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My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

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    My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

    After reviewing my images, I tend to be photographing trees, bushes, hills, creatures and buildings. Probably the staple diet of a beginner as it's static and easy to do. So I took some pictures of my girlfriend to see how it would turn out.

    #1

    Pauleen by PaulStw, on Flickr

    #2

    IMG_2161 by PaulStw, on Flickr

    #3

    IMG_2162 by PaulStw, on Flickr

    I'm looking for strong critique as I strive for perfection or close to it. I'm not offended easily so fire away :)

    Thanks,

    Paul
    Fuji X-T1 | 1D IV
    www.campsie.photography

    #2
    Re: My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

    Hi Paul,

    I am no expert at all and some will give far better advice and critique than I ever could, but I have a few comments for what they are worth.

    A lot of portrait photographers swear by natural light, and that of course comes from the window if you are working indoors, however, in yours you have used the light but I think your Girlfriend is too close to the window and consequently you haven't been able to get the background out of focus enough, in 1 the window handle spoils the shot and in 2 and 3 the houses and the cars spoil them.

    You could try to move her further into the room and still have enough light from one side, but get a reflector set up to bounce some light back onto the darker side of her face, other than that if you have a flash that you could set up off camera, diffused, power cut down or bounced off a wall to light the darker side, you would have to experiment a bit with that to get the amount of light you need just to fill in the shadows.

    Hope you don't mind the thoughts, I am sure someone will come along with more and better ideas.

    Regards Paul

    Comment


      #3
      Re: My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

      Hi Paul

      I, like you, have not really 'done portraits', so I'm no expert, but I do know what I like, and you've asked for critique...

      I really like #1 as it has a soft quality, and although it was shot against a bright background, the face is quite well lit (with reflected light?), and stands out, especially framed by the hair.

      Sorry, but #2 and #3 do nothing for me, as I think the background is too prominent. #2 especially, with the houses, is too distracting IMO, although I realise the shot is positioned so as to have the subject looking out of the window, I would prefer something less distracting.

      #3 the light seems too harsh, and perhaps could have been softened by some extra fill flash - the shadows across the face are too much. Also the DOF seems too small, as the eyes are not quite in focus - whilst the hair at the top of the head is!. I've always read that you must get the eyes in focus.

      Good attempt though, and well done for being brave and doing something outside your norm. I certainly think the subject is worthy of some more attempts, and technical improvements!

      Hope that helps, all the best, Mike
      flickr
      5D4 : 7D2 : 16-35 f4 L : 24-105 II L : 70-200 f2.8 L : 100-400 II L : Macro 100 f2.8 L : Manfrotto CX055 Pro3

      Comment


        #4
        Re: My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

        Thanks guys thats excellent :) I should have added that she didn't know I was taking these pics and I just flew in with the camera.

        #1
        Bright bedroom with her putting her GHD hair things away and in front was a double bed with light bouncing right off it.

        #2 She was looking at some guy walking his dog and wondering why he wasn't cleaning it up lol

        #3
        Just a closer shot of #2

        I appreciate that the background on all pics is distracting, well noted. I'll be sure to be careful of this. Excellent suggestion of the reflector because I've been meaning to invest in one, so it's good that it's been suggested.

        She takes a good picture, but hates posing as everyone does, so i've got to take the chance when I get it.

        Awesome, thanks :)
        Fuji X-T1 | 1D IV
        www.campsie.photography

        Comment


          #5
          Re: My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

          Hello Paul

          I really like number 1, it has a gentle contemplative quality to it.

          Reflector/fill-in flash will help, with the reflector being easier to start with and you can see your results as you go.

          Positioning in number 2 is very good, so go back to number 1 and crop out the dead space from the right hand side and that will place her a third into the shot, with plenty of space to look into.

          Consider the background, it is a little distracting and using a wider aperture would have put it much more out of focus.

          She is a very attractive model. Show her only your very best shots and she will be more comfortable posing for you as she begins to trust your skills.

          Hope that helps.

          Colin
          Colin

          Comment


            #6
            Re: My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

            Originally posted by colin C View Post
            Hello Paul

            I really like number 1, it has a gentle contemplative quality to it.

            Reflector/fill-in flash will help, with the reflector being easier to start with and you can see your results as you go.

            Positioning in number 2 is very good, so go back to number 1 and crop out the dead space from the right hand side and that will place her a third into the shot, with plenty of space to look into.

            Consider the background, it is a little distracting and using a wider aperture would have put it much more out of focus.

            She is a very attractive model. Show her only your very best shots and she will be more comfortable posing for you as she begins to trust your skills.

            Hope that helps.

            Colin
            Thank you Colin, means a lot for your pointers :)
            Fuji X-T1 | 1D IV
            www.campsie.photography

            Comment


              #7
              Re: My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

              Paul, agree with all the tops above, and it would help critique if you could provide more shooting info i.e. 'Minimum details should include camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture and ISO value.'

              The only thing I would add to the above excellent advice is keep your subject away from the centre of the frame, 2&3 work well as the subject is off centre, and the subject looks into the empty space (very important), but in the first, it need a crop from the right to work.
              Concentrate on equipment and you'll take technically good photographs. Concentrate on seeing the light's magic colours and your images will stir the soul. - Jack Dykinga
              Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography- George Eastman

              Comment


                #8
                My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

                Hi Paul,

                I really like the 1st image on that one. The key to Portrait work is that the focus needs to be on the subject. That means that you should use a shallow DOF as possible. Also the lighting needs to be greater on the subject than the background, as you want the eyes to lead straight to the subject. Then there are the eyes. The rule of thumb is that the eye closest to the camera needs to be sharp.

                So again, good effort & like Colin said don't be afraid to use a flash to fill in for natural light. Normally, I try for a 30/70 split between ambient light and flash when using natural light.

                Tom

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: My Good Lady - First real portrait shots.

                  In addition to the comments above, I would add that IMO they're all (but 2 & 3 especially) are a bit too sharp. I don't mean the pictures are over-sharpened, but Sometimes when you're photographing women I think you have to soften the image a tad - the last thing they want to see is a razor-sharp rendition of their face.
                  Please don't think I'm suggesting for one moment that your good lady has flawed skin, and I really mean no offence, but I think softening the image just a tad would help. I think that's one reason #1 works best - her face seems "softer" - the lighting definitely helps with this.
                  “If you're gonna be a maniac, pyro's not a good maniac.” Larry David
                  "Go ahead and play The Blues if it'll make you happy". Homer J. Simpson
                  "War, children, it's just a shot away... Love, sister, it's just a kiss away". Mick Jagger & Keith Richards
                  "I was in the band, ok. The girls were pretty interested, you know, with the guitar. They liked that.” Larry David

                  EOS 5D, 24-105L, 430EXII, G11

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