nicole's band + lifestyle portraits

michaelglenn

Nicole needed band recital photographs and also wanted some nice portraits. She came fully equipped and we had a blast Here's a nice preview, and the rest can be found on my blog

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D3Sshooter

I would say a very good try-out. However you seem to be working in difficult light (full sun). That will cast hard shadows and it requires a camera with a large dynamic range not to lose the details in the blacks and whites. Look once under need the eyes of this beautiful lady and you will notice dark skintones under the eyes (we call them walls/bags) . That does not flatter a model.

There are a few things you can do to avoid this;
1. Use a fill-in Flash (on camera) , this will bring a subtile flash, just enough to lit the face but not to much.
2. Use a large defuse screen to soften the light
3. Blow the sunlight away with portable powerfull flash units
4. The most easy one, make the shoot early or late in the day when the sun is low on the horizond. That creates a very nice light.

michaelglenn

D3Sshooter wrote: »

I would say a very good try-out. However you seem to be working in difficult light (full sun). That will cast hard shadows and it requires a camera with a large dynamic range not to lose the details in the blacks and whites. Look once under need the eyes of this beautiful lady and you will notice dark skintones under the eyes (we call them walls/bags) . That does not flatter a model.

There are a few things you can do to avoid this;
1. Use a fill-in Flash (on camera) , this will bring a subtile flash, just enough to lit the face but not to much.
2. Use a large defuse screen to soften the light
3. Blow the sunlight away with portable powerfull flash units
4. The most easy one, make the shoot early or late in the day when the sun is low on the horizond. That creates a very nice light.

Thanks for the tips! This was shot around noon when the sun was at its high point. I'll keep those lighting ideas in mind for my next portrait shoot. I appreciate the feedback

VayCayMom

stop #5 from going any further, the pose is extremely unflattering and too exposing of the subject. I am surprised I am the first to comment. Cool looking instrument.

michaelglenn

VayCayMom wrote: »

stop #5 from going any further, the pose is extremely unflattering and too exposing of the subject. I am surprised I am the first to comment. Cool looking instrument.

Oh my! That was actually one of my favorites from this set. I could see how it could get too exposing if she was bent a little further. The only thing I do notice is that her knees look a little larger making the pose a little less feminine. Thanks for your input though

divamum

Nice lifestyle style (is that tautologous?!) and very attractive gal. I don't get "band recital", however - more sort of senior portrait-ish than professional musician feel. That all depends on what she wanted, of course - if this is the mood she requested, then you're good to go!

Be careful with wider focal lengths - you're getting some distortion. Again, with the pj/lifestyle vibe I'm not sure that's as much a "rule" as in other genres, but in some shots - 6 for instance - the distortion's a little prominent. Just something to consider.

Even though the light is harsh, it kind of works for me with the lifestyle vibe you're going for. I like the set overall and the comments are mostly "photographer nits"

troopers

The pics with instruments feel out of place/context. The location/background doesn't work for me.

michaelglenn

divamum wrote: »

Nice lifestyle style (is that tautologous?!) and very attractive gal. I don't get "band recital", however - more sort of senior portrait-ish than professional musician feel. That all depends on what she wanted, of course - if this is the mood she requested, then you're good to go!

Be careful with wider focal lengths - you're getting some distortion. Again, with the pj/lifestyle vibe I'm not sure that's as much a "rule" as in other genres, but in some shots - 6 for instance - the distortion's a little prominent. Just something to consider.

Even though the light is harsh, it kind of works for me with the lifestyle vibe you're going for. I like the set overall and the comments are mostly "photographer nits"

The client wanted photographs on the beach, and also wanted to photographs without her instruments as well. I probably should have thought out a better location for the instruments, although part of me still feels it looks unique to have it done on the beach instead of something generic like in an auditorium setting or against a blank wall posing with the instrument.

And thanks for the heads up, it's my biggest struggle this year especially with some wedding portraits. However, the shot for #6 I kept extra wide and autofocused on her left eye on purpose. I've seen some photographers do this and I really enjoy the look. There are a couple other shots from my blog where I see there is some "softness" due to shooting wide. I'm trying to avoid that with more practice (hopefully it will become routine by next year)

Also, I tend to break a lot of photography rules. So everyone here will either love or hate my work! No in between!

But seriously though, I appreciate all the critique (good or bad). It's my 2nd year shooting photography, and this is my first year branching out professionally.

divamum

I probably should have thought out a better location for the instruments, although part of me still feels it looks unique to have it done on the beach instead of something generic like in an auditorium setting or against a blank wall posing with the instrument.

I don't think it needs generic, but I do think final use needs to be considered and, like it or not, there are expectations. If you look at musician websites, you'll typically find that they use artistic/lifestyle/fun photos for their websites, album covers, "get to know me" informal promotional materials, but a more traditional/formal shot for programs and/or concert venues that still want that more old-fangled style for their own publicity machine. A program image is typically very small, hence why they're usually headshots - a big full-length artsy image isn't really going to say much in a 1" square b&w on a page with 15 others.....

Just my 2c. Styles are always evolving and I think it's cool to break the rules sometimes, but still need to consider the end use of the image IMO

anonymouscuban

OK... I'm going to go against the grain here. With the exception of the harsh lighting, I think you did quite well. I really enjoy the relaxed feel of these. I like the locations, the compositions you chose and the posing seems very natural and relaxed. Each one of us may have shot this completely different but I would bet money that she is going to love these. Even the lighting. We as photogs no the lighting could be a lot better but average person has no clue. I think it's your responsibility to give the client the best product possible and I think you can have done much better had you shot these later in the afternoon or used some sort of diffuser to knock down the sunlight but not bad.

Do these exact shots again in better light and these would be pretty damn good. Just my opinion of course.

Quincy T

Definitely a good start.

michaelglenn

divamum wrote: »

Just my 2c. Styles are always evolving and I think it's cool to break the rules sometimes, but still need to consider the end use of the image IMO

I completely agree. The client showed me some samples of previous posters. All of them were different. Some indoors and some outdoors. Some with instruments, some without. Because of this alone, I decided to have open range with the lifestyle shots. Trust me, if the client needed a certain style or look, I would have stuck to it

anonymouscuban wrote: »

OK... I'm going to go against the grain here. With the exception of the harsh lighting, I think you did quite well. I really enjoy the relaxed feel of these. I like the locations, the compositions you chose and the posing seems very natural and relaxed. Each one of us may have shot this completely different but I would bet money that she is going to love these. Even the lighting. We as photogs no the lighting could be a lot better but average person has no clue. I think it's your responsibility to give the client the best product possible and I think you can have done much better had you shot these later in the afternoon or used some sort of diffuser to knock down the sunlight but not bad.

Do these exact shots again in better light and these would be pretty damn good. Just my opinion of course.

Thanks! When the client saw the blog, she was thrilled. I agree I should have shot this at a different part of day. I even had control over what time of day this could have been shot. It was something that never dawned on me to even think about what time of day to shoot. I could have had complete control over the angle of the sun! This is something I won't forget with my bookings from now on.

I'm glad I joined these forums. A lot of lessons learned.

jmphotocraft

troopers wrote: »

The pics with instruments feel out of place/context. The location/background doesn't work for me.

Agreed. The setting would work with a banjo, not a... baritone sax? Nor a clarinet.