Brutal Critique Encouraged!

Hi,
I am a beginning to take what was fun and interesting and putting the wheels in motion to turn it into a career. This is from my first official photoshoot. Please keep in mind that I am using a NIKON D3000 (in the market for a more professional/higher end camera, any suggestions will help there also). I also only used natural lighting and the stock 3x 18-55mm Zoom-NIKKOR VR lens.

On to the photos - These are three of my favorite shots from that day. Any info and critique you guys can give me will be amazing.
Thanks, ahead of time!

Krista
Kaught Photography

First thing I noticed was there being too many slanted angles. One is fine now and then but this seems to be a little over kill. Some seem a little on the underexposed side but the colors to me need help, seem really desaturated.

First off, do you know what forum you are in (canon) lol and I agree with the above post but if you shot in RAW it should be easy to fix the under exposed problem

Thanks so much for your input. Jojo, I have plenty of normally angled photos from that day, I'm not really sure why I picked 3 that were all slanted! I am such a newbie and this was my first shoot that didn't include my dog (honestly lol). Ibcyalater, I'm not prejudice when it comes to cameras! LOL! Honestly, I posted here because the forum seemed "bumping" and really wanted some input. Thanks so much for all of your opinions!

Agreed. Watch your exposures. "Good light and shoot to the right"

Peruse this:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorial​s/expose-right.shtml

Too many slants, I agree or maybe those were just the ones you liked? You've got a great model, so keep shooting. Watch the tight crops where you cropped her shoe off. Forget changing clothes so much, I'd just work on exposure and framing and posing.

And don't worry about the gear. You can do just fine with the gear you have. More equipment does not mean better photos. In fact, if you can learn your current gear, then when you do upgrade, you'll be far more appreciative of what it can do, because you'll have a clue!

OK, here are my comments... IMHO

#1... is flat. It would benefit from a reflector (maybe gold) or a fill flash. There are no shadows and no depth to the image. I like the pose and the location. I think the angled view could go either way, but the biggest thing is there is no light to make this image pop. The colors have a "feel" I can't put my finger on (maybe because I am not educated enough to know) but they could be more saturated... or you could have been going for that look.

#2... works for me. I like the color treatment, the pose and the lighting. I like the angle, although I think it might work if it were straightened as well. No real complaints though.

#3... The only thing interesting about this image is the angle, and it is not really appropriate. She is almost square to the camera, her head and look are in the same direction, her arms are straight down and nothing on her is bent. There just isn't anything "happening" in this image. The angle isn't needed either. I guess I just don't like this one.

Again, my comments are from a non-professional standpoint, so pay attention to others who happen along. I'm sure they will be able to give reason for some of my dis-likes and maybe even tell you why some of my comments are wrong... or not!

My $.02 worth is that like the other commenters, looks as though 1 &2 are underexposed. The slanted angle works with 1, not with 2 and 3. I'd try looking at saturation and luminance in LR3 or other pp software as well as contrast. I've attached a cropped image...see what you think. JMHO.

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I have to agree with what's been said, all three photos are a bit underexposed, I'm talking primarily about her face.

Just noticed the hair from the right side of her face down along the chin...correct this before the shot...it's a lot easier using attention to detail then trying to clean it up pp. JMHO.

Pretty model! You're off to a good start by coming here and asking for critiques. These will only help you.

The biggest advice I can give you that's along the lines of what the others have mentioned about your picture being under-exposed, is to use your camera's histogram as reference. I didn't learn that in the beginning, even though I "thought" my pictures were okay. My pictures are much better now.

Also, if you don't already, shoot in RAW. That will give you so much more editing power if you ever need to adjust anything in post processing.