Waterfall Group Model Shoot

slpollett · May 21, 2008

A little background first, then photos.

I am not a professional photographer. My daughter started modeling a couple of years ago and the agency she is with organizes a monthly 'group shoot' in order to evaluate new talent, give the models practice, help establish or increase model & photographer portfolios at little or no cost, and just to get everyone together for a nice bit of networking. Her agent (a professional photographer himself) and a couple of the other 'core' photographers decided to offer a photography class for the 'model moms.' The intent was to get more photographers working the group shoots to allow for greater attendance. I am one of the 'Model Moms' who is having a great time taking pictures and learning all I can to improve.

This past weekend was our monthly shoot. This month was a Waterfall location. The sun was bright even though we started very early and the glare off the water was tough. I was definitely challenged trying to get the right settings to get decent shots.

I'd like to share some of my efforts and invite any comments and/or constructive criticism. I have done very little post-processing on these beyond minor tweaks to curves/contrast & adding my name.

Thanks for looking:

1. First a headshot

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7. This one is actually my daughter. I was packing away my stuff at the end of our shoot & she asked me to take her picture. I already had the reflectors in the car so her face is a little dark & the top right is too bright, but she and I both love the photo. I guess that's a 'Mom' thing. :wink

Thanks for looking!

Sherry

Blurmore · May 22, 2008

These are very nice compositions and exposures. What are you using for a flash diffuser on these? The light is nice, not a lot of modeling or definition but quality light that doesn't look all that on camera. I think exposure wise you nailed them. Compositionally I think you might be a little tight on them but this might just be your cropping. The girl who is smiling with both top and bottom teeth showing should be instructed to smile softer...it is natural...but it really splits her face.

Mitchell · May 22, 2008

For lack of a better word, these all look too "flashy" for my taste. Perhaps some fill flash dialed down in a softbox or umbrella would have worked better. A large reflector might have also worked well The light on these models just looks too unnaturally bright relative to their surroundings.

The poses look fine. You went out early, but not early enough. Perhaps you could have avoided the harsh glare of the sun closer to sunrise or at sunset.

slpollett · May 22, 2008

Thanks Blurmore and Mitchell for your comments.

I tend to always shoot close-in. I guess that's more of my personal style. I cropped a couple of the shots to 8x10, but really didn't do any other cropping.

For flash, I used my Olympus FL50R flash attachment with a softbox over it. I used the clear filter & not any of the colors (mainly because I wouldn't know WHAT to do with them!

).

I used a 48 inch soft white reflector most of the time. I tried the soft gold & silver a couple of times but thought the light was too harsh.

I also tried no flash a few times but generally wasn't happy with those results either.

For our location (down an embankment, by a creek with a small waterfall, plenty of rocks & uneven surface) taking umbrella lights (if I had any and knew how to use them

) would be impractical.

I chose to stay out of the water to avoid the bright sun & glare mainly because I'm too inexperienced to know how to compensate for it properly. I stayed in the shaded areas on the banks for the most part.

We started at 8:00 am and finished up around 1:00, but the best photos (from anybody) were before about 9:30. These aren't high-fashion models either. The market here is strictly commercial/lifestyle, so we weren't really trying to get that high-fashion super model look.

For me, this is all learning experience. I just want to get better, so other than getting an earlier start, what suggestions do you have for me?

Thanks,
Sherry

ladytx · May 23, 2008

Nice job over all ... sounds like a lot of fun!! I like 3 & 4 the best!

Waterfall Group Model Shoot

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