Feedback requested on amateur portrait session

aquaticvideographer

Hi People people. My good friend asked me to shoot some informal portraits of him, with the idea in mind that he would use the better ones for marketing materials for his Zumba/fitness services. We did a short shoot yesterday.

I'm not experienced with portraits and I could use some feedback/C&C on the pictures.

I'm looking for:
- Any overall feedback or tips
- Suggestions for helping model loosen up before/during shoot
- Suggestions for more compelling compositions/crops
- Tips for working in available daylight

Thanks for looking at these early versions.

1. Original, out-of-camera JPEG



2. Minor global adjustments, crop



3. Original, out-of-camera JPEG



4. Minor global adjustments, crop



5. Original, out-of-camera JPEG



6. Minor global adjustments, crop



7. Original, out-of-camera JPEG



8. Minor global adjustments, crop

Hackbone

If these shots are for marketing a fitness service you need to show his physique. You will need to get more side direction lighting to skim ascross the body to show definition. Try some window light and have him stand toward the rear of the window and use a reflector to open the shadows.

Qarik

light is a bit flat. red shirt is stealing attention away. background in 3,4,5,6 is distracting. The pose needs to be more masculine imo..try some some non smiling shots as well.

aquaticvideographer

Hackbone wrote: »

If these shots are for marketing a fitness service you need to show his physique. You will need to get more side direction lighting to skim ascross the body to show definition. Try some window light and have him stand toward the rear of the window and use a reflector to open the shadows.

Thanks for that suggestion, Hackbone. We'll try some alternative lighting options, and show more of his build.

Qarik wrote: »

light is a bit flat. red shirt is stealing attention away. background in 3,4,5,6 is distracting. The pose needs to be more masculine imo..try some some non smiling shots as well.

Thanks Qarik for the feedback. Do you prefer the pics with the black shirt, then? Do you have other suggestions for apparel colors? Good suggestion to have some non-smiling shots-we hadn't thought of that.


Appreciate the help, guys!

laurenornot

5/6 is my favorite although I think all the crops are a bit tight. You picked an interesting background, show it off a bit more on the sides. In the crop you have, there is a lot of extra space above his head.

I definitely prefer the dark shirt, except it looks like there are some dirty spots on it or maybe it's lint? Also, they could use a shallower DOF overall. And in 8, the crooked lines behind him make my brain hurt. Good work with his pose!

When working outside in bright daylight the most important thing is to stay out of direct light if possible, to avoid hot spots and harsh shadows. If there's no shade around, use a reflector to diffuse it a bit. You have done a great job on adjusting for that in post though!

I always try to loosen up the subject by chatting to them (asking questions), and giving direction. You'd be surprised how much giving direction really helps. Even things that might seem obvious like "relax your shoulders" can do wonders. After I get them chilled out and just talking back and forth with me, then I quiet down for a bit and just snap away. But I really can't stress how much giving direction can help - it was something I really had to work on myself because I felt bossy at first, but it turns out people want to look good! They're relying on you to make it happen so as long as you're patient, it goes a long way.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

aquaticvideographer

Lauren, thank you for the very thoughtful and helpful feedback. A lot to chew on here.

Regarding the spots on the black shirt, that's actually rain. It was drizzling the whole time we were shooting. Not sure what to do about that except for maybe work on it in PS?

I will take your recommendations and suggestions to heart-thanks again for your reply.