suggestions on how to improve these shots?

wheresdavid

My "portraits" are starting to look the same. any advice on how to improve them? i just thought of one, different angles. also, just thought of "processing" them or "finishing" them - ie. b&W .... any thoughts or suggestions? below is a link to a gallery that has many more "protraits" like this. thanks Dave












HERE IS THE LINK FOR MORE PORTRAITS
http://fotosbydavid.smugmug.com/gallery/2848295

ShepsMom

David, i love your portraits no matter what. How about do some full body shots of those people? And yes, different angles would diversiffy your work as well. What about "other" people in your area? May be try shooting them at work, not just straight face? I don't thinkp PP will make a huge difference, you have developed a style, seems like. But i don't believe pp will change any of the shots. Of course, B&W or sepia tones might have different appeal, however, you can start experimenting with your models first.

Just few thoughts. Keep doing a great job!! :thum

Thiago Sigrist

ShepsMom wrote:

David, i love your portraits no matter what. How about do some full body shots of those people? And yes, different angles would diversiffy your work as well. What about "other" people in your area? May be try shooting them at work, not just straight face?

Marina expressed my exact feelings here.

First of all, I love the shots. Portraits are all about their subjects, and that you have covered well.

But the suggestions Marina gives you are incredibly sound. Full body shots, or less close-up would allow you to show more of their environment and that leads to the great art of environmental portraiture, where you explore such environments and the subjects' interaction to them in a meaningful way, in a way that you show more about your subjects than just a close-up. I find this kind of portraiture extremely difficult to pull off, but you might get great, rewarding results out of it. Just don't forget to post, 'kay?

Also, different angles. If you take a brief look at this set of pictures, you'll see that the people are all looking straight at the camera, and there's a chance this too might be a source for your 'frustration'. I'd take a look at that too.

Hope I could help a bit!
Thanks so much for your attention!
Take care!

-- thiago

Scott_Quier

Try putting your subjects into context ...
by including something from their environment. Your "head shots" are just that and very well done. It is very difficult to tell the story though, with just the head shot. What are they doing, how are they interacting with others, how are they interacting with objects in their environment. Tell the whole story - this will add interest and make each photograph a much more powerful statement.

pyrtek

Apart from the great suggestions you got I'd also mention that you can add
a lot of drama to these portraits with some simple PP. B&W is particularly
effective, in my opinion. For example: