Just got a new lens...

[kellieprinzel]

Looking for some feedback. Don't be too harsh please. I'm not a professional. This is my first time having people model for me (they are my family but hey, it works) In the first I do think the eyes could stand out more and maybe I could make the face a little smoother and as for 4 and 5 I couldn't decide which one I liked better but it was my favorite shot. 4 being the edited one, 5 being the origional.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c22.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c18.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c16.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c36.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c37.jpg

And Merry Christmas everyone!

[raiyo]

i like number 4 on how it was composed

[kellieprinzel]

Thanks! That one was my favorite but I couldn't decide if I liked the edited or the origional better. 4 being the edited one.

[RRocket]

may its just photobucket but they look OOF?

[vk2gwk]

I think they are all a bit soft. Did you use manual or automatic focussing? And if AF then with one or more points? Either manual or AF with one point is best in this sort of situations.

Composition is nice and although family they make good models!

[Absolutely Fabulous]

2 & 4 are winners to me!

[robertn]

I love 4 and it's pp.
They all seem soft to me though, check your camera for back-/frontfocussing problems if you're using AF.

[Flo]

They are all OOF to me?

[kellieprinzel]

I think they are all a bit soft. Did you use manual or automatic focussing? And if AF then with one or more points? Either manual or AF with one point is best in this sort of situations.

Composition is nice and although family they make good models!

I actually used it on manual focus because I haven't been able to get it to work on auto focus (or at least not well). It also doesn't have image stabilizer but, I am trading it in for one that does. It's not a fancy lens at all but I'm glad to have something better than my kit lens.

I had it set up on a chair so that I could keep it from blurring whenever I moved. It's hard to hold it steady without image stabilization.

[kellieprinzel]

I love 4 and it's pp.
They all seem soft to me though, check your camera for back-/frontfocussing problems if you're using AF.

I don't know if it's my camera or my lens that is preventing me from using the AF. I think it said that I can only use AF up to a certain point but I can't get it to work at all.

[jetcode]

I like the series and as a beginner I think you did a great job. Now comes the time to fine tune and perfect the vision and that comes through observation and experience. If you can find a good teacher with a background in natural light portraiture I think your lighting of these images will improve. Make sure to be aware of how you frame a subject on a backdrop. In general it's not likely a good idea to have a hot bright backdrop for a olive skinned subject unless the subject is equally lit or lit in a way that balances subject to background. More work is required to get faces sharp starting with the eyes. This is fairly standard fare for portraiture.

[Rockney]

I like number 2, a little soft, but well composed.

[kellieprinzel]

I like the series and as a beginner I think you did a great job. Now comes the time to fine tune and perfect the vision and that comes through observation and experience. If you can find a good teacher with a background in natural light portraiture I think your lighting of these images will improve. Make sure to be aware of how you frame a subject on a backdrop. In general it's not likely a good idea to have a hot bright backdrop for a olive skinned subject unless the subject is equally lit or lit in a way that balances subject to background. More work is required to get faces sharp starting with the eyes. This is fairly standard fair for portraiture.

Thank you! I totally agree about finding a teacher. I hope to have saved up enough money by next fall to take some classes at a local art school called Glassell. I hear the photography program there is great and classes are fairly cheap. I've never shot portraits but I think it's my new favorite thing to do so hopefully I can get into the flow of things here pretty quickly and improve on my work.

[kellieprinzel]

Here's a few more:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c13.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c10.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/429.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c31.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b75/kpretzel3/c28.jpg

[photoguy6405]

#2 for me. The framing completes it. Many of them do seem a bit too soft, though.

[vk2gwk]

I don't think you mentioned what type the lens is you are using (nor the body). Can you give us some more information about the settings as well (aperture, shuttertime, ISO). If you are focussing manually then in some cases the softness can also be caused by minimal motion blur because the shutter time is just too low for the moving subject...
All of them nice photo's but not sharp enough. Got to find the cause for that.....

[williejr]

I don't think you mentioned what type the lens is you are using (nor the body). Can you give us some more information about the settings as well (aperture, shuttertime, ISO). If you are focussing manually then in some cases the softness can also be caused by minimal motion blur because the shutter time is just too low for the moving subject...
All of them nice photo's but not sharp enough. Got to find the cause for that.....

+1... But I like number 4 in your first post.

[pwm2]

They are quite good, despite being a bit blurry.

But watch out a bit from cropping the forehead :)

And as noted - give us more info about the hardware you have, to allow us to help a bit with your focusing problems.

It can be hard to get a good focus manually when using the view finder, which is a reason why several of the Canon bodies can be upgraded with an alternative focusing screen better suited for manual focusing. Or do you have a camera with live view, allowing you to magnify the image on the display?

[CWILL]

#4 of the orginal is great!!!

[kellieprinzel]

I don't think you mentioned what type the lens is you are using (nor the body). Can you give us some more information about the settings as well (aperture, shuttertime, ISO). If you are focussing manually then in some cases the softness can also be caused by minimal motion blur because the shutter time is just too low for the moving subject...
All of them nice photo's but not sharp enough. Got to find the cause for that.....

The lens is a Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 and I have an XSi body. I was shooting on AV and the ISO was at 100. I know this sounds dumb but I don't know how to tell the shuttertime or the aperture. I know how to set them but I don't remember what I had it on. I didn't have a tripod with me but I was shooting manually and I had my setting on a chair to prevent it from shaking.

I plan on getting the Canon 55-350mm f/4-5.6 because it has image stabilization. My boyfriend got me the lens I was using and he didn't know about IS

[kellieprinzel]

#4 of the orginal is great!!!

Thank you!!

[kellieprinzel]

They are quite good, despite being a bit blurry.

But watch out a bit from cropping the forehead :)

And as noted - give us more info about the hardware you have, to allow us to help a bit with your focusing problems.

It can be hard to get a good focus manually when using the view finder, which is a reason why several of the Canon bodies can be upgraded with an alternative focusing screen better suited for manual focusing. Or do you have a camera with live view, allowing you to magnify the image on the display?

Gotcha.

I do have a camera with live view and I was using it the whole time. I didn't know you could magnify the image in live view though! I'll have to try that out. Eventually when I have enough money I want to upgrade my XSi to a 50d or maybe even just a 40d. I'm really not sure yet. Who knows, maybe by that time they will have already come out with something else :p