My first photoshoot!

[StreetJT]

Meet Leah. This is my first photoshoot ever, so C&C would be great. What could I have done better? What can I look to improve upon?

Thanks,
Jonathan

http://www.fallrevolution.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10286/Leah12b_low.jpg

http://www.fallrevolution.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10286/Leah30_low.jpg

http://www.fallrevolution.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10286/Leah3_low.jpg

http://www.fallrevolution.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10286/Leah69_low.jpg

http://www.fallrevolution.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10286/Leah77_low.jpg

http://www.fallrevolution.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10286/Leah_Lighthouse_low.jpg

[Chudilo]

3 4 and 5 all needed a filling flash . Teh face is in the shadow. also some of them could Also use some sharpening.
Also these a great as snapshots. These are definatley not "potfolio" style shots.

[StreetJT]

Like is said, I'm in no way a pro ;). What could I do to improve and get up to that "portfolio" style?

[lisa1969]

i like #1, #2 and 3 do look to be a bit soft and I have to agree with the fill flash suggestion.4 and 5 i think you could have an easy fix if you brightened it up a bit with a levels adjustment. The sun can be really difficult. I'm sure you will be able to get alot of great advice here.

[COKE CAN]

I really like the first one a lot. Pretty girl!

[mackb]

Nice work, I need to work on using more fill flash in my pictures too, try to use all the comments to your benefit. I have found very few people on this forum that will bring you down. Honest critiquing is the best. I’m not a pro but definitely fill flash and if you’re a true newbie at the outdoor exposure make sure your taking pictures in RAW (still need fill flash). Your compositions are nice and if you live near that beach, I suspect you'll get plenty of practice with nice backgrounds and challenging lighting

Good luck

[Art Rodriguez]

I think you are off to a good start. Have to agree with everyone else about the fill flash. I learned about that here in the forum when I first joined. I will tell you what I have been told here, shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.

Art

[StreetJT]

What exactly should I do for a fill flash? Will the pop-up on my 10D suffice, or should I look into purchasing a better one? How exactly is it implimented?

[Chudilo]

Someone once told me that is it exactly opposite of what one might expect. Meaning if you have a lot of light. Use a flash to get rid of the shadows. And if there isn't enough light, don't use a flash but use a long exposure to actually catch what you are photographing. i found that to be very helpful.
Another words if you see high contrast shadows on things that are the the main parts of your photo. Use a flash to put light on those things.
Pop-up flash will not be ok, but play with it for a bit too see why you would need it.
i am personally not a pro .. But I read some stuff on the subject :) I have played with my built in flash for a while and did not understand why i would need an external one until one day i tried an external one. and OMG what a difference. However you would use it in the same way as you do the pop-up one. So at the very least you will be able to understand how it shoudl work.

And about making the the pics look more Professional do some searching on the forum . Couple of weeks back a saw a link to a great Model Posing reference Guide. (you might want to go to a photostore and just look through it) since you're not doing this daily just yet.

(Sorry if I seemed a bit harsh in the last post, I had to go back and Edit it after i read it again. )

[Ray Marrero]

JT,

Try to fill the frame with the subject. (Get closer.)
I also noticed some spots on the photos. Was your lense clean? If it was, you might have dust on the sensor. Check that out and clean the sensor.

Yes, you need flash fill. Keep shooting.

[imchillindave]

Great pictures and I also agree on the fill flash. The 4th one should've had the subject composed more to the right, since she's facing that way. It's a technique that's much more pleasing to the eyes. As far as fill flash, the pop-up one will do quite well until you can afford an external one. I strongly strive for my flash to look as natural as the existing light. I played with my flash exposure compensation quite a bit to achieve this. Also understanding how the Canon cameras use the flash in different modes is very helpful too. The most extensive article on this I've found is at http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/ . This article has helped me TREMENDOUSLY at understanding how to achieve the results I am trying for. The advantage of an external flash is the ability to place it at different angles from the camera. Even just having it up higher above the lens casts the shadow behind the subject which makes a huge difference. Indoors you can bounce it (if it's directional) which creates an amazing effect. More than anything though, just experiment with it until you get a good feel for it.

[Actionphotog]

A relector would have worked great for these photos.
Do you own a light meter? Were you shooting in Manual or P mode?
And You don't need to shot in RAW, I think once you have mastered the lighting and composition, your photos will look great.
Work on your lighting technique and lens cleaning and in a couple of month you can look back on these photos and be amazed at how much better you have gotten.

[Desertraptor]

I like these shots as is. She's very photogenic and pretty :)

[waldograce]

You can try the onboard flash, but more power would help.
I think a reflector would have worked very well too.
For a first try I think these are very good.
I like the concept of #4 (Leah in the sand) but might have tried to make it a tighter shot.
Maybe put her parallel to the writing in the sand?
Hope you take and post more.

[Ogrt48]

Clean the sensor... top right of the photos need it.

[Titus213]

Definitely need some more light on the face - flash. I noticed that all the shots except the last were at ISO 400 which seems a bit extreme to me under what appears to be sunny skies (I'm not aware of the 10D noise handling ability). The photos need some 'pop' for my tastes. I really like number 3 & 5 but both could use some more light.

[SHANGHAi]

I would suggest working a little more on your composition. #2 and #4 could definitely be cropped in. Also, don't be afraid to try new angles. I think my fave would have to be the last one :)

[Sero]

What exactly should I do for a fill flash? Will the pop-up on my 10D suffice, or should I look into purchasing a better one? How exactly is it implimented?

Think of it this way, the more sun you have the more powerfull the flash will need to be to compete with it. On a sunny day the pop- up may be too weak, but on overcast days in may be sufficient. A reflector will help for a low price.

[scotweb]

First shot is really really nice. It has a great mood about it. Great pic!

[JMHPhotography]

I think you would be best served using litepanels to mute the harsh lighting from the sun and reflectors instead of fill flash to fill in the shadow areas. I think the lighting is the ONLY thing keeping these from being portfolio quality shots. Here, check this out and you will know just how to do this next time out:

http://www.webphotoschool.com/Lesson_Library/Free_Lessons/Shooting_on_the_Beach_with_LitePanels/index.html

If you can't swing the cost of the panels, you could do it with litediscs, and a couple helpers. :)