First "real" portrait shot

StevenV

As many of you know, I normally stick to sports. I got the call a while back, though, asking if I could do portraits at a Valentine's concert/dance. I borrowed a backdrop and set of lights and here's the result.

I'm not completely happy with the composition and posing of most of the shots; we had some flowers but I'm not sure how to balace and placemet of people/flowers. I didn't want the flowers to look like they were the main subject, but too little of them makes them feel like an afterthought.

If you've got suggestions or examples, I'm glad to learn... though I don't think I'm going to become a full-time portrait guy.

HeldDown

Good go for a non-portrait person! You've got great exposures there, and the lighting really worked out for you.
As for CC, I would say that you may want to re-evaluate your crops -- there is significant dead space about both couples (the younger couple suffers more severely). I just did a quick test crop on the 2nd pic, and you can get a great 8x10 comp from it.
My last suggestion would be to move your subjects farther from your background. I'd guess people/items were around 1' away, which threw some noticeable shadows -- you're going to want to look for at LEAST 2', preferably 3' to mitigate shadows and let the glass' bokeh take care of the rest.

Once again, good go!

EDIT: I just looked at the gallery, and one more thing -- if the shots where the table/flowers are partially cropped out were shot that way, I'd try cloning or cropping them out completely.

Blurmore

2 suggestions 4 large groups
In the GM group picture you did a good job on getting body angle, and everyone in frame. BUT take it from a wedding photographer, BIG man hands on women's shoulders do NOT look affectionate, no fault of subject or photographer, they just never will. If you pose a man with his hands anywhere near a woman's (in a stand up group shot) neck he is going to look opressive, controlling, and like he is about to strangle her. In portraits like this, best place for a man's hand is in his pants pocket. The women's chairs should angle in in V to the middle of the portrait, so they are not face on. If they have skirts on have them cross their legs, atleast their ankles, and point the toe on the floor toward the camera, this will give them more of a sexy S shape while seated. Other than that, your light is great, if maybe a little flat and undramatic, and your color is nice with great consistency. Good job.

Justiceiro

For me, this sort of portraiture works best when the focus is on the head, face, and shoulder area. I generally like it nore when the rest of the body is downplayed or left out. People often feel awkward when they get potraits done, and this show itself in how they place thier hands- hands are often strange and unnatural, which is a little bit the case in the first photo. I would place the flower vase in front of the couple, a bit tighter, eclipsing the mans shoulders a tad so that you can tighten the crop, bring out the faces, and cut out everything below the elbows.

But that's just my personal taste as far as portraiture goes. I am speaking of what I have seen in other folks portraiture, as my own is sad sad sad!

BTW, Lighting here is outstanding. I've been trying to get my set shot lighting skills down, and these photos show me how far I have to go.

Bodley

What could have been done to bring out more detail in the dark jackets and suits?

I'm gearing up for this same type event.

HeldDown

To answer quite simply, 2 things:
1) Expose two raws, merge.
2) Shoot film.

This is one of the reasons a lot of "professional" photographers are still shooting film -- it is able to capture more dynamic range than digital can currently. (think a groom in a black tux next to a beaded white wedding-dressed bride.)

StevenV

Thanks all for the feedback, I do appreciate it, espeically the tips on posing - that's great info there.

Some are cropped for 8x10, some for 5x7 based on what they ordered. I wanted to pull in closer for the young couple but wasn't sure about loosing the flowers. The flowers ended up being more of a pain then they were probably worth (unless maybe moved in front, like the group of four).

(for whomever may care, the "GM" on the image names refers to the event - the Glenn Miller orchestra was playing (see the t'bone player on the second page) - a very fun evening, especially for the older crowd.)