First try at portraits

[bjyoder]

I've been wanting to expand my photography some, and have been doing some portraits recently (I'm normally shooting concerts/events). I posted these in the People section, but got little feedback. Hopefully here will be better.

The second half (#'s 3-6) was my first go-around with my 580 on camera and 430 off.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


Thanks for looking and commenting.

[iamskew]

I'm just a noob, but the series with the second model looks significantly better to me than the first.

[charl1e]

nice pictures. the first shot is a bit dark on her face, i would pp it a bit. the lighting on number four is the best in my opinion, but a better/more interesting background could make it more unique.

[Teuobk]

Number 6 is my favorite photo, albeit not my favorite portrait. It's a little crooked and a bit unbalanced, but the composition is the most interesting of the group.

Numbers 1 and 3 need more exposure for the subject.

Number 4 is a nice portrait, my favorite of the group. The light could be a bit softer (note the hard shadows), but I like the pose and the separation from the low-saturation background.

[fotofun]

1. I think it's good. I like the backlighting, the lines of the background and the whole color scheme. But I think the photo needs to be cropped, because her body seems to be bigger than her face. And also I would use a fill light or a reflector panel to lighten it.
2. At this pic the model has lower contrast then the background, so I see the background first, it's bad for portrait, if you just haven't planned this
3,4. Very nice!
5. there are a lot of elements that distract from her face, I think.
6. To my mind it would be better to burn the corners. it will stress the central subject.

Nice job!

[HappySnapper90]

Some comments.

#1: the washed out blown highlights in the background is distracting and the angle you used makes her chest look very large and appears bigger and more prominent than her face. She is also a bit under exposed.

#2: her skintones are rather washed out and too pale. She is also too far on the left edge of the frame - she looks cut off.

#3: same harsh lighting as #1 - control your lighting conditions better. She is also composed too loosely as there is too much room above and to the left of her.

#4: better camera position and composition. is this selective coloring? (don't care for selective coloring)

#5: composition is a little awkward with the metal framing at the top, not sure how differently to compose it without knowing the area.

#6: the plain white walls was an opportunity to get a very clean portrait without any background distractions. I wouldn't have taken the opportunity to get a super wide shot that is mainly of the ceiling. Go in close and shoot her in that nook she was standing in with a bounce flash against the walls and see what happens.

[bjyoder]

Originally Posted by HappySnapper90

Some comments.
#4: better camera position and composition. is this selective coloring? (don't care for selective coloring)

More like selective desaturation. During the post, I thought that a mostly desaturated background separated her a bit more.



Thanks for all the comments.

I have a lot of work to do with the first 3, that was my first go-around, and I was mainly trying to get a feel for this. A lot of helpful comments there.

I was surprised about the compositions I got with the second round. I was mainly trying out lighting and trying to find some good setups.