My First Senior Session!

Cuties02q

This was my first Senior and she was SUPER shy!! These are sooc (finally cs3 is on the way) and I still have 300 to go through so hopefully I have some other good ones

Lee Massey

Hi Stephenie!

Nice set of photos! It looks like it went quite well... I really like the compositions and the exposure looks good. Thanks for sharing!

Lee

Agnieszka

You did a great job!! #1 & 3 are my favorites Please share more if you're done with them

Scott_Quier

This young lady is quite attractive and I think you've got a couple of real winners here:

1 & 3 are so very nice. I might have gone with a bit more DOF on #1 though.

#2 is not so flattering. You have clothing lights across her mid-section, a very magenta color cast to her skin, the t-shirt hanging out non-uniformally in front (or is that the current fashion - I can't keep up )

#4 - Nice crop on this, though I might loose a bit more off the bottom.

#5 looks more like an out-take than a portrait.

Really looking forward to seeing more of these.

evoryware

Agree with Scott. She's got those Yuri eyes!

Scott_Quier

evoryware wrote:

Agree with Scott. She's got those Yuri eyes!

I wasn't sure why I liked them but I think you nailed it - Yuri Eyes!

jeffreaux2

1- I think this one is a very nice photo of a lovely young woman. i agree with Scott that maybe a tad more DOF may not have hurt. Great eyes!!!

2-She is shy?...fine...but you don't have to be. We all have to learn to notice things like what Scott pointed out...and then not be shy about telling them to straigten things out. Other than that? Bad choice of camera angles. She is very square to the camera and you seemed to have pointed the lens nearly straight at her shoulder. The pose is unflattering. When leaning a female against pretty much anything for a portrait...lean with the shoulder...not the butt. Have her take a slight step away from the wall, then lean back against the wall with only her left shoulder touching the wall. Her weight should be on her back foot, and her front foot should face the lens. She should end up at a nice angle to the camera. Shooting from a low stance against a wall like this rarely looks good. Your is a tad low. I have shot some from much lower that looked horrible!!! eye level and up is your best bet. Lastly, try to shoot so that the wall fills the frame. The slice of green on the left of the frame is distracting.

Please don't let yourself feel beat up by this....you are on the right track for sure. Lucky you posted it and can learn a great deal from this one photo.

3-I like the focus, but blurry foregrounds bug me. A matter of choice maybe. I do like the conversion. Had she tucked her chin in a tad you would have gotten those desirable canoes under her iris's as in photo#1.

4-This one doesn't flatter her. It seems as if she is jutting her chin out. Standing to shoot a sitting subject can be very dynamic looking. Try it. but wow what eyes!!

5-The last one looks as though she is talking to someone off camera? Try this again, but lay on the ground and use a wider angle at the lens. Get her whole body in the frame....maybe tilt.

Looking back at them again, #1 is clearly my favorite. What I notice about it that is obviously different than the rest of the set is that it is the only one where she is not centered in the frame....so...watch the centering. EDIT: Also, be sure you leave room to crop for a wallet or 5x7 print.....and 8x10.

OK. I have given you a heavy critique, and I hope that you will take it constructively. Behind the faults, there are some good things also going on in these images. I have seen full time photographers from my area who have been in business for quite awhile who have far worse posted on their websites. Hang tough...and keep shooting....I think you are on the brink of something wonderful!

Cuties02q

Wow =(

jeffreaux2

I dug up an example of "the lean". Notice her butt off the wall....a shoulder on the wall. Her right foot...even though it is not visible pointed at me. Even if the feet aren't in the composition, placement can be very important in shaping the body. This is a PURELY feminine pose. Whatever you do....don't...please don't...pose a guy like this!!!:D

Heres a link for example...
http://jkmann.smugmug.com/gallery/4503754_eoDsA#265179170_8MThE-M-LB

urbanaries

I agree with others that #1 is just beautiful! I think you did a great job of making her feel relaxed, there are some nice expressions here. Jeff gave you some awesome feedback on posing....I am definitely going to bookmark that one!

I remember getting my first dose of harsh criticism and at the time, my ego was a bit deflated, but looking back I thank that person for doing me a HUGE favor of pushing me to think about things in a different way, and it benefited my photography much more than any positive feedback ever did.

We all have our niches and seniors are just another genre requring its own approach, like weddings/couples, babies or maternity photos. You are a very talented photographer and its neat to see you stretching outside of your comfort zone! Good for you!

Cuties02q

I really wansn't shy at all and gave her lots of direction and this what the best we got =0 Everytime I turned my head she was back to her same position...lol. So I just had to get through it kwim? Finally at the end she was closer to what a shy person would start at. I felt like if I said anything she was going to cry....I have really never seen someone so nervious. The hardest to believe is I have known her since she was 2 I have 2 more coming up with hopefully less shy girls and I will check out that link....thanks!!!

Scott_Quier

Cuties02q wrote:

I really wansn't shy at all and gave her lots of direction and this what the best we got =0 Everytime I turned my head she was back to her same position...lol. So I just had to get through it kwim? Finally at the end she was closer to what a shy person would start at. I felt like if I said anything she was going to cry....I have really never seen someone so nervious. The hardest to believe is I have known her since she was 2 I have 2 more coming up with hopefully less shy girls and I will check out that link....thanks!!!

Sounds like taking some time to build her confidence might have been in order. I don't know if you tried this, but something I have found to work well is to get a couple of good ones in the can and show her one. They don't have to be terrific, just good enough to show the client that they can be made to be photogenic. Once they see the proof, they tend to open up. The more they open up, the better the shots you can show her. It winds up being a positive feedback loop. But, it does take some time.

One other thing that works is to let them know, in the beginning, that you are just taking test shots - even though they are real. They are relaxed at this point because they know that they won't be kept. Then you show the client one of these and ... see previous paragraph...

How ever you do it, the key to any good shoot with someone who is not a professional model (and maybe with them as well, I don't have any experience there) is to provide them with positive feedback. Oh, and behave as if you know what you are doing, even if you really are shaking in your boots - just don't let them know how shaky you feel!

Photosbychuck

Great Photos!
I like #1 & 4 the best.

Take Care,
Chuck Cassidy,
http://aperturefocus.smugmug.com

joshhuntnm

i love this forum. I have learned so much not only from posting my own pics but watching some pretty good pics and seeing some terrific advice about they could have bee great. Hope you are not discouraged. I have been a time or two, but then I look back and see how far I have come in only a few months of this process.

I wonder, with her being shy, if some more serious poses would have worked. that is one (of many mistakes) I have made is to try to get a smile on every shot.