First real attempt at portrait photography

Shades of Hyperion

I was recently given the opportunity to try my hand at portrait photography during a photoshoot with a fellow photographer.

The following photographs are a sample of my contribution to the photoshoot.

:::NOTE::: The following photos are the property of, and displayed with the permission of, Scarlet Iris Photography and are from my Leon Johnson gallery.









Looking for any input, C&C welcomed and encouraged

reyvee61

Anyone who plays a Tele is fine with me...
I'll give some C&C when I get home to my calibrated monitor....

Dee79

Ok- I can't give proper CC because I'm still learning but I LOVE what you did with the last one. What filter were you using when you edited that?

How about Don

I like three of them but don't like the third. It seem's to me that the only opinion that matter's is the guy paying the bill. What does he think of them?

Shades of Hyperion

Thank you all for looking and taking the time to comment.

Dee79 wrote: »

Ok- I can't give proper CC because I'm still learning but I LOVE what you did with the last one. What filter were you using when you edited that?

No filter, its a technique I learned in the tutorial How to Use Textures to Enhance You Photographs. It takes a little practice but the results are well worth it.

How about Don wrote: »

I like three of them but don't like the third. It seem's to me that the only opinion that matter's is the guy paying the bill. What does he think of them?

So to be clear, its the landscape oriented photo that you don't like?
The client loved the shots from both photographers, which is of course the ultimate goal. But what works for this client may or may not work for another, and that is the reason I was looking for input.

Travel

Ok I will give you my 2 cents. I like number 3 a lot. First red is a difficult color to work with, this works well with this image. Next you did a great job hiding the crouch with the guitar. Let's get picky how could this shot be refined. #1 anytime you have letters in a photo your eye will go there first. If there was no graffitti WOW. #2 Pull back a bit I would like to see a little more space around the whole photo. #3 the neck of the guitar needs to go down a little so the arm on the other side looks more like a continuation of a straighter line. #4 the shirt near the strap needs to be straightened. #5 the leaf or rock near the shoe is distracting. This is just my opinion and I have not had dinner yet. You did a good job.

rmann

i thought the third one seems a bit flat- i'm still learning but its got that eh-ok look about it, maybe it's too light, lack of contrast bums me out and the first one the crop, well crops of half his hand, maybe keep his whole hand in it.

I love the last one though, very interesting filter! the brown colours have come out great, his hat and the sleepers look really good 'n' grainy, and the trees either side. god background on it too.

Quincy T

I like the first shot, although I don't know about the heavy shadow on the opposite side of the face. As for the other three, they seem very awkward. Nothing seems natural about a guy crouching near train tracks with a guitar sticking out of his crotch, leaning against a bit of support.

Shades of Hyperion

Thanks for the input, it's greatly appreciated.

Travel wrote: »

Ok I will give you my 2 cents. I like number 3 a lot. First red is a difficult color to work with, this works well with this image. Next you did a great job hiding the crouch with the guitar. Let's get picky how could this shot be refined. #1 anytime you have letters in a photo your eye will go there first. If there was no graffitti WOW. #2 Pull back a bit I would like to see a little more space around the whole photo. #3 the neck of the guitar needs to go down a little so the arm on the other side looks more like a continuation of a straighter line. #4 the shirt near the strap needs to be straightened. #5 the leaf or rock near the shoe is distracting. This is just my opinion and I have not had dinner yet. You did a good job.

I may try muting the graffiti a bit, to the point that it almost isn't there. The problem with pulling back is that the bridge was backlit by the late afternoon sun, anything outside the bridge is completely blown out. I see what you mean about the shirt near the strap and the small stone, I didn't even notice the stone but since you pointed it out I want to reach over and throw it on the tracks every time I look at the picture. This is the type of input that I wanted, next time I will pay more attention to the small details while composing the whole photo.

rmann wrote: »

i thought the third one seems a bit flat- i'm still learning but its got that eh-ok look about it, maybe it's too light, lack of contrast bums me out and the first one the crop, well crops of half his hand, maybe keep his whole hand in it.

I love the last one though, very interesting filter! the brown colours have come out great, his hat and the sleepers look really good 'n' grainy, and the trees either side. god background on it too.

I was also a little disappointed with the lack of contrast in the third shot. The long shadow of the bridge wall produced by the aforementioned late afternoon sun made it difficult to get close enough with a reflector to bounce sufficient light which resulted in the "flat" feeling you mention. The crop in the first one is another example of me not paying attention to details (as is the hand on the neck of the guitar in the second photo), I failed to get his full hand into frame when I took the photo.

Sword and Scales wrote: »

I like the first shot, although I don't know about the heavy shadow on the opposite side of the face. As for the other three, they seem very awkward. Nothing seems natural about a guy crouching near train tracks with a guitar sticking out of his crotch, leaning against a bit of support.

Not to rebuke your input but, I would be confident in thinking you haven't spent much time around guitarists. Having spent my entire adult life around musicians I can tell you that a guitar sticking out of their crouch is second nature to most guitarist (I wouldn't use this pose for a high school senior portrait but its very natural for an Electric Bluesman). This also happens to be one of the clients favorite shots.

This photoshoot was for the express intention of producing promo shots for the client's music. Thanks again to everyone that offered input (praise and critique), I really appreciate you taking time to look and comment.

Quincy T

Shades of Hyperion wrote: »

Thanks for the input, it's greatly appreciated.

Not to rebuke your input but, I would be confident in thinking you haven't spent much time around guitarists. Having spent my entire adult life around musicians I can tell you that a guitar sticking out of their crouch is second nature to most guitarist (I wouldn't use this pose for a high school senior portrait but its very natural for an Electric Bluesman). This also happens to be one of the clients favorite shots.
.

I've played guitar for about 12 years now, but I was just commenting on the picture overall. If it's one of his favorite shots, though, that is all that matters.

r3t1awr3yd

I'm a musician also (15 years guitar, 10 voice, 5 piano, 5 flute, etc) and though I really dig #3 as a favorite, the arm support does look awkward. Immediately I thought of how to make the pose a little more fun and natural looking and really do agree with S&S's comment.

Your ties to the musical world have little to do with making a client feel natural... they may help but that's about it...

Shades of Hyperion

r3t1awr3yd wrote: »

I'm a musician also (15 years guitar, 10 voice, 5 piano, 5 flute, etc) and though I really dig #3 as a favorite, the arm support does look awkward. Immediately I thought of how to make the pose a little more fun and natural looking and really do agree with S&S's comment.

Your ties to the musical world have little to do with making a client feel natural... they may help but that's about it...

How can knowing how musicians as a group stand, walk, move and "pose" on stage not be a benefit when shooting promotional photos? Please, do share your thoughts on how to improve the shot

Again, the client loves the shot. Isn't that the ultimate goal of portrait photography?

r3t1awr3yd

Shades of Hyperion wrote: »

How can knowing how musicians as a group stand, walk, move and "pose" on stage not be a benefit when shooting promotional photos? Please, do share your thoughts on how to improve the shot

Again, the client loves the shot. Isn't that the ultimate goal of portrait photography?

Yes, yes, the client loving the shot is super important, of course.

Don't take it personally I'm sure if you and I sat down and looked at a dozen poses we wouldn't agree with each other on which look the best. Diversity rocks! Panties in a bunch, not so much.

Shades of Hyperion

r3t1awr3yd wrote: »

Yes, yes, the client loving the shot is super important, of course.

Don't take it personally I'm sure if you and I sat down and looked at a dozen poses we wouldn't agree with each other on which look the best. Diversity rocks! Panties in a bunch, not so much.

I'm not getting twisted... just having a conversation. Its difficult to read people on a forum.

tomnovy

I love the first two. I would improve them by making them more exposed - now it is nice soft effect, but the photos does not stand out. Still very good photos.

Shades of Hyperion

Thanks to everyone for your input, it is appreciated... and informative.

I guess the bottom line is to trust in my own "vision" and let the client be the final judge.

rmann

just realised, the last picture (funky filter one) looks like the cover of ellis paul's album- Ellis Paul: Essentials. Google image it- the browns and grainy filter effect are quite similar, i love it!

Shades of Hyperion

rmann wrote: »

just realised, the last picture (funky filter one) looks like the cover of ellis paul's album- Ellis Paul: Essentials. Google image it- the browns and grainy filter effect are quite similar, i love it!

The two treatment are very similar