Not happy with my images

Hey gang. Someone tell me why I hate these? Im pretty good with self critique. I know where my weakness are (posing, storytelling and creativity) hehe Arent those pretty much the three most important things for a photographer?) Anyway, here are a few shots from a session with a friend that I did this past weekend. I do strive to make better images every time I shoot but sometimes I feel like Im going backwards. Thanks ya!

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/56709879@N07/7​133797059/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/56709879@N07/6​987713066/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/56709879@N07/7​137341637/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/56709879@N07/7​133797021/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/56709879@N07/7​137341629/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/56709879@N07/7​137341619/

Your colors are good, your compositions are good, your light quality is good, 1st one is definitely my favorite, but your poses could be a tad bit more creative. It looks like you played it safe, and judging by the overall quality of these photos, i can tell you could have bumped up the creative juices a little bit.

Hehe, thanks Jonathan. Like a lot of other people, posing is hard for me. I had a hard time finding a lot of maternity poses in general to look at. There are ,of course, a ton on sites like motherhood maternity and pea in a pod but theyre all pretty much fashion portraits of the worlds thinnest pregnant models. I did have a few poses that I wanted to do but forgot in the heat of the moment (great song hehe)

Thanks for the feedback!

JakAHearts wrote in post #14371756
Hehe, thanks Jonathan. Like a lot of other people, posing is hard for me. I had a hard time finding a lot of maternity poses in general to look at. There are ,of course, a ton on sites like motherhood maternity and pea in a pod but theyre all pretty much fashion portraits of the worlds thinnest pregnant models. I did have a few poses that I wanted to do but forgot in the heat of the moment (great song hehe)

Thanks for the feedback!

I do this all the time. So what I have learned to do is bring my laptop or tablet with me with a couple of poses saved on it. Then when I need a reference I can look at it.

The photos aren't bad, but with a little work on the models it would make them really good.

I'm not qualified to really critique...but I am never shy about brainstorming. Here are my thoughts.

First....she didn't help a lot with the wardrobe choices......especiall​y the maternity pants. The dress looks pretty nice for portraits. I realize most cant have a full wardrobe just for maternity, but...

Same smile throughout. When this is happening to me and I catch it in time, I try to break the "same ole smile" trend by adding some emotional type poses. Where she is just looking away...no smile...pondering. Or looking down at the baby (which you have to watch for double chin) but no smile. Trying to add some different emotions would have maybe been helpful to boost these. You said they are friends so you could have got them laughing and caught that just to add some different emotions.

I think some skin work would be great here. Not full out glamour skin work but some cleaning up. Also, some different lighting since she is pale skinned.

Just some thoughts although I think these are pretty good. Posing and creativity was maybe lacking a little, but we all have that problem. I looked at your 500px page and the skills are definitely there. I think the main problem here is we are all accustomed to seeing the 120 lb young moms that the only thing that has expanded is the tummy and boobs. But I learned recently with a high school senior that you don't have to make them look better than everyone else....just better than they normally look. I was disappointed in my performance on that senior shoot. Felt I didn't do my job. In the end, they family went crazy over them and said they were the best pictures she has ever had. She wasn't a thin model type and I think that is what was throwing me off when critiquing myself. I am sure this couple will love and cherish them....my main suggestion would be to throw in some different emotions...especially something touching.

Hope this helps to open the creativity a little.

i like 1 best. i think that same smile started driving me a little crazy.

Craig, thats a fantastic post. Thanks so much. Part of the wardrobe is my fault, as I suggested black, though I did say tight and form fitting.

The smiles or lack there of was really tough. This is my wifes co worker and her friends had to convince her to even have maternity images done at all.

Thanks again!

Jonathan Taylor wrote in post #14371693
Your colors are good, your compositions are good, your light quality is good

I agree, but "good" is probably what is driving him crazy. Nobody wants good photos; they want great ones.

I think the quality of light is the biggest weakness here. I assume from the backgrounds that you were out shooting in midday sun; you put the subjects in the shade and hit them with either a flash or reflector (I can't tell which). Whatever the case, the light on the subjects is pretty contrasty and not really flattering. In the fourth shot you can see how dark the shadows become on her left arm - the light source is providing almost no "wrap." The light needs to be big and soft. Actually, the last shot - 6578 - is probably the best in terms of light.

The light is also affecting color. It seems that there was some attempt made to either gel a flash or correct for color temperature in post; but the result is not quite ideal. 6568 in particular has a pretty noticeable color cast.

The compositions are again, good. But overall I think your backgrounds are pretty busy. You are getting some nice bokeh from your 70-200 but your subjects should be "popping" a little bit more. I think they should be further away from any vegetation, buildings, etc. In shots like 6535, the door should not be - literally - the center of my attention.

I think posing was OK. Take those poses, put the subjects in better light and in the strongest possible compositions, and I think you'd be very happy with them.

joe

charro callado wrote in post #14372296
I agree, but "good" is probably what is driving him crazy. Nobody wants good photos; they want great ones.

I think the quality of light is the biggest weakness here. I assume from the backgrounds that you were out shooting in midday sun; you put the subjects in the shade and hit them with either a flash or reflector (I can't tell which). Whatever the case, the light on the subjects is pretty contrasty and not really flattering. In the fourth shot you can see how dark the shadows become on her left arm - the light source is providing almost no "wrap." The light needs to be big and soft. Actually, the last shot - 6578 - is probably the best in terms of light.

The light is also affecting color. It seems that there was some attempt made to either gel a flash or correct for color temperature in post; but the result is not quite ideal. 6568 in particular has a pretty noticeable color cast.

The compositions are again, good. But overall I think your backgrounds are pretty busy. You are getting some nice bokeh from your 70-200 but your subjects should be "popping" a little bit more. I think they should be further away from any vegetation, buildings, etc. In shots like 6535, the door should not be - literally - the center of my attention.

I think posing was OK. Take those poses, put the subjects in better light and in the strongest possible compositions, and I think you'd be very happy with them.

joe

Joe, thank you for taking the time to respond. "Good" is exactly whats bugging me. I feel like Ive typed this a lot but midday sun sucks, even if you can tame it with a strobe. I wasnt able to bring the background to a reasonable level while keeping the amount of ambient in the shadows that I would have liked and keep the light quality that I woud like. (on the subject) The other thing is just the light quality in general. I guess I just need a larger source, though I feel like Ive seen images made with smaller modifiers with better light quality.

I cant seem to get that pop from the subject that I want. Thanks for the tip on moving them further from the backgrounds. Ill start paying attention to subject placement as well as backgrounds. (along with everything else, haha) I think I was too caught up in the strobe power vs. the sun and not enough in the "I need to make nice images".

Shane,

Thanks for the post, learning lots from it. I don't feel yet qualified to critique, but eager to learn.

3CMP wrote in post #14373176
Shane,

Thanks for the post, learning lots from it. I don't feel yet qualified to critique, but eager to learn.

Excellent! I learned pretty much everything I know (not enough just yet) off of this site or links from this site. Feel free to threadjack if you have questions and no need to hold back on critique. I value it all.

I havn't read through everyone post but I'll throw this tidbit out there.

IMO - if kinda looks like you were photographing from a low position. The low position and the the cropping / of the body could be what is off in the images.

IMO - females look their best when photographed from eye level of slightly above. Try a few images keeping the camera at the females eye level and work from there.

Thanks Palladium. Ill take a look.

#1 - Right side of the image seems a bit hot. The exposure difference in the background varies a lot - but mainly it's the shadow line near the bottom that bothers me. I don't think the person did you any favors wearing black - it's a lot harder to show the pregnancy thing with black I think. You're losing dimension because of the black shirt, and with that angle. Had it not been for the pose with her hands where they are I may not have been sure whether she was pregnant or not. Also blends into the pants pretty badly. I may have turned her a bit more to try to show a bit more profile on the stomach. It's probably a tough thing - she looks like she might normally have a little extra weight and then the baby weight could be making her more self-conscious.

#2 - I really dislike this one - they don't look like they even care for each other. I know you were trying to show her belly a bit more. I think you're balancing the light on your subjects pretty well, but the tree in the background and the sidewalk is too bright. I dig that door though it makes a nice background but it's a bit too involved in this shot. Much better in the first one.

#3 - Pretty good picture. Arms look a bit hot again. Again black not helping as much. Background light is much more controlled here and that really helps the image IMO.

#4 - Her expression is not good IMO. Also the color looks a bit off skin tone wise vs. the other shots. Not sure about the pose - maybe it's just that this couple isn't as good in front of the camera as others and there really isn't anything you can do about that except try to make them interact more and show some more emotion.

#5 - You're on to something here. You can see how the exposure disparity between her black dress and the bright background really gives you a good outline of her belly - that's great, but I wish there was just a bit more of the background brighter. Normally that could be distracting because it draws your focus - but in this case, the pregnancy is a focus and it would draw your attention there and that's good.

#6 - Pretty good standard maternity shot I think - skin is a bit hot perhaps.

Overall I think you did a good job and they should be happy with them. You mentioned that posing is something that you have trouble with - I find that a lot of times I don't pose a lot of things. I ask my clients to just interact, talk to each other, pretend like I'm not there - and then I try to capture the emotions. This doesn't work with everyone though. Another thing to try is a prop or two to use that they can mess around with - I know it can be corny but some little shoes or a teddy bear or something - it certainly doesn't have to be in every shot or even be used for that matter - sometimes it can just open up a client a bit more.

You said that people really had to convince her to have pictures taken - that can be a problem. If your client isn't really interested it will show - and in your case I think it shows here. Not really your fault and nothing you can do about it other than to try to engage them, talk with them, joke around - try to win them over. It can work sometimes. Won't work all the time. The best pictures are with both parties (clients and photographer) are comfortable and want to make some great pictures.

Lighting wise I think you're getting some falloff which is on your client which you don't want. Looks like a tough situation, so if these were wedding shots where you couldn't stop and pose and whatnot they would be awesome. For planned stuff, I think in this situation two lights would be ideal. The back sides of your subjects and in some the lower half of them is getting some inconsistency there.

Numenorean wrote in post #14374261
#1 - Right side of the image seems a bit hot. The exposure difference in the background varies a lot - but mainly it's the shadow line near the bottom that bothers me. I don't think the person did you any favors wearing black - it's a lot harder to show the pregnancy thing with black I think. You're losing dimension because of the black shirt, and with that angle. Had it not been for the pose with her hands where they are I may not have been sure whether she was pregnant or not. Also blends into the pants pretty badly. I may have turned her a bit more to try to show a bit more profile on the stomach. It's probably a tough thing - she looks like she might normally have a little extra weight and then the baby weight could be making her more self-conscious.

#2 - I really dislike this one - they don't look like they even care for each other. I know you were trying to show her belly a bit more. I think you're balancing the light on your subjects pretty well, but the tree in the background and the sidewalk is too bright. I dig that door though it makes a nice background but it's a bit too involved in this shot. Much better in the first one.

#3 - Pretty good picture. Arms look a bit hot again. Again black not helping as much. Background light is much more controlled here and that really helps the image IMO.

#4 - Her expression is not good IMO. Also the color looks a bit off skin tone wise vs. the other shots. Not sure about the pose - maybe it's just that this couple isn't as good in front of the camera as others and there really isn't anything you can do about that except try to make them interact more and show some more emotion.

#5 - You're on to something here. You can see how the exposure disparity between her black dress and the bright background really gives you a good outline of her belly - that's great, but I wish there was just a bit more of the background brighter. Normally that could be distracting because it draws your focus - but in this case, the pregnancy is a focus and it would draw your attention there and that's good.

#6 - Pretty good standard maternity shot I think - skin is a bit hot perhaps.

Overall I think you did a good job and they should be happy with them. You mentioned that posing is something that you have trouble with - I find that a lot of times I don't pose a lot of things. I ask my clients to just interact, talk to each other, pretend like I'm not there - and then I try to capture the emotions. This doesn't work with everyone though. Another thing to try is a prop or two to use that they can mess around with - I know it can be corny but some little shoes or a teddy bear or something - it certainly doesn't have to be in every shot or even be used for that matter - sometimes it can just open up a client a bit more.

You said that people really had to convince her to have pictures taken - that can be a problem. If your client isn't really interested it will show - and in your case I think it shows here. Not really your fault and nothing you can do about it other than to try to engage them, talk with them, joke around - try to win them over. It can work sometimes. Won't work all the time. The best pictures are with both parties (clients and photographer) are comfortable and want to make some great pictures.

Lighting wise I think you're getting some falloff which is on your client which you don't want. Looks like a tough situation, so if these were wedding shots where you couldn't stop and pose and whatnot they would be awesome. For planned stuff, I think in this situation two lights would be ideal. The back sides of your subjects and in some the lower half of them is getting some inconsistency there.

Appreciate it! Jerk....