Meet Rachel!!! Senior Photos

jeffreaux2

I just completed a 7 night straight stretch at my "real" job. After getting off work Friday morning, Rachel and her mom picked me up to take a little day trip to capture her senior portraits. I am hoping to get my edits done this weekend, but here are a few previews. I haven't done very many BW conversions lately, and decided to give a few of these that treatment. I also treated a few of the color photos to a 60's style retro look and some blurring that is common to cheap cameras of that era. Just playing around really.

(EDIT)... This was my first chance to use the flash gels made by Phoxle. I used the 6500k to 8000k blue gel. This particular gel is not nearly as dense as the 1/2CTB Lee gel that I routinely use, but for a morning shoot that began a tad foggy it seemed to do the trick. I plan to write a full reviw of this product after I have had a chance to use it a bit more, but so far it looks like exactly what we all want in a set of color correcting gels.....a variety that is usefull, but not so many as to cause confusion, a nice case to keep them organized, and a tacky surface to attatch them to the flash lens. Chris Pederson, the president of Phoxle is a DGRIN member, and some of you may have seen the discussion some of us have had with him in the accessories section.

Thanks for looking!!

C&C is always welcome.....although....I do not usually do any cropping until I am actually ordering prints.

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thegreenegg

1- The eyes are really nice in this one. You did a great job making them stand out.

2- I love her expression and pose in this one very much. I like it in B&W but I would also love to see this one in color too. Very nice looking girl.

3- This is a nice posed shot. Good color and depth of field. Very good techinically but I don't like it as much as some others because it lack some of the personality you were able to capture in other pictures.

4- I see why you might have wanted to try an old time look by looking at photos like this one. It is a very nice location you picked out and she seems very comfortable in it. Again love the B&W but I'm dying to know if the greens would pop as much as I imagine they would from this picture. Very nice

5- I'm not a big fan of this treatment. I've tried many times to find the right photo for it. I think it works alright here. But alas can't get over my intial opinions of the treatment.*shrug* I'm sure she will like it though.

6- It's seems like I'm in a color mood this morning. I want to see everything in color! Haha, but I do really like this picture as is as well. I sometimes tend to see black and white for a cover up of mistakes I might have made in pictures and hence, since I think you did so well controlling light, location and pose, I want to see these pictures in color.

ShepsMom

I think i've met Rachel before

Very nice work as always Jeff! bow

James S

2 and 3 are my favorites. Very nice conversion on that second one.

jeffreaux2

thegreenegg wrote:

1- The eyes are really nice in this one. You did a great job making them stand out.

2- I love her expression and pose in this one very much. I like it in B&W but I would also love to see this one in color too. Very nice looking girl.

3- This is a nice posed shot. Good color and depth of field. Very good techinically but I don't like it as much as some others because it lack some of the personality you were able to capture in other pictures.

4- I see why you might have wanted to try an old time look by looking at photos like this one. It is a very nice location you picked out and she seems very comfortable in it. Again love the B&W but I'm dying to know if the greens would pop as much as I imagine they would from this picture. Very nice

5- I'm not a big fan of this treatment. I've tried many times to find the right photo for it. I think it works alright here. But alas can't get over my intial opinions of the treatment.*shrug* I'm sure she will like it though.

6- It's seems like I'm in a color mood this morning. I want to see everything in color! Haha, but I do really like this picture as is as well. I sometimes tend to see black and white for a cover up of mistakes I might have made in pictures and hence, since I think you did so well controlling light, location and pose, I want to see these pictures in color.

I may have posted one BW conversion in the last month or so, as I have mostly been doing straight color processing on my senior photographs. Being swamped with editing isn't really what I like about photography, but I blew off some steam last night at the pc playing around with the few I posted here. I include a full color photo in the portfolio for every one of the shots that I give some sort of special treatment so that options are available to the client. Of these I posted, one and three are just straight colors with no special treatments other than what I normally do.

It seems I am in a monotone mood and you are in a color one.....my apologies!!:D ....maybe I will put up some more in color once I have worked my way through the rest of the photos.


Thanks for looking, and certainly for the detailed reply.

jeffreaux2

ShepsMom wrote:

I think i've met Rachel before

Very nice work as always Jeff! bow

Thank you...

Yes, I have posted photos of her before as she is a regular ham for my camera. Other than cheerleader photos I know I have posted these two shots.

You may be thinking of....
my "picking wildflowers" post...


or a more recent one...

jeffreaux2

rex wrote:

2 and 3 are my favorites. Very nice conversion on that second one.

Thanks. I am liking #3 quite a bit myself. A no smile photo is brave new ground for some subjects, but she handles it well.

#2 as you might imagine was not a simple exposure. I like the blown BG, and knew looking down the porch that this would result. It still required a good bit of flash to get some light on Rachel. I have some wider crops of this that may even be able to handle an 8x10 ratio. Once I was happy with what I saw on the LCD, I wasn't shy about firing off enough of them to be sure we could get her a print from this.

jeffreaux2

Ahhh....
Done editing and adding a few more...

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Swartzy

Very nice Jeff
Nice look and some creative processing. Now that I've met Rachel, say hi for me.... Good work!

Elaine

I LOVE 1, 2, 6, 8, 10. Gorgeous. Your variety of locations and poses is just great! Did you use flash, reflectors, etc...? Nice processing, too!

jeffreaux2

Swartzy wrote:

Nice look and some creative processing. Now that I've met Rachel, say hi for me.... Good work!

I appreciate your kind words and will pass the message along.....lol

jeffreaux2

Elaine wrote:

I LOVE 1, 2, 6, 8, 10. Gorgeous. Your variety of locations and poses is just great! Did you use flash, reflectors, etc...? Nice processing, too!

Elaine,

Thanks for taking a peek.

I wasn't able to use the reflector much, and don't rcall using it in any of these photos. I used flash in most of them for sure.

#3,7,8,and 10 were shot at "The Myrtles" plantation. It is mostly famous for being haunted. Google it for kicks when you get a chance.

Here is a reflector in use....not for reflecting , but for blocking a ray of stray sunshine off her face. No I was not on a ladder, but was balancing on the top fence rail with camera in one hand and foam core in the other.

~Jan~

Wow, Jeff, you've come a long way! I love the first three, and 8 & 10. See what happens when I disappear for a month or two... :lol

You definitely need to start charging for your work!

jeffreaux2

~Jan~ wrote:

Wow, Jeff, you've come a long way! I love the first three, and 8 & 10. See what happens when I disappear for a month or two... :lol

You definitely need to start charging for your work!

Thanks,

I began selling my work over a year ago......so.....the phrase might be....I need to charge MORE for it?

I appreciate the comments. Thanks for taking a look.

~Jan~

Oh, oops! I was thinking in another post you mentioned doing senior shots for the price of prints. I must have confused you w/ someone else!! Sorry!

shatch

Great series Jeff. What are you using for post processing?

ChrisP6

jeffreaux2 wrote:

This was my first chance to use the flash gels made by Phoxle. I used the 6500k to 8000k blue gel.

I'm glad you got a chance to use the flash filters, and look forward to hearing how they worked for you.

BTW, the portraits look great! The third one feels like a CD album cover -- very nice. I'd love to know how you get these poses and expressions. Someone told me once that "the camera looks both ways" and that part of the key to portraiture is to project the feelings and emotions you want reflected back. Whatever you're doing, I like what you're getting back.

Chris

jeffreaux2

shatch wrote:

Great series Jeff. What are you using for post processing?

I use Lightroom for my RAW conversions and basic PP. I finish everything...including sharpening in Photoshop CS3. I usually shy away from gimmicky plug ins or actions, but splurged on the one 60's style color shot at the barn door. That is one of the Virtual Photographer filter sets.

jeffreaux2

ChrisP6 wrote:

I'm glad you got a chance to use the flash filters, and look forward to hearing how they worked for you.

BTW, the portraits look great! The third one feels like a CD album cover -- very nice. I'd love to know how you get these poses and expressions. Someone told me once that "the camera looks both ways" and that part of the key to portraiture is to project the feelings and emotions you want reflected back. Whatever you're doing, I like what you're getting back.

Chris

#3 is one of my favorites of the day. I have known this girl since she was a toddler, so she was very comfortable with me and my camera. Posing I have studied mostly from old dusty portrait "how to's" found in my local library. I am far from an expert there, but have learned enough to skate by in a pinch. I think it helps to let them chimp with you now and then so they can get an idea where you are trying to go with it. A great look can be had by asking them to be super serious. No smiling. Begin shooting, and ask..."are you about to laugh....cause I am".....it usually breaks them into a warm smile....no teeth.....genuine.

The filters have worked great. I have used the lighter of the blues on two seperate shoots now....including this one. I wanted to put the darker on, but it just didn't jive with the ambient light. I really need late afternoon for that, and I have been doing morning to mid day shoots. I am anxious to try the indoor ones as well. FWIW, the gel saw probably 400 or so shots so far. It is as sticky as it ever was. I even stored it on the back of the flash during some sunlit shots. No problems. It did go very plastic and flimsy in the heat of the day, but looks good as new after being back it its holder in the bag for a day. You have a terrific product. I intend to give it a full review after some more hands on.

ChrisP6

Jeff,

Thanks for sharing some of your posing tips -- I'll have to give them a shot.

I'm also delighted that the filters are working out for you. I think I need to take your posing tips, one of my favorite models, and go spend a Saturday cranking out some shots of my own now.

Chris

jeffreaux2

ChrisP6 wrote:

Jeff,

Thanks for sharing some of your posing tips -- I'll have to give them a shot.

I'm also delighted that the filters are working out for you. I think I need to take your posing tips, one of my favorite models, and go spend a Saturday cranking out some shots of my own now.

Chris

I dunno Chris....

I have browsed your galleries and can hardly believe that I have provided you any valuble insight!!:D

...but I highly reccomend spending that Saturday taking photos. There is no substitute for improvement that can be learned through practice and especially experimentation.

Travis

1, 8, 9 & 10 are awesome. I find the clipping in the background distracting in 2 and she doesn't look fully comfortable. In #5 my attention is drawn to her feet which is not her most attractive feature.

urbanaries

What a great set!!! I just love #1 (she does the non-smiling thing SOOOO well!) and #9 is my absolute favorite. I also like 8 and 10 very much. She is so gorgeous, just love the combination of blond hair and dark eyes.

Beautiful work, Jeff!!! I like the southern-style setting very much, you did a good job lending variety to it.

jeffreaux2

urbanaries wrote:

What a great set!!! I just love #1 (she does the non-smiling thing SOOOO well!) and #9 is my absolute favorite. I also like 8 and 10 very much. She is so gorgeous, just love the combination of blond hair and dark eyes.

Beautiful work, Jeff!!! I like the southern-style setting very much, you did a good job lending variety to it.

Thanks Lynne....

She is very comfortable in front of a camera....smiling or not. We had a fun day.