1st E-sesh...really, 1st anything.

[erock901]

Hi All. Been lurking here for a while now, just getting inspired by all the great work. My cousin asked me to take some pics since they were on a tight wedding budget. I told them they'd be better off going with a pro but my price (FREE) fit their budget perfectly. So I did what I could even though my only real subject has been my baby daughter. She's the reason I got my first DSLR 9mos ago. Anyway, please let me know how I did on these pics and what I can do to improve. I don't know whether or not I'll ever shoot an e-sesh again, but I'm hoping the feedback I get on these pics will help improve my photography in general.

1.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/4433438533_f311c58e07_o.jpg
2.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4432623586_a5020001a3_o.jpg
3.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2768/4431850787_da6b8919b1_o.jpg
4.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4432623412_205e77ded8_o.jpg
5.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4431850711_8942350fbd_o.jpg
6.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2797/4432623268_094f235518_o.jpg
7.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2799/4432623312_c126df8e2f_o.jpg
8.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4431850419_e311fe61b0_o.jpg

TIA,
Erock

[Reminisce]

If this is your first anything, you need to delve further into it because these are fantastic shots. Great usage of depth of field, and you have a very good grasp on framing. No more FREE shoots for you, start doing this more often and doing it for what you're worth! :)

[Sports_Dude]

Nice job!

[Absolutely Fabulous]

If this is your first anything, you need to delve further into it because these are fantastic shots. Great usage of depth of field, and you have a very good grasp on framing. No more FREE shoots for you, start doing this more often and doing it for what you're worth! :)

Don't tell him to charge just yet!

Nice job!

Great for a first go but here is some more in depth feedback which will help to improve the pics and hopefully help in the future


1, a tighter crop may be better, have you tried it? looks a bit soft too, you can tell better than I if you zoom

2. not too flattering IMHO

3. can you crop less? I actually love the comp on this but feel a bit wider would improve the composition.

4. again just a bit wider would help this shot and it seems to be leaning a bit

5. a bit too snap shot'ish

6 & 7 the reflection in the window is distracting, have you tried to fix this?

8, a bit over exposed, have you tried to fix this? again a tad wider would have helped this to be a great shot. Also her mascara looks a bit wonky on the one eye. Did you PP these areas? maybe lower the contrast locally?

[darosk]

I agree with AbFab on the "a little too tight" crops. Go a little wider, tight and intimate is good, but give them a little room to breath.

These are great for a 1st time, but don't settle.

[B.Miller]

I think #1 and 2 are soft b/c the focus point was missed.

Def keep reading up and practicing, and you'll improve it no time.

[Tobiah]

nice shots, Ditch the sepia for b&w

[ggalluppi]

I think they are great considering it was your first time and I agree with Tobiah about the Sepias.

However, I think it's kind of funny that Abfab recommends a tighter crop on the first though considering you got burned for having tight crops...

[sctbiggs]

i'm not seeing the out of focus issues that others are seeing with the first two. His face looks a little soft in the first one but in the second i see more of a blur problem, not a focus problem. i like seven. the reflections are not distracting to me at all. Three and four are a bit tight on the crops.

[FamilyJules]

Great job on a first go..... My first didn't look like these :)
Although, I agree with Tobiah.... ditch the sepia in 6 and 7....... your conversion has a green tint to it, and it's a bit unflattering to the couple.
2 and 8 rock this set for me

[erock901]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to look at and comment on the pics.

@ AbFab…thanks for the feedback. I never really paid attention to the crop of the pics. I’ll be more conscience of that in the future. I also questioned #2. Something about her neck doesn’t look right but I liked the way they were smiling at each other. I’ll mess around with the PP on 6, 7 and 8. Although, I’m not very good at PP yet so hopefully, I don’t just make them worse.

@Bryant…how the heck did you see that I missed the focus point? Is that in exif info (I know, noob question)? Anyway, I went back and looked at it on the computer and yup, totally missed the focus point. Don’t know what I was thinking on that. I’ll pay better attention next time.

@Tobiah…I’ll try that conversion tonight. The reason I went with Sepia is because I thought I read somewhere that Sepia hides noise better than B&W. And there was a lot of noise in those shots (iso 1600 on a T1i? ugh.). BTW, you’re one of the photogs that I draw inspiration from. Thanks for posting such great photos for rookies like me to learn from.

Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to improve.

Erock

[FullStop Photography]

And there was a lot of noise in those shots (iso 1600 on a T1i? ugh.).


You might want to try Imagenomic's Noiseware Community Edition (http://www.imagenomic.com/nwsa.aspx) (free; paid version also available). Does a pretty good job with cleaning up noise.

[SOK]

+1 for ditch the sepia.

#4 is my absolute fav - excellent capture. Someone commented on the crop and 'lean' but I think it's perfect.

[kris_lumague]

ive always been found of the shoe shot. nice set!