CC please

[Rains]

This is my wife's first attempt as senior pictures. Shot with 30D, 24-85 IS lens.

[Rains]

2 more

[kmorgan]

I think just a tad more contrast would make them better. Pretty girl.

[Flo]

They are all very nicely done.just the harsh lighting on the face takes any details out...contrast as mentioned above would certainly help.

The color of the jacket really is stunning.

In the first.watch those crops at the knees.

[Rains]

They are all very nicely done.just the harsh lighting on the face takes any details out...contrast as mentioned above would certainly help.

The color of the jacket really is stunning.

In the first.watch those crops at the knees.
Thanks to both of you. We left them a little bright because it is hard to judge how something will print based on an LCD. Thank you for the feedback.

[LeuceDeuce]

I'd sharpen the eyes.

[robsk8ter247]

ya the eyes are too soft for me.

[Rains]

I'd sharpen the eyes.Is that done through focus point or photoshop?

[DAMphyne]

Focus First, sharpen later.
Always shoot for the sharpest focus , esp on the eyes in portraits.
Window to the soul and all that stuff.
Eye contact with the camera is always pleasing.

[Rains]

Focus First, sharpen later.
Always shoot for the sharpest focus , esp on the eyes in portraits.
Window to the soul and all that stuff.
Eye contact with the camera is always pleasing.Do you put an AF point on the eyes? How do you ensure this.

[chauncey]

We should be telling all of this to the photographer.

These, no disrespect intended, look like snapshots and not professional work.

[Perry Ge]

You asked for CC, I've gotta be a bit harsh here:

- Focus on the eyes
- Watch the backgrounds! Don't have stuff growing out of her head in the background.
- Framing is all over the place, get rid of the dead space on the right in 4
- Don't crop at joints
- Hotspots on the face in 2-4, not enough light on it in 1, need to work on exposure
- Photos are flat in tonality, need contrast added in PP.
- 1, 2 and 4 are poor. 3 is the best but is out of focus and the expression is off.

Besides these technical blunders, there is no soul! The most important tools in portraiture, when not working with professional models, are your mouth and your timing. You have to talk to the subject, get them to show their personality, and fire the shutter at the right time. The posing, expressions, and timing are way off on all of these - they all look awkward, unnatural, and uncomfortable.

Sorry to be almost fredmiranda-ish harsh, but it is the CC forum after all. It's back to the drawing board with this one.

As for focusing: choose the focus point that is over her eyes, and don't recompose. Or learn about depth of field and manually tweak focus.

[DAMphyne]

Do you put an AF point on the eyes? How do you ensure this.

Yes,
Although your problem may also be related to camera shake.
Be careful to keep the shutter speed fast, and practice your technique. You will be surprised how much this can help.
Composition is an important part of photography, I can't say how many good photos I've set aside because I didn't pay attention to the background.
Keep trying and get better as you're having fun.

[Chet]

Definitely work on focal point. Seems the focal point was the center of the composition, make sure you are focused on the eyes.

Also agreed on the backgrounds being busy. You have a 50mm f1.4 shoot at f2.5 get that background out of the shot. A tripod also works great for portrait photography. Watch shooting on windy days it's hard to correct fly away hair.

Keep practicing, your only a couple suggestions away from a great capture!

[Flo]

We should be telling all of this to the photographer.

These, no disrespect intended, look like snapshots and not professional work.

If we were all pros.there would be no need for this forum;)

[digitalstarrphotography]

EYES!!!! Always the EYES!

Beautiful subject though!

[Bill Boehme]

Blank stare, arms hanging loosely at sides, trees sticking out of head, and chopped off at knees. Also, contrast is not good and facial detail is washed out.
Face really washed out, chopped off at elbows, either close mouth or smile, but no slack jawed expressions. Most of the space is behind rather than in front of her face and a major tree is sticking out of her head.
Better, but face is overexposed. Mouth expression could be better. Head seems too twisted into an unnatural angle. I don’t like the background because it interferes with her hair color.
Face overexposed, but nice smile, chopped off at knees, hand position better, stance looks uncomfortable. Same comment about background except that it is worse here.