Senior Portraits - Reviews Needed Please
I was asked by two teenagers I know to take their senior pictures...they wanted some done and didn't have the money to go to a professional photographer, so I offered to help. I am an action photographer 90% of the time and portraiture is very new to me.
Gallery: http://cheerdad.smugmug.com/gallery/1409972
I had three issues to address with these images:
1. Hard light on the face
2. Underexposed background (appeared gray, not white)
3. Skin problems on the male
My first attempt to fix in Photoshop lead to very, very red pictures which did not print well at all! The images currently in the gallery have been redone with an eye toward removing as much red cast as possible, while brightening up the overall image and improving skin tone. The closep of the male is my main concern since I had to do alot of work to perform a skin fix.
I do not work with a hardware calibrated monitor (that is next on my to-do list) so I am asking for anyone who may have a calibrated monitor and is willing to help to look at these and let me know the good, the bad and the ugly. Their first order was so bad I can't bring myself to even show them how they came out.
Time is critical for them since they want to include wallets of some of these images in their senior announcements. My hope is to have the new order out today.
Lessons learned from this:
- Need a better place to take the images - more controlled environment
- Need proper light metering capability - prevents a host of problems, I know
- Correct for the red color cast before taking the images - got it now
- Portrait photography is as hard as I thougth it would be
Thanks in advance for any assistance!
Gallery: http://cheerdad.smugmug.com/gallery/1409972
I had three issues to address with these images:
1. Hard light on the face
2. Underexposed background (appeared gray, not white)
3. Skin problems on the male
My first attempt to fix in Photoshop lead to very, very red pictures which did not print well at all! The images currently in the gallery have been redone with an eye toward removing as much red cast as possible, while brightening up the overall image and improving skin tone. The closep of the male is my main concern since I had to do alot of work to perform a skin fix.
I do not work with a hardware calibrated monitor (that is next on my to-do list) so I am asking for anyone who may have a calibrated monitor and is willing to help to look at these and let me know the good, the bad and the ugly. Their first order was so bad I can't bring myself to even show them how they came out.
Time is critical for them since they want to include wallets of some of these images in their senior announcements. My hope is to have the new order out today.
Lessons learned from this:
- Need a better place to take the images - more controlled environment
- Need proper light metering capability - prevents a host of problems, I know
- Correct for the red color cast before taking the images - got it now
- Portrait photography is as hard as I thougth it would be
Thanks in advance for any assistance!
Cheerdad
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
0
Comments
I've given my comments by email so I'll hold off here.
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Andy,
I got your message about the cheerleader portrait you work on, but I didn't see anything in there about an opinion regarding the images found in the gallery above. If I missed it I am sorry. :help
Clint
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
Sent at 3:23 pm my time yesterday, to your work email. I replied to your message. If you need it resent please advise.
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and dont want to step in and act like a know it all, cause I'm NOT! But I make the majority of my money off senior pictures, and thought maybe I could help.
are we addressing just the color issues? I have some other tips to share but dont want to seem like a pompous ass! ;o)
Yvette
Andy,
My apologies for the mixups and my thanks for your patience! I did not get your email from yesterday...the firewall at my office is very inconsistent when it comes to filtering out what it might think is spam.
I will make the adjustements you suggest and make the order later today. I need to get these kids their pictures.
Thanks again for all of your help!
Clint
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
Yvette,
I am more of an action photographer, so trying to get portraits right is giving me "tired head." Too much to think about and not enough time (or the right equipment) to really work on it.
I also take portraits of the girls at the gym where my daughters cheer. I had the same problems with those as I did the pictures we are talking about here. Mostly exposure problems on the front end and incorrect monitor calibration on the back end. I ended up with alot of post processing to be done in PS. When I use the same setup at home, where I have more control, I end up with some very nice shots of my daughters, though.
I would welcome ANYTHING you have to offer! Fire away!
Clint
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
OK Then - so when emailing us from your work location, please only use your other email account
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Respectfully..as for equipment? I have a 10d, a basic lens 55mm (( I own ONE )) a window and bedsheets..
Firstly, their outifts color coordinated which was a good idea! Her choice for a shirt, bad idea! Your light placment looks pretty good.. catchlights in the eyes need to be at 2 or 10 o clock.. yours are almost there. ;o)
In order... heres what I can see.. Full body ones need to have the wrinkled sheet erased out. His pose is ok.. her pose needs a couple of things. Rotating her on to one hip slightly would go great lengths to slimming her out some.. and her elbow shouldnt be locked behind her.. a slight bend would have relaxed her some, and also helped to take some of the bulk out of her shoulder. Also.. all I see in this picture is.. well.. boobs! (( can I say that here? )) NOT your fault..but for senior pictures, its a little risque! Shooting from above, and having her look up some, will slim out her face and make it more appealing as well. Her expression is nice, and seems you interact with her well!
The third one.. he photographs well.. her expression isnt one she will like, and because of the close crop, it seems like its a picture of her, and hes the afterthought. What was their relationship? BF GF? Siblings? YOu may want to de-yellow the teeth too if you know how. If not I can give you a few tips.. ;o) With your light being as high as it was.. their foreheads are a little bright.
4 is my favorite... and probably will be hers too... catchlights are good and post processing is nice! Her bare shoulder makes her look like a linebacker but thats not really your fault... not sure if dropping the shoulder would have helped much at all. Turning her face towards the light and bringing her eyes back to the camera more would have been even nicer.
5.. aside from light placement a little too high, causing shadows... this is a good one of them both.. I still would have brought him forward some, so he didnt seem like an afterthought.. and not cropped in as close. Also.. when shooting.. leaving more room around them makes it much easier to crop for enlargements (( more than once Ive cropped close and then when they want an 8x10, its impossible! ))
6... she seems really yellow, and her expression isnt really flattering. Ive found that even the bubbliest of seniors still prefer a soft smile. Again.. de yellowing the teeth is needed... and shooting from a higher camera angle would have helped to thin out her neck and make it more pleasing.
7... brighten his teeth, and you got it! Attention to details, such as pulling his shirt collar down, are things that always slip our minds, but go a long way towards a better portrait.
I hope I havent been to tuff.. or come across as a know it all. ;o) I certainly dont! I just read alot..
Cant wait to hear what they think about these! High Key is hard to do, you did better than I do! I dont even know how to use lights..
Yvette
Yvette,
Thank you for the effort you put into your response! It is very much appreciated.
I did this as a favor to the girl in the images. She cheers at the same gym my daughters do and asked me if I would do this. She is a very sweet girl and is very nice to my daughters so I agreed.
I had already taken a few portraits of some of the younger girls in their competition uniforms, but they were "easy" to pose. I did not realize I had not a clue what to do with two people until I sat these two (twin brother and sister) down! You could see the shadows, huh?
I am printing out your suggestions to keep in my bag! I knew that it was the small things in portraits that make a difference, but I didn't quite know what they were. Now I do.
I am putting more effort into portraits since I made more money this year with them than the action shots. I didn't get into this for the money, I did it to get good pictures of my daughters and nieces at competitions and maybe it could fund my photog habit. Turns out I have a blast while doing it and all the kids at the gym call me "Cheerdad" if they don't know my real name. My daughters just love it!
Take a look at the finished product...they have to be...I need to reorder their images. http://cheerdad.smugmug.com/gallery/1409972/1/67802574
You were not too tough at all!
Thanks,
Clint - Cheerdad
p.s.
Just say "no" to high-key
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
Huh? Heavens, why?!
Or do you mean specifically for senior portraits?
Cheerleading: http://www.CheerPhoto.com
Blog: http://cambler.livejournal.com
Until I have a better idea of what I am doing, that's why.
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
Oh, okay. I thought you were against the technique in general
Cheerleading: http://www.CheerPhoto.com
Blog: http://cambler.livejournal.com
Well, I would have preferred an outdoor picture myself, and I tried to get them to meet me at a couple of places around town that are well known for outdoor shots...however, they kept postponing on me until we were up against a short timeline and bad weather.
BTW, Frisco is about 230 miles or so from the Hill Country. We are 35 miles north of Dallas, right in the middle of the blackland prarie part of the state. I can get to Oklahoma faster than I can get to even the northern edge of the Hill Country.
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
I am really an action photographer at heart (check my site). This portrait stuff gives me "tired head." Too much to think about and too long to ponder it...I'm used to figuring it out on the fly. It is alot more fun that way.
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"
OK, your excused. I guess I thought you were closer in. Isn't that crazy we live in a state so big you can drive all day and still never leave the state.
Cambler,
Here are a couple of high key shots I took at home, where I had alot more control over the lighting. At least I think they are high key..are they? What do you think?
Always trying to get better...
"People who think cheerleading is not a 'real' sport have obviously never tried to do it"