Would love some feedback on some people pics...

Julia

Hi all! :wave

First post in these forums. I'm an amateur who shoots for fun. I tend to be best with pet photography and landscapes, but I seem to have bypassed how to take good pics of humans. :rofl

My friends are always donating their children as subjects for me to practice on, but I have no idea how I'm doing. A lot of times, perfect lighting seems to elude me and I worry about my skin tone representation.

I ask now because I've got another friend who has asked me to do a session with her, and I'm quite nervous at the thought of blowing it!

Constructive criticism is most welcome so I can learn where my weaknesses are and what I need to work on and remember... I'm shooting with a Canon XT and switch between a 50mm f/1.4 and my 28-135mm IS most often... I've got a 430ex flash and lightsphere, but like I said, lighting is something I really need to work on and learn more about.

#1


#2


#3 (I blew this one out royally but his mom absolutely LOVES it!)


#4 (would be better if his hand was in focus, right?)


#5


#6


#7


#8


#9 (her skin tone was very orangey... I had a heck of a time trying to adjust these.)


Any thoughts are most welcome.

Julia

geminiphotos

Julia,
Great work! I like them all! #1 has nice blur on the background; Remember, though, our eyes move toward red.
2 and 3 are just fantastic., I like the blow out on 3. it works!
4. No; the hand out of focus is great. you want to direct the viewers eyes, so if the hand was in focus, our eyes may go there. Controlling depth of field is very important, and the 50MM1.4 has great bokeh (remember, nearest eye in focus, all else ok..:-)
5 is great, I feel a little closed in in # 6 with the heads bluring the line of site.
7 is perfect; The boys face has the most light, and is right in focus. Great Shot!

8 and 9 feel like snapshots to me...;

Hope this helped..Great work!

David

ShepsMom

Julie, i think you doing a good job, that skin thing is always a bother, isn't it? Your composition is good, and everything else will come with practise, just keep shooting while have a chance with others. Pretty soon you'll be telling yourself, i'll need to start charging

Julia

Well thank you David! I really, truly appreciate the advice and tips. And of course, the complements. Definitely helped!!!

And Marina, thank you too! The more photos I take, the better I get, even just from month to month, I notice. So, as cliche as it is, practice makes perfect. Ha.

Julia

jeffreaux2

I think you have things under control. Very nice.

BTW you might be able to appreciate this.
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=68312

Julia

Thanks so much Jeff... and thanks for sharing Rhett with me. I hope one day I can provide such a sweet gift to someone like you did. I would truly be happiest if I could just spent my life shooting dogs. I love nothing more.

System

what everybody else said-

I really like the steps shot-

Julia

Bumping this up to see if anyone is around to critique a few more people shots for me... I've got my first real session this weekend (i.e. not for family or friends!), so any feedback is always appreciated. I'm nervous as all get out!

This was my first attempt at a wee one (my new nephew!) We didn't set anything up - I just tried to catch a few cute moments.

Any thoughts?













I plan on shooting at dusk/sunset down on the beach with my 50mm f/1.4 and bringing along my flash and lightsphere for any fill-flash if necessary. (I have a boring old XT.) Any suggestions on anything I can improve are much appreciated!

Scotty_R

Julia, I think these are just fine...2, 3, 4 and 5 are my favorites. But I have a question about number 9...what's wrong with the color of her skin? Why would you think that it has to be changed? Unless she was Sunkist orange or stop sign red because the white balance was way off in camera, why would the skin tones need to be change? Skin is skin and it is the color it is given the light in the room. I think the color of her skin is fine just the way it is...don't worry over this type of thing to much.

Julia

Thanks Scotty! I appreciate it...

When I first looked at the photos, her skin tone looked orange to me. Almost artificial... but you're right, it is what it is, especially when you like the tanning salon. I wanted to try and compensate for it...