Sammie and Krista

slpollett

I don't get many opportunities to set up studio lights and play (don't really have the space), but I had a chance this week and I took advantage of it.

I had Sammie--a high school senior who is graduating mid-year and wanted some cap and gown pictures and my daughter Krista who actually agreed and WANTED to model for Mom. (I was/am SO thrilled!)

First a few of my favorites from Sammie:

1.


2. One of my favorites from Sammie. This pose is so 'her'.


3.


4. So done with this!


Now some of Mom's favorites from her daughter. This is Krista.

5. New backdrop


6. My favorite of the day


7.


8.


9.


10. Krista also wanted a picture with her Dad, but while she was 'serious' about it, he was Mr. Goofy. He had to make a silly face in every frame--except this one where he isn't even looking at the camera. Still, she loves it.


Thanks for looking. I'm always looking to improve, so I'll happily accept any constructive criticism you may have to offer or any suggestions that would help me. Thanks so much.

Happy New Year!

Sherry P.

Seefutlung

To my untrained eye the lighting is very nice. Cutting off the tips of the fingers and the amount of head space are my only nits. (Okay, more looks, #8, the boards seem to be at an angle and the lighting could be a just a bit softer.)

Foques

not sure how I feel about the #2.. just not very feminine look/angle, really.

#9 is absolutely stunning.

kdotaylor

I like them. I like the backgrounds, though agree with the comment about #8 being a bit slanted and dark. I LOVE #6--but maybe needs a bit more room around her head? #7 and #9--also beautiful!

slpollett

Thank you so much for looking and commenting seefutlung, Arseny, and Kate.

I agree that #2 is not a very feminine pose, but that is one that Sammie wanted and it is kind of her look. Her color guard director commented that if she had a dollar for every time that she tried to take a nice picture of the girls and got this pose instead that she would be rich. So...that's the story with that one.

I can see that I should have left more room around Krista's head in #6 and I will agree with y'all on that one, but I still love it.

Thank you for the kind words for #7 and #9. Coming from the two of you (who always have great images that I admire) that is high praise for which I am pleased and grateful. I'm still learning about lighting set-ups, so that you like something that I did REALLY makes my day! It's hard for me to look with a critical eye at pictures that I took of my own daughter. I will always like them all, so it does help me a lot to hear the critique from others to force me to 'really' look at the images to see where I can improve next time.

Thank you so much!

Sherry P.

Aleksandar Vasic

Bravo:)

Hackbone

Colors and exposures are spot on.

#6 is super but crop out the bottom hand and the image will be even better. Never show the back side of a ladies hand to the camera. An old photographers rule.

In #8 that is called a broad light as you lighted the broad side of the face. That is a no no for ladies, the image would have been better with the main to the left and then a short light pattern and the broad side of the face would have been in some shadow therefore slimming the face. Not that she needed slimming.

Hope some of this helps.

slpollett

Oh, Hackbone...YES, this helps! I love that you took the time to not just explain the lighting in my #8, but also suggest how to do it right and make it better. You ROCK!!

I also took your suggestion about cropping #6. It does look much better. I will admit that the hand was bugging me, but I didn't know the technical reason why. So now I understand.




So, what's the best way to learn all of these little tidbits of information such as the ones you mentioned for me? Is it just a matter of experience and listening to the experts such as yourself when you offer advice or are there books that you would suggest? I'm open to learning more!

Thank you so much for not just looking, but also for taking the time to comment and make suggestions for improvement. I appreciate that so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Also, thank you Aleksandar.

Sherry P.

Hackbone

If possible find a professional working photographer who teaches on the side. These groups only have about 12 students per class for two or three days and you will lean the most here as the classes seem to be all day.......At the motel everyone talks photography during breakfast then off to class, at lunch same thing then off to class. At dinner same thing then back to the hotel and discussions till midnight then it starts all over.

There are large group classes or 100 or more but I learned much more and faster in the small classes.

There is a guy in New York, Joe Brady, who has many videos on YouTube so check him out.

If you can find any material by the old masters, Joe Zeltsman, Monte Zucker, Al Gilbert they are a good place to start for the basics of posing and lighting. Good photography doesn't change that much. Artists paint with paint we as photographers must use light to paint so study what light can do and how to create it or modify it.

Hackbone

Another place that is pretty good is www.creativelive.com Lots of free courses and you can purchase some for your library.

kdotaylor

slpollett wrote: »

Oh, Hackbone...YES, this helps! I love that you took the time to not just explain the lighting in my #8, but also suggest how to do it right and make it better. You ROCK!!

I also took your suggestion about cropping #6. It does look much better. I will admit that the hand was bugging me, but I didn't know the technical reason why. So now I understand.




So, what's the best way to learn all of these little tidbits of information such as the ones you mentioned for me? Is it just a matter of experience and listening to the experts such as yourself when you offer advice or are there books that you would suggest? I'm open to learning more!

Thank you so much for not just looking, but also for taking the time to comment and make suggestions for improvement. I appreciate that so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Also, thank you Aleksandar.

Sherry P.

Wow, this new crop is...wow...perfect photo!

slpollett

Thank you very much, Kate!

Sherry

Sam

Excellent....................the one item that jumps out at me is the bright spot on her nose. Just me probably.

There are several things you can do. You could try sanding her nose to make it less reflective but this can leave an ugly red spot if not done by a professional. You could try dulling spray but most people seem to dislike this as well as it can be a bit messy.

Or a simple healing brush after the fact.

Sam

slpollett

No, Sam....not just you!

That bright spot bothered me too, so I did use the healing brush before I printed them.

I find that most of my pics have a little bright spot on the nose. IDK if that is because my light settings are too hot or that they are too much for my small space (I have to move my furniture out of my living room to set up...) or if I need to have folks use an oil blotting paper/cloth or maybe it's just that I'm still in what I call my "learning how to do it" mode. I need to be even more mindful of that so I don't have to do so much healing after the fact.

Thank you Sam for the feedback! I always appreciate it and try so hard to remember the good advice I get the next time I turn my living room into a studio for the day.

Sherry P.

Hackbone

For those shinny spots Mary Kay makes a wipe that will cut down on the shine.