Portraits on the Beach

saurora

I've been cautiously moving into doing some casual outdoor portraiture. So far, it's just family....but I have lots of family to practice on. I had planned a session with my niece earlier in the summer that kept getting delayed until Fall. Then other things came up and processing her shots did not get finished until recently. My exposures are still challenging me. I did use some outdoor flash this time, but it was a blindingly bright day at the beach. Anyway, thanks to some recent improvements in my PS skills I was able to salvage most of them. I'm finally feeling like I am getting skin tones under control for the most part. Ordered a variety of prints from Smugmug in True and Auto and they were very difficult to tell apart. I was pretty pleased with that. Comments or suggestions always welcome!

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2



3



4



5

Jeffro

Pretty good stuff. But watch the details.....her clasp on her necklace is in the front....I hate it when that happens.

saurora

You're so right! I noticed that right off and was not too happy! That was one lesson I definitely learned that day!

urbanaries

gorgeous model...you did really well here! A polarizing filter would have helped immensely.

Jeffro

saurora wrote:

You're so right! I noticed that right off and was not too happy! That was one lesson I definitely learned that day!

Gaffer's tape!

Frog Lady

overall, nice job saurora (but, like Jeffro, I also noticed the necklace clasp right away too - live 'n learn)

C.

digismile

I like the second picture for two reasons:

1. Slightly off angle gives it some interest
2. Shallow depth of field.

I also like the S curve in the water on the last photo. In general, I would use a longer lens, and shoot a little more wide open (to decrease the DOF and blur the background a little more). This will help focus the interest on your model.

Good work.

Seneca

Beautiful girl...definately put this in your portfolio. I think you did a great job.

Seefutlung

Nicely done S. The wet pant legs and the drive home is unsettling ... but other than that this is a very nice series (the clasp is easily cloned out).

Gary

jerryr

Excellent job and a very pretty model - love the second picture jr

Scott_Quier

These are great!
Susan,

These are really, really nice! I love all but #5 and that drops down a rung only because the shadows are not as well controlled. I also love your niece's clean & natural beauty! I have a 24 yo son - want to hook them up? (BTW - he's much better looking than am I!)

saurora

Jeffro wrote:

Gaffer's tape!

Thanks Jeffro...Gaffer's will be in the camera bag next time (along with the polarizer!)...amazing how I always forget the important accessories, like my eyeglasses.....duh. (Thanks to all for your time and comments!)

Nikolai

Saurora,
Nice shooting!

I like the light!
Minor details (like the DOF, the chain, the background)... Others already mentioned them :-)

saurora

Scott_Quier wrote:

Susan,

These are really, really nice! I love all but #5 and that drops down a rung only because the shadows are not as well controlled. I also love your niece's clean & natural beauty! I have a 24 yo son - want to hook them up? (BTW - he's much better looking than am I!)

Thanks Scott! Can I ask you more specifically what you meant by better control of the shadows in this shot? Are you referring to the highlights on her face? This shot is probably one of the more natural-looking of her. I was limited in angles to shoot from...I sometimes prefer some of the shots with sun over backlit. I probably wouldn't do that if I were hired for a session, but I could do what I wanted here! Thanks for your input, it always helps. (BTW, I don't get mixed up in match-making...that way when it all goes wrong, I'm not to blame! )

saurora

Nikolai wrote:

Nice shooting!

I like the light!
Minor details (like the DOF, the chain, the background)... Others already mentioned them :-)

Thanks Nik! Normally I like to use a shallow DOF. This shoot I intentionally shot with more DOF for a reason. My sister loves the beach and since we were shooting these for her, I wanted her (and my niece) to be able to recognize the location as the beach she grew up on. So for sentimental reasons, I included the pier, etc. to document the location, even though they are pretty far off in the background. Thanks for stopping by!

DavidTO

Saurora,

Hope you don't mind. I numbered them. Makes it easier for all.

First off, you did great!



On 1 and 5, I think you need to work the background separately from your (most beautiful) model. The water is still overexposed, and with a little masking, you could improve the shots.

I think the crop on #1 is a little tight, for an otherwise fantastic shot!

I like 3.

She looks uncomfortable/awkward in 4, and to a lesser degree in 2.

5 is great. The OE ocean, like I mentioned above can be fixed, and I wish she was farther to the right in the frame.

DavidTO

This is a 2 second fix on that last one. Quick curves, masked her off so they only affect the background.

salazar

Well, it looks like I'm the odd man out here. #5 is my favorite and I prefer it with the background somewhat washed out as it is in the first posted example. David's PS example draws my eye to the line of the surf on the sand where in the origional #5 I'm first drawn to her beautiful face and only then do I look around to see what else there is to see. My opinion FWIW.
[/quote]

saurora

Looks great, David, thank you! And thank you for the compliments. Yes, these shots were done before I read your new tutorial!!! I have avoided masks. Mainly because I forget the steps and am too lazy to drag out a book for instructions (or better yet, call up a tute on-line). I was thinking that re-working these shots all at one time (with your revised tutorial) will give me a good "introduction" to layer masks! I'll work on it!

saurora

Yes, I wish she were not so centered in #5 as well, I was trying to hang on to the shoreline and the pier. #1 I cropped tightly to get her out of the center ... I can't quite remember the original, or how I ended up like that. I did a few intentionally tighter crops and tilts, etc. for her to use on her "MySpace" site, etc., which is why her gallery is full of different crops of the same shots. I have some gorgeous nieces....never have to hire a model!

saurora

salazar wrote:

Well, it looks like I'm the odd man out here. #5 is my favorite and I prefer it with the background somewhat washed out as it is in the first posted example. David's PS example draws my eye to the line of the surf on the sand where in the origional #5 I'm first drawn to her beautiful face and only then do I look around to see what else there is to see. My opinion FWIW.

[/QUOTE]
Thank you Salazar. I like them both and I agree with what you are saying. She stands out more with the surf washed out a bit. I guess it's a matter of preference and what the intended goal is in the shot. Neither is wrong, just different.

DavidTO

Having an assistant with a bounce reflector or a translucent shade to help with the lighting is a big plus.

saurora

DavidTO wrote:

Having an assistant with a bounce reflector or a translucent shade to help with the lighting is a big plus.

Is your wife available??? hehe...just kidding! A sandbuggy to carry all the gear down to the water would be helpful too!!!

Elaine

She is gorgeous! And your pics are lovely too! Did you use an external flash when you used flash? Were you happier with the shots when you did use flash (have less to fix on them)? When you say you had to salvage some, was that because of shadows? I think these turned out so nicely, and I'll be shooting some family beach shots this summer, so I'm trying to learn and get prepared. Anything you'd do differently next time?

Thanks for sharing!

Elaine

Scott_Quier

saurora wrote:

Thanks Scott! Can I ask you more specifically what you meant by better control of the shadows in this shot? Are you referring to the highlights on her face? This shot is probably one of the more natural-looking of her. I was limited in angles to shoot from...I sometimes prefer some of the shots with sun over backlit. I probably wouldn't do that if I were hired for a session, but I could do what I wanted here! Thanks for your input, it always helps.

I was actually referring to #4 - I got confused. In #4, a lot of her face is very dark. I used a reflector to help add some light to the shadows - to add some fill light. Works great, but you usually need a helper to hold the reflector while you do the shooting.

saurora

Elaine wrote:

She is gorgeous! And your pics are lovely too! Did you use an external flash when you used flash? Were you happier with the shots when you did use flash (have less to fix on them)? When you say you had to salvage some, was that because of shadows? I think these turned out so nicely, and I'll be shooting some family beach shots this summer, so I'm trying to learn and get prepared. Anything you'd do differently next time?

Thanks for sharing!

Elaine

Hi Elaine...each time I go out I try to be prepared for anything and everything. I am finding you can almost always count on 'unexpected' things to happen. This was a last minute change of locale, because my niece decided she wanted shots of her dog as well. So we ended up going to a very busy dog beach, which kind of threw out most of the compositions I had in mind. My main problem that day was that I stupidly left my glasses in my purse which I had locked in the car trunk. I could not begin to see my histogram which I rely on. Heck, I couldn't even see the controls on the camera, so it was very stressful. At some point, I unknowingly managed to hit a wrong button somewhere and alot of the shots came out underexposed. It would have been helpful to have an assistant, that is for sure, and originally I had planned on one, but that also fell through. Hard to manage reflectors at the beach and use the camera. I will say that each time I go I learn something new and valuable, and eventually I will be better prepared!

Photosbychuck

Hi, saurora

Nice photos!
You never know what might happen at a shoot.
The last time I had a photo shoot at the beach it was raining and the model
wanted to do the shoot so, I did my best.
It was hard but kind of fun and turned out better that I thought
it would.
Did you do any shots of her with her turned more counter clockwise to you?
I think that would help the pose. It also helps to have both arms bent so everything is not straight.

Take Care,
Charles,
http://www.modellocate.com/action/goto/uid=4447

saurora

Elaine wrote:

She is gorgeous! And your pics are lovely too! Did you use an external flash when you used flash? Were you happier with the shots when you did use flash (have less to fix on them)? When you say you had to salvage some, was that because of shadows? I think these turned out so nicely, and I'll be shooting some family beach shots this summer, so I'm trying to learn and get prepared. Anything you'd do differently next time?

Thanks for sharing!

Elaine

I think I missed answering part of your question, Elaine. Yes, I did use a flash and I highly recommend it, even if like me, you have hardly used it and don't quite know what you are doing! Certainly helps with the shadows on faces and saves a lot of fixing later.

saurora

Photosbychuck wrote:

Hi, saurora

Nice photos!
You never know what might happen at a shoot.
The last time I had a photo shoot at the beach it was raining and the model
wanted to do the shoot so, I did my best.
It was hard but kind of fun and turned out better that I thought
it would.
Did you do any shots of her with her turned more counter clockwise to you?
I think that would help the pose. It also helps to have both arms bent so everything is not straight.

Take Care,
Charles,
http://www.modellocate.com/action/goto/uid=4447

Thanks Charles....I didn't get but a couple side shots. She is not a model and I haven't had much experience posing subjects....most of the time I basically let her do her thing.
Thank you for the posing tips. You're right....unexpected rainshowers can be fun...........as can a sudden unexpected surge from the ocean!