My Second Engagement Session

This is my second engagement session I've ever done. My first was several years ago, I'm a little embarrassed to show them now! Feedback and Constructive Criticism appreciated!
1

I do not like the lighting in the first one and the angle.
#2..Not a fan of the crop or his hands coming out of her back. The color is off
#3..The lighting is flat..color is off and not a fan of the cropping
#4..is ok

Keep at it

Thanks Scorpio_e

the two where you suggested cropping differently, would you go closer or further?

#4 is my favorite of the series. He looks kind of grungy with those pants especially in #2 for an e-session. :/ I think you did a fine job.

Maybe this isn't what you're looking for but I'm always confused at some of the locations and directions people go with portraits. Do couples really climb trees together? Is this really a romantic activity? Perhaps they belong to GreenPeace or something like that? Is this a large part of their relationship? If so, then maybe it makes sense but the pose isn't flattering and up nose and up skirt aren't suggested poses for most couples...

2nd shot is ok. Try not to crop at 'joints', like knees or elbows or wrists.
3rd shot isn't very flattering to your female here. I've found through the years, that if you want to abide by one rule in portraiture, it is this: Make the female look GOOD and skinny and gorgeous and you'll never have a shortage of clients.
4th shot: see comment about shot #1. Also the background is really distracting, maybe use a larger aperture or pick a simpler background. Keep shooting, you'll get there!

robots4joey wrote in post #13937349
Thanks Scorpio_e

the two where you suggested cropping differently, would you go closer or further?

#2 is a tough one as it's best not to crop at the joints. With the angle you shot, it think this might be difficult. I would try to crop tighter and see how it goes.

#3..I would try to go in tighter and try not to put them dead center.

Good luck

Thanks Collier,

Very Helpful Feedback! They are not part of GreenPeace, climbing the tree was their idea, and I was hoping for the playful look, they can both be silly/goofy/immature people, but I don't think it came across that way. I agree on #3, not very flattering- I didn't even notice that before!

in cropping, are most engagement pics either close up or far away, and not the half-body shots? Maybe that's where I went wrong with some of these.

I'll work on angles, cropping better, and background selection! Can't wait to have another shot at this!

Here's an attempt to better crop #2: Does this help all that much? I could clone out the stain on his jeans, but they already are married, so it's too late for that!

and here's a crop of #3: this one may be a lost cause...

When did you take these?

Last year, in May

You waited quite a while to post them. What have you done to improve since then?

I've taken some family photos, and some pictures at weddings too, only a couple paid gigs from friends just giving me whatever they feel like... I don't think I'm that good yet. But I haven't done any couple shots where I'm the only shooter since these! I plan to post some pictures from a family I took soon. Honestly I have had a hard time finding people who want pictures from an amateur going pro

robots4joey wrote in post #13938336
I've taken some family photos, and some pictures at weddings too, only a couple paid gigs from friends just giving me whatever they feel like... I don't think I'm that good yet. But I haven't done any couple shots where I'm the only shooter since these! I plan to post some pictures from a family I took soon. Honestly I have had a hard time finding people who want pictures from an amateur going pro

What you need to do is see if you can assist a pro photog, that would be the best way to increase learning IMO. It will be hard finding people, what you may need to do is just find some friends and take pictures of them - not for pay or anything, just to practice. Is there a photography club in your area you could join? There's lots of ways to get practice, but what you need is practice. Where are you located?

Thanks for the advice! I have thought about trying to assist a pro, I will look into that route.

I have high hopes for taking pictures of seniors this spring, I have a lot of extended family that are going to have me take their pictures for them, so I should get more experience with singles, but the engagement pictures come along more rarely! I was thinking about offering free engagement pictures on craigslist- is that crazy?

I'm in Wichita KS.