Ashley -Senior session

A recent Senior session... I took my faves and did BW conversions. client got color versions as well... please give any C+C
1.

not crazy with the crops on 1 and 4. i like 5 the best

Pixil Studio wrote in post #14293600
not crazy with the crops on 1 and 4. i like 5 the best

Agreed... I'm not digging the pose on #3 either. Reminds me too much of the little tea pot song. I really like #5! I think her expression is the most genuine in that one. She's got a beautiful smile, but it feels forced to me in all but #5.

i was asked to shoot some senior pics for a couple i know's daughter...

shot 5 with the love seat 'out in the middle of no-place' is sort of what i had in mind for a couple of shots on the beach, but i wanted like a wing-back chair, about 3-4 feet into the water...

problem is:

A) ive never shot senior portraits,
B) i dont have a chair i could put in the water,
C) if i DID have a chair, iv no way of getting it to the beach,
D) im sure theres something ElSE that could interfere with me shooting like that!

love #5

#1 - #3 just don't work well for me. Composition and clothing are off.

#4 works better but may be a bit bright.

#5 is really quite nice.

#6 doesn't show up - little blue square with a ?

#7 looks real good too. Are you processing the skin at all? Looks a bit smooth.

And one last question - did I stumble into the B&W forum?

#3 - The angles and negative space of the arms are too similar. Don't crop at joints or have your subject leaning on the edge of the picture.

#4 is my favorite. I don't think the smile looks forced; she looks lovely here.

Nice tones and sharpness/softness throughout.

Let me start by saying, better than anything I can do.

Okay, my favorite is #4. #3, the plastic strap used to hang up the dress is sticking out under her arm. Made me go back and notice it on #2 also.

1 - Hair detail gets completely lost on my monitor. Splotchy black squares in there, though I may need to recalibrate this one. Anyone else? Places in 2 and 4 as well.. 2 above head.. 4 in the wood on the left side. I would play around with warp in PP to see if I could get the vertical lines both straight.

2 - Oddly for some reason I think it's her most natural pose. Toss up between that and 5. It's all about what to do with the hands and she looks uncertain in all but this one imo. Skin tone on the face is great, back and arms look a bit bright. Again, may be this one monitor. Watch lines in background. It's 2 degrees or so out of level. It doesn't have to be level, but only 2 degrees messes with your brain. Straightening it and she's leaning a bit too much. Straightening her up puts them at roughly a 40 diagonal and looks much much better even if it is a close crop.

3 - Just looks a bit off. May just be the arms. And the dead center positioning.

4 - I like. The blacks to the left again, maybe just me.. :P

5 - Chair is so close to center that it needs to be set dead center. Right side is juuuust a bit bigger. This one I love. Tied with 2 for my favorite. Think this one might just be better represented in color. This works well with an unsure model. The awkwardness and rigid pose fits the scene perfectly. After all, a love seat in the middle of a field doesn't exactly "fit in" so a slightly unsure model adds to this shot!

6 - blank for me too

7 - I think this is your best shot of them all. Not saying it's my fave, but it's a solid shot as is. Except for the white spec in the corner of the mouth

Just always be aware of your lines, comp, and model. Most everything else can be fixed in post. That said, I really think you have some solid shots here!

Great Black and White's over all. Would be nice if you had mixed some colors for comparison.
Seems like her smile is lacking something.
No. 5 is the best one here. Beautiful edit and has right amount of contrast.

Would like to see the color versions...

Nice work. My favorite is #4. You captured her soul shining in this one!

I want to thank all of you for your comments.. there are several things that I am going to take away from them. I will also post several of the color versions for your comparison. Thanks again!

thank you for your comments... it was a really difficult day... very overcast, I mean I love shooting on overcast days, but a storm was a brewing and the wind was kickin! The light is flat and I hate that... I still like the colour versions, and delivered them to the client, but I really like the BW conversions.

2.

I think you did a fabulous job on all, but this last color one simply rocks the rest! Good for you!
Love how the Bg and her print match as well.#1

Flo wrote in post #14314636
I think you did a fabulous job on all, but this last color one simply rocks the rest! Good for you!
Love how the Bg and her print match as well.#1

Thank you... that is my favorite too, and by the order I believe that it is also the client's favorite.