Senior Portraits

This was my first attempt at some Senior Portraits. So I'd like to hear your comments/critiques if you have any

I like them, good pics of an attractive girl..The 1st, 3rd, and 4th pics look good..
The second pic just seems a tad bit dark, but that could be my monitor..
Maybe its cause she isn't looking at the camera, but I am sure thats the look you were going for..
Only other thing I can think of is the blemesh's on her skin..I have taken pics of people, some like them in there because thats who the are, and some want them photoshoped out..I guess it all depends on the photographer, and the subject..

I think they look great Mike, and GM would be impressed with her belt selection! Does the term 'senior' refer to the relative age of the model, or to the type of poses employed by the photographer? (I'm sure you can tell by the question that I'm in no position to offer any significant critique)!

Thanks

The second is darker, I probbly should lighten it up a little. But for some reason I kind of liked that one. She was supposed to be looking at the camera, but she looked away for a second and I liked the result

By blemesh's do you mean freckles? I usually ask before hand what they want done about it, and she said she'd like to keep them on there. So I guess it's just a personal preferance, because when I have a photo of myself I PS out all mine haha.

Thanks

Lol, She asked me to do some senior portraits for her, but I think this would just refer to the age of the model since she is a senior. Usually when I see senior portraits they have some type of clothing ( ie: lettermens jackets ) to let you know their a senior, but she doesn't have one so I just told her to wear something nice.

To anyone else is there anything I could have done to make them look more "Senior-ish" ?

Only one pose had a limb in a strained or un-relaxed position - which?

Two of four poses had a vantage point looking slightly up into the face, rather than directly into the face - are they the better poses or not?

Two of the four poses provided a visible foundation for the subject - are those better or not, as a result?

Two of the four poses had a full smile.

Which picture of the four got the most points for the criteria mentioned here.

According to my scoring system, #1 is the winner, and #4 gets second place.
#'s 2 and 3 are not in the running.

#1 Seems to be the most relaxed, although the limbs in #3 look fairly relaxed to me, the torso does not.

#1 and #3 have the vantage point as you say, which I seem to like. And to me make the poses seem more interesting, with the exception to the stiffness in #3

:o I believe #1 and #2 have the visible foundation. But is this always needed? I understand your idea that buildings should always have the foundation included, and couldn't agree more with it. But for shots like #4 would it really help out that much if I was just going for an upper body portrait? I'm sorry if I understood that one wrong, but this subject kind of has me confused.

And I definatly prefer the full smile. So that would include #1 and #4

So #1 is most certainly the winner of the batch, but my results are kind of skewed after that

Thank you so much for time Mr. Lay I'm pretty new to portrait work so I hope I'm understanding this a little better.

ghaleon109 wrote:
#1 Seems to be the most relaxed, although the limbs in #3 look fairly relaxed to me, the torso does not.

#1 and #3 have the vantage point as you say, which I seem to like. And to me make the poses seem more interesting, with the exception to the stiffness in #3

:o I believe #1 and #2 have the visible foundation. But is this always needed? I understand your idea that buildings should always have the foundation included, and couldn't agree more with it. But for shots like #4 would it really help out that much if I was just going for an upper body portrait? I'm sorry if I understood that one wrong, but this subject kind of has me confused.

And I definatly prefer the full smile. So that would include #1 and #4

So #1 is most certainly the winner of the batch, but my results are kind of skewed after that

Thank you so much for time Mr. Lay I'm pretty new to portrait work so I hope I'm understanding this a little better.

I tried to word my comments in such a way as to indicate that there are few right or wrong issues here. There are mostly gray issues, which must be resolved in the mind of the viewer. There will seldom be unanimity on any piece of art. My comments are designed to promote new ways of seeing and to make people think a little more about certain aspects of the art.

Show the model how good these are and I bet she will be more relaxed before the lens in a second shoot!

That's exactly what they did, I think I have a little better understanding of what to do now. It's probbly one of the best critiques I've gotten, really made me think

But I'm just not sure about the foundation one. I know in some photos it helps and in others it doesn't seem to help so much, but I guess that's up to the photographer to decide which will be best for the shot. And since you gave me some other aspects to look out for while shooting, I think it should be a little easier for me to decide.

Thanks again

Lol, I tried pretty much everything I could think of.

Got some breakfast before hand to go over everthing I had planned. I walked around the park taking photos of some wildlife (I found an Egret) and even let her hold the camera and take a few shots just to get used to it being around.

When it came time to shoot I kept talking to her, and letting her know what's going on. After every pose I'd show her the photos on the LCD, just to let her know she can delete the ones she didn't like, and if she wanted we could try it over again. But she is really camera shy I guess.

Haha, I always make sure to show the models thier photos and get their consent before I post their photos on the internet. So she already saw them. But she kept on saying she dind't know how to smile right lol

I agree with Mr. Lay's assessments. #1 and 4 are the best of the group, but none of them are bad in any way, for sure. #4 is a good "safety" shot - leaning against a tree with a smile in a relaxed pose is always a winner.

I know what you mean about camera-shy subjects. My last senior shoot was the same way. We ended up doing a second shoot to make up for some of the shy poses from the first one. One thing I found worked well was to use a long lens (I used my 50mm f/1.8 for the first shoot, and my 70-200mm f/4L for the second). Standing way back was much less intimidating than the big lens was, which was part of my fear for the second shoot.

Plus, you get some really nice bokeh as a result from zooming back in.

Thanks, I had exactly that in mind when I shot #4

I would have liked to use my Tamron because it's pretty light, but I think when you deal with models the 70-200mm is ideal most of the time. Your not so close as to invade on their personal space, and your not too far as to make them feel secluded.

Although I'm set on getting a battery grip now, it was such a hassle holding the camera and 70-200 f2.8 in portrait orientation for such long periods of time

I like these. the second shot isn't my favorite but it isn't 'wrong'. she does look a little stiff but in all fairness seventeen year old girls are rarely models and most of them aren't thrilled with being the subject of a camera. Senior photos are one of those must's that kids just do, regardless of whether they really want to. As to making it more 'seniorish' If she chose the wardrobe then I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think senior photos are so much about costume in the composition as they are about documenting the rite of passage that the kids go through. Good job! Sari.

Thanks

That is true, but it can go either way. Some want them ever since they've been a freshman, and some couldn't care less about them. I remember I couldn't have cared less about mine