First post, first portraits let me have it!!

tmichael

Greetings all! I have never posted here before. I just started a people photography class and we were asked to shoot something to bring in for next weeks class. This is my first time and I am eager to learn, any suggestions welcome!!
Thanks

1


2.


3.




Thanks for looking, I appreciate any and all comments/feedback.

Mike

System

hey!-

welcome to the forum!-

I particularly like the first and last one-

but I'm not one to c&c-

there are others that do a very good job of critiquing-

tmichael

Thanks for the welcome and the comment George! I like those better as well, I think I overexposed the middle one a bit, but she likes it the best! Go figure!

Mike

i_worship_the_King

(hope you don't mind)

I took #2 in PS, +45 saturation. Here's what i get:

Still has a few problems, but perhaps a step in the right direction. Welcome to dGrin & EXCELLENT SHOTS! You have a great eye for these!

tmichael

That is an improvement, and I don't mind at all! I actually did something similar in Lightroom to another version of this shot, but for the class, he didn't want us manipulating them too much. I like what you have done and may push the saturation up on my version as well.

Thanks,

Mike

Ike615

Great start. # 2 is really good.

i_worship_the_King wrote:

(hope you don't mind)

I took #2 in PS, +45 saturation. Here's what i get:

Still has a few problems, but perhaps a step in the right direction. Welcome to dGrin & EXCELLENT SHOTS! You have a great eye for these!

i_worship_the_King, I think your CC image is too red.

Here is my go at CC:



I used curves, color balance, and selective color adjustments to get the final image.

- Isaac

tmichael

Thanks Isaac, I really like your edit, the skin tones look great!!

Mike

DavidS

I like the angle and the crop in the first one.

tmichael

Thanks David, for me that one was the only true "no brainer" of the bunch, as soon as I saw it I knew it was going to go to the class with me this week!

Mike

Elaine

She's a very pretty lady and you're off to a great start with portraits!
I like the light and angle in #1.
The light and background in #2 is very nice. The composition might be improved with her not quite so straight forward to the camera. I like Isaac's edit, as well.
The light is interesting in #3, but I do wish I could see a bit more of her eyes.

Welcome to DGrin!

tmichael

Thanks for the comments Elaine. I never thought about the angle in number 2, maybe that is why it has bothered me from the get go, I will need to keep that in mind, most of the pix I like, she wasn't looking right at me. But, that leads me to your next point, she has very pretty eyes and I didn't really do them justice in any of the shots I took...now I have a conundrum. I like the shots that are not facing directly at the camera, but isn't that the best way to capture the eyes???

Mike

how do you guys make it seem so simple??

zoomer

Not bad at all. I have seen lots worse from people who have been doing it awhile.
Remember portraits aren't just about technique and proper lighting.
Do your best to capture the real smile and personality of the subject.
I am certainly no expert that is always my main goal.

The main think I have learned doing portraits is that you can never come close to guessing which photos the subject is going to like best!!!

tmichael

Thanks for the comments and the insight Zoomer! I appreciate it.

Here is the rework I have done of the outdoor shot, does this make it better??