Army Portrait

After neglecting my camera for a few months, I've realized I'm quite rusty. In the past I focused mainly on wildlife; however I would like to expand into portraits (more specifically senior portraits). I appreciate any and all feedback, critiques, comments. Thanks for your time.

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I like #1 the best. Better light, no shadows on his face.

I don't like the skin tone in #3. Looks washed out.

They are good, but could be even better with a bit of fill light in the eyes either from a flash or reflector. In the first shot you could probably bump the exposure a tiny bit in post. In the last two the shadow from his hat is raking across his face in a distracting manner.

Thanks for the feedback. I will keep these suggestions in mind in the future.

Having the subject of a portrait square to the camera gives the image a snapshot/mugshot quality.

Turn the shoulders a bit and have them turn their head toward the camera. And smile.

As to lighting - gonzogolf has that very well covered. Hats with brims are beasts in portraits and definitely call for some added light for the eyes. You want to clearly see the focused eyes.

I don't know about the rest of yall,but I like #2 best. Reason,a soldier is suppose to wear headgear when outdoors. Without there being a shadow on the face from the brim of his hat,the photo would lose dimension. I can see his eyes. Could they be a bit brighter,yeah...but not much. If the shadow was across his eyes,then yeah,it would be a bit distracting,but as is...it doesn't bother me at all.

just with the lighting - notice how it is either sunshiney (#1) or overcast (#2)? I like the overcast version better, if you know the pose/portrait you want, always better to wait for a bit of cloud cover (nature's great diffuser).

something to think about...

I would move him closer to the tank, squatted down and fill the entire background with tank. No grass , no pavement , no building just blurred tracks and tank. + with a smile.

And shake his hand for us.

Thank you all, for your helpful feedback.

Although I prefer the hat on, I like #1 best. There's a triangle of shadow to the right of his face on #2 and #3 that - I think - is from the roof, but it looks like a cheesy photoshop shadow that's coming from the hat.