My first portrait setting!!

mbg0333 · February 7, 2008

Ok....so I just got my lights on Tuesday and read a couple of lighting books and decided to give it a go with my girlfriend.

Its just a white sheet and some lighting, let me know what you think!

All the other images can be found on www.mbgphotography.com

Thanks in advance!

mbg0333 · February 8, 2008

68 Views and no responses.....they must be bad!!

Sam · February 8, 2008

mbg0333 wrote:

68 Views and no responses.....they must be bad!!

They aren't bad. It's the nature of the forums. Plus you didn't ask for a critique, you just posted, like sharing.

You have a very attractive, happy, fun loving girlfriend, and these first shots turned out pretty good.

Keep working at it.

Sam

System · February 8, 2008

First of all let me say that I am no expert by any means. With that said, for a beginner, your photos are not bad. One thing I would have done with the last one (close up) is to remove the skin blemishes via post processing.
The lighting looks good.

cmason · February 8, 2008

I like the first 3. Not a big fan of the lighting on 4,5,6. 6 is a bit too much shadow on the nose, 5 is too dark on the face. Maybe it is just me and my monitor, but really none of them look all that sharply focused. In portraits we all gravitate to the eye, so it must be really really sharp. Plus if you shoot with a wide open apeture, you will run into focus depth issues that sometimes are not flattering.

Perhaps others with better monitors than just a laptop care to correct/confirm my comments

Icebear · February 8, 2008

Nope. Not your monitor. We have some serious focus issues here.
Pretty girl, and I really like the way you brought out her liveliness. Poses are fun, and lots of variety.

Iron the sheet!

#3 and #4 are my faves. #4 needs a bit more light.

Oh, iron the sheet.

cmason · February 8, 2008

Icebear wrote:

Nope. Not your monitor. We have some serious focus issues here.

OK thanks...then I suggest that you give these another go, but this time, put your focus spot (use one only) on the eye that is dominate in the photo (usually the closest one). Focus on the eye only. To ensure other features are in focus, open up your lens to at least f/8, f/16 if you can. This will make your lights work harder, as you will need more light. Try a DOF calculator to see what aperture works for your lens.

Also, you may want to have her step away from the backdrop, it looks like she is almost touching it...give it about two feet. again, this will require more power from your lights if you want to light the backdrop, unless you use a separate light for it.

glhphotos · February 8, 2008

Number 4 was OK but could have been much better with a fill light or bounce from camera left to fill in some of the dark area. Number 5 the camera focused on the sheet rather than the girl (at least to me the sheet seems to be more in focus than the person). Number 6 the lights should have been higher so that the shadow caused by her nose would have slanted down rather than up and the light might also have been at less of an angle so as to keep the shadow smaller. Number 7 I would have had the camera at a higher angle to her face so as to not had a shot of the inside of her nose. The focus was also on her cheek and should have been on her eye. She is a great subject and seems to be comfortable in front of the camera. I've taken about a 1000 photos of my wife since purchasing a 40D a few months ago; eventually one will turn out that she likes...

BeamCatcher · February 8, 2008

Hi mate!
Firstly: Stunning girl friend!

I like number 3 the best. It is true what the others have said... It is a joy to photograph when you have someone who is as lively as she comes across to be. Personally I find it hard to think about all the technical aspects before I get "warmed up", neither do I have availability to fancy cool lighting equipment etc... so I do it the easy way: Aperture 8-11, shutter 1/60-1/100 on ISO 100 and let the flash adjust as it see fit. -Or set the flash as I want it. Short and sweet: That eliminates most worries I might have had on DOF and sharpness.

Anyhow... the last picture I quite like as well! The blemishes I would have liked to see go. Also I perhaps would have wanted to see her chin tilted down slightly. -That way you won't see directly into her nose.. :-)

Dude... nice ones... and I look forward to come back and have a look!

Cheers from Ivar in Dublin

jeffreaux2 · February 8, 2008

#1 THe light and exposure look good here, but I think it would have been imroved by having her look into the camera.

#2 Very cute. Needs a tad more light on her face. I don't like the crop....but if it were printed at 8x10 it would be improved by putting the bottom crop at mid thigh somewhere.

#3 Looks like a fun shot, but her shoulders are very square on to the camera.

#4 I think this would be the best pose in this set, but unfortunately her face isn't lit. I really like the camera angle and feel of the pose....but the lighting is no good.

#5 I am not a fan of the pose. There is no detail in her clothing and very little in her hair. Not enough light on her face. I want to see her eyes...

#6 Again very dark on her hair and clothing. The light is better, but the hard shadow of her nose is unattractive.

#7 Still poorly lit. I can almost, but not quite make out where the iris of her eye stops and the pupil begin. Her pupils are very dialated. Try having her close her eyes til the count of three and then snap a few just as she opens them. The eye is also not in super sharp focus.

Overall, a good experiment. Practice is the best teacher. I learned most of what I know( which certainly is'nt everything) by reading books on posing and lighting from the library Most of these appear very soft. The eyes should always be tack sharp. It may have to do with your resize method. You need to calibrate your monitor. Your darks are too dark.

Lastly, don't give up!!! The learning curve can be steep at times, but those are the best times to be a photographer.

evoryware · February 8, 2008

How many lights was it?

#1. I like the lighting in the first. Not sure about the arm.
#2. I would have to say this is my favorite. I wish it were full length.
#3. Looking back to the first, I like #3 more
#4. the right side of her face is too dark imo. Would definitely like more light on her hair and face. Instead the light is bright in the bottom left corner. Is that where you intended to bring attention.

#5. Same with #5.
#6. the shadow going up? from her nose I don't like.
#7. again needs more light.
Except for #2, it appears in all of them that the main light (if not all lights) is below her.

I like the poses and emotion in 2-6, but I don't like the weird lines the shirt on her right arm created on #5.

zoomer · February 9, 2008

To me, technically the best shot is the first one.
Looks like you guys were having a great time taking these pics and that is where it's at when you are shooting your girlfriend. Stay at it and the shots will gradually improve.
A little more light would help most of these.
Nice shots.

kejago · February 9, 2008

mbg0333 wrote:

68 Views and no responses.....they must be bad!!

Nope!

I viewed, more than once, but am no-where near qualified enough to give technical feedback. Enjoy looking at the pics though!

saurora · February 9, 2008

mbg0333 wrote:

68 Views and no responses.....they must be bad!!

When viewing a group of shots like this I quite often come back several times before commenting. I often see things differently the 2nd or 3rd time, so all posters should relax and give the forum a chance to comment..........oh, and specifically ask for comments if you want them. Also helps to specify how honest or brutal you wish the comments to be. Many don't wish to offend you, especially when a girlfriend is involved!

Ok, that's out of the way! You're off to a great start. There is something good in all of these and something that needs to be re-evaluated and adjusted. But that's all of us, right? Lucky for you your girlfriend is both beautiful and very comfortable in front of the camera, so you should get lots of practice and some great shots in a short time. Here's my quick comments:

#1) face is nicely lit. The arm plus her looking out of the frame don't work well for me. A little too sharp of a down-angle. Feels uncomfortable and awkward.
#2) Too close to the background (and this background is pretty distracting), also clashes with the dress. Would recommend change of clothes for this BG. Shot too square on. I would either shoot full length or crop in closer...hate to see legs cut off in the middle. This is probably my least favorite shot of the group.
#3) The angle is good on this, and I like the eye contact. She seems a bit close to the background.
#4) This is my favorite pose of the group. Nailed the pose, but the lighting didn't quite cut it. Too bad because she really looks very cute here!
#5) This one is my 2nd favorite pose. I see the background and again, the lighting wasn't quite there. More light, more light, more light!
#6) Lighting is better, but casting shadows. Angle is a little tight and forced looking. Just a slight adjustment so she doesn't look like she is straining to look up.
#7) She has beautiful eyes and lips. Nobody's skin looks perfect this close and though I'm not crazy about heavy skin work, this is the one type of shot where some work is needed. I agree w/Jeffreaux that tilting her chin down slightly is a good idea. (Also, touch up work in the armpit areas of many of your gallery shots could improve.)

I looked at your gallery also. I'm guessing that you didn't have much room to shoot since she is right on top of the backgrounds and all of the angled shots. I do like angled shots, but it just made me wonder if you're shooting in a tight space. More light will help you to get sharper images, too. I struggled with that one for quite a while. You're off to a great start. Looking forward to your next set!!!

mbg0333 · February 11, 2008

Thanks for all the advice guys and gals!! I know they definately need some work but I learned alot in short time span.

I was very crowded when taking these so I did not have much room to move her away from the background.

Also I was trying to use a reflector on camera left but I was the only one taking so it made it difficult.

I had a strobe right and one to light the back ground.

I wish had more time and more room but I have the kindergarten graduation pictures coming up so we will see how I do!!

My first portrait setting!!

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