Portraits for a friend

wolfejm

Hi All,

A friend asked me to shoot some portraits of her daughter. I'd love a little C&C. This was my second time using multiple lights off camera. I had a lot of fun capturing these and the family was pretty happy with the shots.

Cheers,
Jeff

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5.

wolfejm

ok, I'm needy... what do you think? Seriosuly, I want to get better and would LOVE some feedback.

Thanks!!

Kevin G

Technically they're good, but that's it for me. You got the job done and it's something most clients would be happy with. As far as eye catching and "wow factor" they just don't jump out at me.

One major thing I think they are lacking is saturation. I would go a little more flashy with the poses next time and pump some saturation into the shots.

JulieLawsonPhotography

She's a very pretty girl. I like the ones of her outside the best because the lighting looks softer? And she looks more relaxed. I'm still learning about lighting too.

ladytx

Nice job ... I like #5 the best.

wolfejm

Kevin G wrote:

You got the job done and it's something most clients would be happy with. As far as eye catching and "wow factor" they just don't jump out at me.

Thanks, Kevin. I've not done this many times yet, so I take your comment as a pretty big compliment. I think I need to push more in future sessions to get some "wow" in there too. At least I know I can get some safe good shots now. Thanks for the suggestions.

wolfejm

Hi Julie... She definitely relaxed more torwards the end of the day and it showed in the images. The outside images were also done with the sun and one fill light, whereas the inside ones were done with two lights. That probably has something to do with the softer quality you mentioned.

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

jeffreaux2

I think #1 and #2 are the best of the bunch...and of those #2 would be my favorite.

-1 Nice camera angle and shoulder positioning....I wish her hair wasn't covering her eye.

-2 Again nice camera and shoulder angles. I still wish her hair were brushed away from her right eye....but I can at least see them, and you got those desirable canoes under the iris of both eyes. Nice.

-3 Her shoulder is square to the camera, and she is too centered in the frame in this shot....and that pesky hair!

-4 Not a flattering or feminine pose...although her expression is nice....it just doesn't work for me.

5- I like the light in this one, but again...she is too square on to the camera...and centered in the frame.

As a whole, it appears you have a tendency to center your subjects in the frame. A general improvement could be achieved by using the thirds rules to add something a little more dynamic to the portraits. Her nose is in the center of every shot. Technically, you did a good job. The exposures and focusing looks good.

wolfejm

Jeff, thanks for the very detailed comments! I didn't realize how on-center these shots were till you pointed it out. You are absolutely right. I love your work by the way. It's really very inspiring to see more than just the same old same old.

Along the lines of composition, an interesting problem I ran into is most of the shots from this series are composed for the full 4x6 frame. I was doing this on purpose because I wanted the best results for printing with little cropping. Unfortunately I totally ignored the aspect ratio issues. Sadly, many of the images that make good 4x6 et al do not make good 8x10's. Guess I just need to keep this in mind in the future.

As for the thirds rule, when you're working mostly with head & shoulders, what do you move to the intersection as a guideline? In most of my shots I was trying to get the eyes off center, but I think that left me with her nose smack in the middle quite frequently.

Thanks again!

wolfejm

Kevin G wrote:

I would go a little more flashy with the poses next time and pump some saturation into the shots.

I realize now how right you are, Kevin, about the saturation. I ordered an 11x14 print yesterday of one shot from the series that arrived totally useless because it came out so gray. However, taking your advice and applying a little creativity, I was able to make some smaller prints tonight (with increased saturation) that came out much better. I won't have the large print I wanted to use as a gift tomorrow, but I will have a very nice collage that looks a lot better.

Thanks!

jeffreaux2

wolfejm wrote:

Jeff, thanks for the very detailed comments! I didn't realize how on-center these shots were till you pointed it out. You are absolutely right. I love your work by the way. It's really very inspiring to see more than just the same old same old.

Well, what I do becomes the same old same old to me...so I am constantly on the lookout for fresh angles, settings, and looks. I do appreciate the compliment.

Along the lines of composition, an interesting problem I ran into is most of the shots from this series are composed for the full 4x6 frame. I was doing this on purpose because I wanted the best results for printing with little cropping. Unfortunately I totally ignored the aspect ratio issues. Sadly, many of the images that make good 4x6 et al do not make good 8x10's. Guess I just need to keep this in mind in the future.

Well, any portrait photographer who has had to tell a client that the photo they want in an 8x10 cannot be had because it would cut little Sara's feet off knows your delima....and I am one of those photographers. The best advice I can give you is to always keep crops in mind. 11x14 is an even deeper cut. You may see many of the portraits that I shoot for clients with a lot of headroom. I typicaly do not crop until I order my prints...and use the smugmug tools to do it. This keeps me from setting myself up for disaster during editing. Of course...you have to leave room for the crop to begin with...when you compose. That takes practice unless you can get a focus screen for your camera that has marks for other ratios etched on it. I don't have that either. I typically compose from the bottom up....and just leave room at the top for the cut. I am not sure of the pixel count of your camera, but I know from experience that a 4 megapixel camera can make a decent 8x10. My XTi is a 10mp so I know I could...though I dont want to...lose half and still make a decent print. Practice makes perfect, but I just read a suggestion in another thread to cheat by using pinstripe tape on the lcd to show an 8x10 crop. That isn't a bad idea at all.

As for the thirds rule, when you're working mostly with head & shoulders, what do you move to the intersection as a guideline? In most of my shots I was trying to get the eyes off center, but I think that left me with her nose smack in the middle quite frequently.

Thanks again!

I like to try to get the eyes roughly in line with one of the horizontals on the grid. Not perfectly...but roughly. Other than that, think it through backwards. In other words don't worry about placing the subject in the frame to occupy a third or two, but rather let the background occupy a third or two. You can also set up a landscape shot that is composed in thirds and then move your subject into that space.

But I wouldn't get totally hung up on thirds...rules are meant to be bent. Fill the frame with just a face....that is always a winner!