it as too red, before I saw what you said. But his shirt being blown by the wind (I think) doesn't help. Then again, it adds some action. Maybe I'm being too picky. Was it windy, or does his shirt just fold over like that all the time? 5) I really like this one, and it's a good way to show that ring, IMHO. Overall, I like the set. I think you did quite well, in my view. Probably a lot better than my soon to be first e-session will be. I look forward to hearing more C&C on your set here.

dawssvt

Weisel wrote:

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">I'm totally not qualified to be a critic yet, but here's my take.

1) looks cool to me

2) looks like a basic couple's portrait, and is nice looking, but is her face a little out of focus? His looks sharp. Did you do a glam blur on her, and not him? Even her eyes look unsharp as well. Maybe I'm wrong.

3) I really like the comp. , although it does look a tad like she's resisting him just a bit, or she's slightly unsure. Again, I'm just saying what I see. I'm likely off kilter in my analogy. Maybe I'm the one who's unsure? lol

4) I like the comp, personally, but yes, I immediately saw it as too red, before I saw what you said. But his shirt being blown by the wind (I think) doesn't help. Then again, it adds some action. Maybe I'm being too picky. Was it windy, or does his shirt just fold over like that all the time?

5) I really like this one, and it's a good way to show that ring, IMHO.

Overall, I like the set. I think you did quite well, in my view. Probably a lot better than my soon to be first e-session will be. I look forward to hearing more C&C on your set here.

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Thanks for the comment! Yea, the focus on #2 is not all that great. I shot this one with the 70-200 and the shutter speed was a little too slow. I realized this once looking at them right after the shoot. I was a little disappointed, but you learn as you go!

I would have like to see better interaction with them in #3 as well.

It was a very windy day, thus the blown shirt. I thought that was the best one of the 10 or so I took of that shot. Thanks again for the comment!

Here is one more of the ring. The focus is not all that great - I need a macro lens <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/headscratch.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

heatherfeather

*Really* like your ring shot. Purdy colors!

Shima

Nice set! Be careful with #1 and #2, they could almost be a little too warm. I'd be worried about them looking over-red / over-yellow when they go to print, but I like where you were going w/ these.

dawssvt

Shima wrote:

Nice set! Be careful with #1 and #2, they could almost be a little too warm. I'd be worried about them looking over-red / over-yellow when they go to print, but I like where you were going w/ these.

I agree about the warmness, I willl be working on these more tomorrow with the final edits. Thanks for you comment!

Malte

Weisel wrote:

3) I really like the comp. , although it does look a tad like she's resisting him just a bit, or she's slightly unsure. Again, I'm just saying what I see. I'm likely off kilter in my analogy. Maybe I'm the one who's unsure? lol

I loved that about it! I imagined they're at her door and he's not getting invited in... D

Malte

urbanaries

Really cute couple and awesome first set!!! Wow!

A couple of things that might help...

1. Love the composition, can't comment on the colors so much as I'm on crappy work monitor. You're almost there on the pose but not quite, they look frozen in that stage, not like they're about to make contact. It will help if their heads are at an angle to each other and not square on. Sometimes showing them an example gives them a lightbulb moment.

2. Very square on and they seem stiff. It's ok to use this pose but you got to add some liveliness to it. Sometimes just getting them to shake their butts and laugh a bit to loosen up can make a world of difference. Also her bra strap is showing.

3. Really love this framing....WOW! I can see a bit of halo from editing around his head, FYI. When you get a great scene like this, try to get them to show a variety of emotions/interactions so you have something to choose from. This one is cool but she does look a bit uncomfortable/tense, you might have had him kiss her forehead and her breathe deep to get that romantic look, or him nuzzle her neck, or even get her laughing as he's trying to kiss her. That way when you get an awesome shot composition like this you have the perfect expression to marry (ha!) with it.

4. Too dark, too red. Desaturate and add some fill, and I think you'll have a winner here.

5. like this approach, you executed it nicely!

Overall I really like your compositions and processing...directing clients is the hardest part and I still have trouble with this, so you're not alone.

elizabeth_Luna

One thing that I have learned about branding yourself is to keep all your work consistent. You have a lot of different colors going on here, which previous posters have mentioned but is key to keep a eye out. Of course you will have your occasional black and white or sepia etc.

I do love your eye tho and comp!



Hope this helps

dawssvt

Malte wrote:

I loved that about it! I imagined they're at her door and he's not getting invited in... D

Malte

I totally agree!

urbanaries wrote:

Really cute couple and awesome first set!!! Wow!

A couple of things that might help...

1. Love the composition, can't comment on the colors so much as I'm on crappy work monitor. You're almost there on the pose but not quite, they look frozen in that stage, not like they're about to make contact. It will help if their heads are at an angle to each other and not square on. Sometimes showing them an example gives them a lightbulb moment.

2. Very square on and they seem stiff. It's ok to use this pose but you got to add some liveliness to it. Sometimes just getting them to shake their butts and laugh a bit to loosen up can make a world of difference. Also her bra strap is showing.

3. Really love this framing....WOW! I can see a bit of halo from editing around his head, FYI. When you get a great scene like this, try to get them to show a variety of emotions/interactions so you have something to choose from. This one is cool but she does look a bit uncomfortable/tense, you might have had him kiss her forehead and her breathe deep to get that romantic look, or him nuzzle her neck, or even get her laughing as he's trying to kiss her. That way when you get an awesome shot composition like this you have the perfect expression to marry (ha!) with it.

4. Too dark, too red. Desaturate and add some fill, and I think you'll have a winner here.

5. like this approach, you executed it nicely!

Overall I really like your compositions and processing...directing clients is the hardest part and I still have trouble with this, so you're not alone.

Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it. For #1 I just had them kiss several times, so it wasn't really a posed shot. I was just snapping away when they were kissing. How could I have made it more natural? Maybe they weren't comfortable yet, this was one of the first shots. That's a great suggestion for #3. I kept trying different angles, but I should have stayed with that one to get a better expression. Thanks again!

elizabeth_Luna wrote:

One thing that I have learned about branding yourself is to keep all your work consistent. You have a lot of different colors going on here, which previous posters have mentioned but is key to keep a eye out. Of course you will have your occasional black and white or sepia etc.

I do love your eye tho and comp!



Hope this helps

I thought someone may bring that up. I think I may be changing the look too often - thanks for the comment!