College Graduation Photos (C&C Please)

So I shot some photos of a girl who asked me to take pictures for her college graduation announcements. They were simply to be printed as wallet size photos for her to throw in her grad announcements. Please let me know if you like these shots.

These 3 were the ones she liked the best out of ~100 photos.

Before you critique, please understand that there was an outrageous amount of wind the day that we shot. The sun was also blaring out, which made it hard to work with shadows (where we wanted to shoot)

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Oh boy where do I start...


1. Get rid of the laptop.
2. You're the photographer; you choose when to shoot. If you're not going to able to handle the harsh light shoot at another time.
3. The 2nd photo's background is too busy.
4. The 3rd photo has plants growing out of her hair.
5. The 1st photo's background (the grain of the wood right above her hair) looks almost identical to her hair and I thought it was her hair blowing in the wind.
6. Harsh shadows in all of them..
7. You should have had her bring multiple outfits. In my opinion her jacket with the logo on it and those white and pink tennis shoes need to go.

There's other stuff.. but start here. Number 1 is the best out of the set in my opinion.

Naphtali14 wrote in post #12424166
Oh boy where do I start...


1. Get rid of the laptop. She insisted on having it. They are her grad card photos, and she is an IT major.
2. You're the photographer; you choose when to shoot. If you're not going to able to handle the harsh light shoot at another time. This was the only time to shoot. What would you have suggested I done differently?
3. The 2nd photo's background is too busy.
4. The 3rd photo has plants growing out of her hair. Do I need to photoshop them out or something? There was nothing I could do there...the plants are growing behind her.
5. The 1st photo's background (the grain of the wood right above her hair) looks almost identical to her hair and I thought it was her hair blowing in the wind.
6. Harsh shadows in all of them..
7. You should have had her bring multiple outfits. In my opinion her jacket with the logo on it and those white and pink tennis shoes need to go. Jacket with logo is our college logo (where she danced). Plus this was a simple grad card announcement photo shoot...no need for multiple outfits.

There's other stuff.. but start here. Number 1 is the best out of the set in my opinion.

I appreciate the critique, but I guess once again, i should have explained more.

I don't think you really want a C&C. It seems like you just want to us pat you on the back and say "way to go!" But we can't, really.

I agree with Naphtali- if the light sucks where you are planning, go somewhere else or bring your own light. You're the photographer.

The pics are okay. Not that great, not terrible.

I guess it all depends upon whether you were simply there to create snap shots to document her graduation or use superior photo skills to create something special. If the former, then mission accomplished. If the latter then re-read the above comments.....

A much narrower DOF would have helped some.

Can't shake the snapshotty feeling looking at these.

Would I also be right in saying that the client decided when and where you should shoot DURING the session? Did she take charge?

I went out for a photo session myself a few weeks ago for the first time (outside of my normal shooting environment) and one of the girls started to try and take charge. I didn't argue because I didn't want to create an air of tension by saying something. However, at that point, I was just taking snapshots - not taking any care in the framing because it wasn't my vision of how the shoot should be. Lesson learned: don't lose control during the shoot. When some people are getting their picture taken, they feel like they are not in control. You can't let them take it from you, either, or you'll end up with lots of chaff. Knowing what to say between pictures is 50% of the shoot.

Of course I could be wrong, and forget I said anything...

Gatorboy wrote in post #12424968
A much narrower DOF would have helped some.

IrishK wrote in post #12425145
Can't shake the snapshotty feeling looking at these.

These go hand-in-hand as far as I am concerned.

It sounds like you don't want C&C...so not sure what to tell you. Every picture is a reference to your work and if you feel like these pictures will bring more business than that's on you.

No, I really do want C&C. The first person who commented, I was responding to his points with what to do for some of the things he suggested. I agree the lighting was horrible because there wasn't a cloud in the sky. So I was asking what he would have suggested. Same for the plants behind her...would I need to PS them out? The only thing I disagreed on was the outfit changes. She only wanted one outfit and definitely wanted the laptop in the shots to show her "IT" major. Everything else, I want C&C for since this was the FIRST TIME I have ever shot portraits for someone.

Dirty Murd wrote in post #12426962
No, I really do want C&C. The first person who commented, I was responding to his points with what to do for some of the things he suggested. I agree the lighting was horrible because there wasn't a cloud in the sky. So I was asking what he would have suggested. Same for the plants behind her...would I need to PS them out? The only thing I disagreed on was the outfit changes. She only wanted one outfit and definitely wanted the laptop in the shots to show her "IT" major. Everything else, I want C&C for since this was the FIRST TIME I have ever shot portraits for someone.

No you dnot want the C&C because if you did you would not have been so aggressive in your reply to the first person who responded to you,

the lighting was bad, what do you think you should have done? you say that was the only time....I would have brought my own lights, or picked a spot with some shade

the plants...yeah photoshop them out, we all know plants grow out of the ground and sometimes you can't catch everything when you frame a photo PS can be your friend use it.

try a black and white conversion and bring out the shadows on her face...

personally 1 is the best, but none are keepers

Narrower depth of field and find shade.

A laptop has nothing to do with showing off your IT major. My wife has a laptop and she barely knows where the ON button is. Almost EVERYONE has a laptop now-a-days. I'm an IT major and I DON'T own a laptop, although my job provides me one for 24/7 support
You could have easily asked her to do some shots with and without and been tricky like a ninja. You could have asked her nicely to hand it to you and then threw it like a discuss out in the field and said, "MY SHOOT...DO WHAT "I" SAY!!!"...just kidding!

EDIT: I just browsed your site. You photos are awesome AWESOME, your lighting in them is great....until you have a person in them...then the light on the person is off.

Youre shooting portraits, so i agree with everybody else. More depth bro. I think everybody else was a bit harsh though.

IMO, the most important thing when shooting portraits is the light! If that was the only time you could shoot, then opt for some shade, maybe try and shoot backlit for a more even lighting on her face. In all honesty though, i bet you could have shot a little before sunset. These pictures arent that great. A few simple things could have done to make the shoot a more successful one. Sorry bro.

will227457 wrote in post #12427393
No you dnot want the C&C because if you did you would not have been so aggressive in your reply to the first person who responded to you,

the lighting was bad, what do you think you should have done? you say that was the only time....I would have brought my own lights, or picked a spot with some shade

the plants...yeah photoshop them out, we all know plants grow out of the ground and sometimes you can't catch everything when you frame a photo PS can be your friend use it.

try a black and white conversion and bring out the shadows on her face...

personally 1 is the best, but none are keepers

thran wrote in post #12427635
Youre shooting portraits, so i agree with everybody else. More depth bro. I think everybody else was a bit harsh though.

IMO, the most important thing when shooting portraits is the light! If that was the only time you could shoot, then opt for some shade, maybe try and shoot backlit for a more even lighting on her face. In all honesty though, i bet you could have shot a little before sunset. These pictures arent that great. A few simple things could have done to make the shoot a more successful one. Sorry bro.

I wasn't trying to be agressive towards him. I was simply replying to some of the things he mentioned...asking for additional help.

And Thran, thank you for the advice. More depth meaning more of a blurred background? This was not a good shoot for me, i agree. I posted them knowing I was going to get yacked on, but it's good in the end. I need the harsh reality since I have never done portraits before.

Kechar wrote in post #12427473
Narrower depth of field and find shade.

A laptop has nothing to do with showing off your IT major. My wife has a laptop and she barely knows where the ON button is. Almost EVERYONE has a laptop now-a-days. I'm an IT major and I DON'T own a laptop, although my job provides me one for 24/7 support
You could have easily asked her to do some shots with and without and been tricky like a ninja. You could have asked her nicely to hand it to you and then threw it like a discuss out in the field and said, "MY SHOOT...DO WHAT "I" SAY!!!"...just kidding!

EDIT: I just browsed your site. You photos are awesome AWESOME, your lighting in them is great....until you have a person in them...then the light on the person is off.

Thank you! I have always shot nature, and am comfortable with lighting in them. I just am unfamiliar with lighting my subject. So were you saying the ones on my site with people in them are bad too? Would you suggest I do stuff differently for them? Advice?