Pics in the Park - Need Critical C/C

A few of the wifey from the park this weekend. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and then she let me take some shots. Natural light with reflector. We'd appreciate some critical C&C. I think these are decent, but what will make them better? Also, she's a bit picky about #3 but I think her form is fine. Thanks,

1. T1i. 67mm. f4.0 @ 1/125s. ISO 100 (auto). Aperture Mode.

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Some thoughts...
1. Colors and contrast look fine. I'd go for different framing. I would prefer that the top of her head wasn't cut off and that there was less negative space on the left of the picture.
2. A little too orange for my preference. Cool it down a bit.
3. I like the posing and composition. Great work. I'd like more contrast and less of the white spot on her leg.
4. Nice colors and setting. She and the dog are reeeealllly small and have a hard time holding my interest. Just too hard for me to stay engaged.

I think the subject could use a little more light on her. In the first pic the background is lighter and my eye is drawn to it. The second bothersome nitpik is that the top of head has been cut off.
The second pic is much better regarding light on the subject, but I would have liked it better if she had put her right arm down to her side.
The third pic same as first, could use a little more light on subject or more of a blurred background. Something to create more separation.( or it could be the processing ).
The last pic is nice. Too far away to know if it's your wife.

Many thanks RJ and CPAM. I'll need to work with that reflector a bit more. And maybe I can use the last pic to make my case for a 70-200.... It's almost Christmas time. -Thanks,

#1 has potential. Shame she has her body turned out of the frame with so much empty space behind. Would have been better if she'd turned the other way. There's flare which distracts. Hair and shoulder rather too bright, takes the eye away from her face - which shows a nice smile/natural expression. Brighten her eyes a tad, not a bad pic.
#2 and #3 don't really work for me. She looks uncomfortable. Difficult when your subject isn't used to posing. There's a nice tree stump in the background, did you get her seated on that? Often seating your model helps them relax, gives you an opportunity to shoot from higher. The color isn't right, either. It also looks like she didn't go dressed for being photoed, if you know what I mean.
I like #4 as a lifestyle shot, but she is a bit small in the frame. If you'd taken more of her as she got nearer, you might have got a few natural full lengths.

I've been on a very nostalgic kick lately and really like the processing in #3 personally. One tip - if your wife doesn't like number 3, try shooting downward slightly towards her instead of essentially on level with her hands. Nice captures.

Hannya wrote in post #13341627
#1 has potential. Shame she has her body turned out of the frame with so much empty space behind. Would have been better if she'd turned the other way.

Very astute, and thanks. I though the part I missed was angling her body away from the light and then having her look back towards the light, but I missed the basic composition of having her turn into the frame.

Mistabernie wrote in post #13341639
One tip - if your wife doesn't like number 3, try shooting downward slightly towards her instead of essentially on level with her hands. Nice captures.

Much appreciated. Looks like with all those tree stumps around that I had a great, natural ladder a few feet away. Doh!

#1 and 3 suggest a lens hood, or shade the glass with your hand to avoid the sunspots

Very pretty lady!

# 1 could crop off left side to be tighter on her face!

Keep shooting, looking good!

Hannya wrote in post #13341627
#1 has potential. Shame she has her body turned out of the frame with so much empty space behind. Would have been better if she'd turned the other way. There's flare which distracts. Hair and shoulder rather too bright, takes the eye away from her face - which shows a nice smile/natural expression. Brighten her eyes a tad, not a bad pic.
#2 and #3 don't really work for me. She looks uncomfortable. Difficult when your subject isn't used to posing. There's a nice tree stump in the background, did you get her seated on that? Often seating your model helps them relax, gives you an opportunity to shoot from higher. The color isn't right, either. It also looks like she didn't go dressed for being photoed, if you know what I mean.
I like #4 as a lifestyle shot, but she is a bit small in the frame. If you'd taken more of her as she got nearer, you might have got a few natural full lengths.

I agree with all of this - Hannya has given a great critique for you.

#2 & #3 are not doing anything for your wife. She has a great smile ini #1

Not sure what's going on color/tone wise in #2  but something looks off - moreso in #3 than #2. #2 is an awkward pose.

Some good shots with great exposure.

great shots.

whoa, I just realized the color difference between the first and the others (I must have been pretty tired when I initially checked them out). The clothing really points it out -- while it's not a huge deal for the clothing, when I look at the skin tonal values between the two, I'm really partial towards the first.

Many thanks for all your comments. No need for anything more; I've got a lot to practice. I did reprocess (2) of the shots; hope you like 'em.

#1 had the white reflector.

#2 had the gold reflector and it's really bleeding into the skin tone. I've pulled back the red and orange but this is about the best I can see.


New_1. T1i. 67mm. f4.0 @ 1/125s. ISO 100 (auto). Aperture Mode. Lightroom 3.

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