My Oh My first senior!

VayCayMom

I did my first official senior shoot!!:ivar:ivar The last time I saw this young lady she was about 7 years old!!! Her dear mother booked her without seeing my website, such trust! But she did have a bizz card of mine with photos.
This young woman is stunning, that being part 1 of my success, I believe, but I also used something for the first time...a Lumaquest Softbox attached to my off camera flash. The images mostly got a color and light adjustment in Lightroom2 and not much more. I did not touch her face eyes or teeth. I also showed her a 90 second video from youtube about modeling by a Ford model, but this gal had some experience already.
Her poor mom kept watching the hem lines and the bustline and worried she looked too sexy.
Yep, poor poor mom !!!The girl is stunning.

I am pretty darn happy with the results and at the end of the session the young lady thanked me and told me she really had fun. That meant alot to me. She did not want to go the cookie cutter direction that has been the same studio for years and years. I think I should from now on only work with stunning teen aged girls!!( I wish!) She was so easy to work with!!!


1. Lightroom only, not even cropped.


2 My fav of the day, so far anyway lol


3



4 I know I got the light too close and by now I lost my hubby/light holder asst's attention as he and our friend made up for lost time chatting away, but still not too bad.


5
I couldn't resist a little background work here...



6 and finally to my fav outdoor location, this has only had a light adjustment, not even cropped yet.

kidzmom

Hey Trudy....
Okay...WHY might I ask is this only your FIRST senior!?! These photos (as well as model) are brilliantly gorgeous! Nice work. My favs are 1,3,5. Although 3 is very centered it really works well with her pose. She (and you) are naturals!
Kelly

barbnjon

These are wonderful!!!!!! I've been trying off camera flash. It's going OK, not great. How big is your softbox? I'm using an umbrella and it can get pretty cumbersome.

heatherfeather

These are really nice! Well done!

Paintguy

A beautiful subject always helps, but these look great. Looks like you have been doing these senior shoots for a while. To bad she did not pick out a top that worked with her eye & hair color a bit. The last shot makes her look much more mature.

VayCayMom

barbnjon wrote: »

These are wonderful!!!!!! I've been trying off camera flash. It's going OK, not great. How big is your softbox? I'm using an umbrella and it can get pretty cumbersome.

Thank you! I bought the "softbox" 2 months ago, it is VERY easy to take anywhere. It is 7.5 inches by 8.5, and it folds flat.They come in a few sizes and are made of a soft plastic. I also have an umbrella for my tiny studio but this is way better for me at this point. I think I'll check more of their products.

VayCayMom

kidzmom wrote: »

Hey Trudy....
Okay...WHY might I ask is this only your FIRST senior!?! These photos (as well as model) are brilliantly gorgeous! Nice work. My favs are 1,3,5. Although 3 is very centered it really works well with her pose. She (and you) are naturals!
Kelly

Hey Kelly!! I always love your posts and your comments! This is the first time anyone has asked to to do a senior's portraits. I am hoping to begin getting more. I checked out two places the day before to see what the lighting looked like, so I had planned it all out. Biggest surprise was how great the patio of an out of business restaurant worked. Thanks for your very nice compliments. Did you know I have a wedding booked for July!!??!!!:ivar

VayCayMom

Thank you Heather, I value your input, always!
Thank you Paintguy for taking the time to comment, you are right about her wardrobe,it could have been a bit better however she would look great no matter what she wore.

adbsgicom

I like the first 4 a lot. #2 shows a lot of personality in the way she looks, so assuming that matches her real personality, I can see why you both like it. I wish #1 didn't end up with that big spike of hair coming out from her hand, else I think that would have been my favorite. I like what you are doing in 5, and love the pose/look. At least on my monitor (calibrated and very good dynamic range), there seems to be a bit of halo around her -- proof is in the print, so if it doesn't show there, no foul...:D I didn't really like the last one, she seems much older than a senior.

divamum

WOW - Trudy, these are terrific!!! I think #3 is my favorite. Only suggestion I might make is for you to decenter these as you crop and work on the final copies (I'd love to see some taken off the LH side in the first one, for instance) - she's dead centre in most of them.

But WOW I love the light. This is some of the best work I've seen from you - I'm sure she is thrilled!!

Darren Troy C

Great set. Really like #s 1 & 2....would prefer a tighter crop on each, however. Could we possibly see this comp? If the data will handle it, would love to see a fashion-type portrait crop to these. (close in to head and shoulders)

Hackbone

Trudy, for your first senior great job. I'll make a few comments but take from them what you like. (Everyone has comments for what they are worth.)
1. Watch out for crazy hair on top. Also too much negative space. I know you said they aren't cropped but try to do as much in camera as you can. Especially that bright area top left.
2.Again crop it. I love the peek a boo expression and her right hand placement on her head. The left had is distracting however.
3. The pouching out of her head makes it seem larger than it should be. Could be lens choice.
4, Love this one but crop or clone out brick wall on left with the distracting black bar. Sometimes putting her leg up like that will make the posterior larger.
5. Is just plain nice. I like the foot placement and the way the inside of the elbows are away from the waist line to accent the body curve.
6. I like the idea of this and the sky is great. The leg posing does not show off her legs as in #5 and never show the back of the hand on a female due to that is it's broadest point. The shadows are a killer in this one.
Remember a small soft box is a harsh light. The bigger the box and the closer it is to subject the softer the light.

Over all a very, very nice job. You should be tickled pink over these.

rhondavid

She is gorgeous!!! You did an excellent job capturing that beauty and personality. She looks very natural in the shots so it is obvious you two really connected. Think you may have found a new calling - Seniors!!!

WOW!!!