Allison - Class of 2010

chrisdg · October 17, 2009

C&C welcome!

Last weekend I had a great time photographing this charming high school senior, Allison. She requested a beach theme. Although she was nervous at first, she did a fantastic job in front of the camera. This was my first senior session (and first commissioned job), so I am pleased with the results. More importantly, Allison and her mother are thrilled with the images.

I think we came away with a few dozen keepers, here's a sampling:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

Next, we drove on to a westerly-facing beach so we could catch the sunset...

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

view the complete gallery

Thanks for looking! Comments & critique encouraged.

adbsgicom · October 17, 2009

No wonder you both are happy... Those are a really nice set, especially the sunset group in the white dress. Did you gel your light here? Only nit from me is that 5 & 6 look a little out of focus but it might just be the compression to the web. 4/9/12/13 are my favorites from the group.

chrisdg · October 17, 2009

adbsgicom wrote:

No wonder you both are happy... Those are a really nice set, especially the sunset group in the white dress. Did you gel your light here? Only nit from me is that 5 & 6 look a little out of focus but it might just be the compression to the web. 4/9/12/13 are my favorites from the group.

Thanks for the comments.

No gel used, just a single AlienBees 1600 with a 43" octabox and a really warm sunset. That lighting equipment arrived the day before the shoot, so it was my first use of the gear other than some quick testing at midnight.

Yes, #5 and #6 might be a little soft, as she was about 30+ feet away from the camera and I had to max out the zoom and then crop into them further in post. I couldn't get closer to her and still be at her same elevation. It was a neat little spot atop some concrete beach ruins that she had to carefully walk to, as documented in this shot:

Hackbone · October 17, 2009

Very nice set. You do nice work under trying conditions. My only concern is view as many sites as you can and watch what is done with the hands. The are the worst to deal with and they need attention. Especially when there is nothing to hold on to.

chrisdg · October 17, 2009

Hackbone wrote:

Very nice set. You do nice work under trying conditions. My only concern is view as many sites as you can and watch what is done with the hands. The are the worst to deal with and they need attention. Especially when there is nothing to hold on to.

Thanks Charles. Appreciate the comments. I thought we/she did a pretty good job with her hands, but I'll work on that going forward.

blaser321 · October 17, 2009

really like 12

Mr. Quiet · October 17, 2009

Very good pictures and very nice girl. IMHO though, I think her smiles are a bit to forced, what do you guys think?

D'Buggs · October 18, 2009

chrisdg wrote:

Thanks Charles. Appreciate the comments. I thought we/she did a pretty good job with her hands, but I'll work on that going forward.

Nearly every picture of her with hands on hip, the broad, flat, backside is in full view; this makes the hands look like clubs. That, or the fingers are sprawled out. I like the hands in 3 and 5,,, they're tight and "dainty" lookin'.

Real nice pics though!

WingsOfLovePhoto · October 18, 2009

photographically a really nice set. I can see why they are happy, congrats on your first paid senior! My only c/c is that she has the exact same face in each picture. A forced grin. Try to provoke some different faces next time. Ask for attidude, make some jokes, get a few relaxed muscle faces. Hard sometimes to get the girls to change their faces as most are so used to having a camera pointed at them since digital came along!

chrisdg · October 19, 2009

WingsOfLovePhoto wrote:

photographically a really nice set. I can see why they are happy, congrats on your first paid senior! My only c/c is that she has the exact same face in each picture. A forced grin. Try to provoke some different faces next time. Ask for attidude, make some jokes, get a few relaxed muscle faces. Hard sometimes to get the girls to change their faces as most are so used to having a camera pointed at them since digital came along!

Thanks. You're right. Looking across the series, I concur regarding the same facial expression. I think because they are going to order and frame just one or two large prints, this problem won't be so noticeable since you won't see that face again and again. When I asked for "serious" or "contemplative" or whatever, she said she "doesnt do that real well".

In the meantime, I do have some images with a different expression. Other than a different expression, I'm not sure they offer much else...

#B1

#B2

#B3

adbsgicom · October 19, 2009

In your new set:
#1 : not grooving on teh PP, but it is a fun shot. Contrast feels too pushed or something there.
#2 : Mad love for this one. Love the hint of a smile and the color
#3 : Very nice looking off shot. Great color and light. Focus might be off a bit (looks like the hair was your focus point, but with the smaller jpg's and my eyesight it is hard to be sure).

dmmattix · October 19, 2009

adbsgicom wrote:

In your new set:
#1 : not grooving on teh PP, but it is a fun shot. Contrast feels too pushed or something there.
#2 : Mad love for this one. Love the hint of a smile and the color
#3 : Very nice looking off shot. Great color and light. Focus might be off a bit (looks like the hair was your focus point, but with the smaller jpg's and my eyesight it is hard to be sure).

Totally agree.
#1: probably pushed on the contrast because what she was wearing blends in so well with that wall.
#2: Technically the best of the three
#3: My favorite due to the pose and light but Andrew is correct the hair is the focus point not the eyes.

All in all a very good set with so many sub-locations and clothing changes. Not to mention the pressure of being paid to do this...

Keep them coming.

Mike

chrisdg · October 19, 2009

adbsgicom wrote:

In your new set:
#1 : not grooving on teh PP, but it is a fun shot. Contrast feels too pushed or something there.

Yeah, I was just playing with some pp techniques in lightroom on that shot, knowing that it wouldn't be one of the "chosen ones". I wanted to give her something a bit edgy via a digital download, maybe for a facebook avatar or something like that.

Just for fun, I basically gave her some images with a few different post-processing "looks", like this one:

#C1

with the strobe off, I picked up some real cool purples in the sky long after sunset, so I gave her a digital copy of this one too:

#C2

rhondavid · October 20, 2009

Well I have looked at all three series now and have to say that b2 and b3 have my vote. Some nice shots and poses in the first group but like everyoe else, they all begin to look the same, just different location or pose, but no change in the face. The lighting and expression in the second series made a big difference, at least for me.

Pretty girl, nice shots, she should be happy.