First Shoot. Thoughts? Critiques?

Sorry, but I have to ask, on #3 the Bokeh was edited in after the fact at least on the left, was it not? My eye just can't get past it.

Aside from that, very nice job and I do like them all, like I said just getting hung on the left side of #3.

I particularly like the first two shots. The first one looks "romantic" and soft (not focal-wise, more "feminine"), and very pleasing, while the second shot is rather friendly and warm.

I agree with Northwoods Bill, very nice job, just that left-side on the third picture doesn't seem kosher to me.

#1 is by far the best shot, and you should never be afraid to shoot into the sun.

#2 and #3 are also nice - the last one looks a bit awkward and staged (and I get the feeling you're right up close to her). Really, avoid the setup glamour style shots like this unless that's your thing. Try to keep it natural and candid. The first image has captured a look of introspection, the bokeh creates a beautiful border and the haze adds a bit of mystique to it as well. Great shot.

Maybe it's just me but my eyes are immediately drawn to the right in #2. The bricks are distractingly in focus for me. It's an easy fix if you decide to make it.

I would say the entire series is very high quality. Hard to believe this is your first shoot.

Northwoods Bill wrote in post #16369405
Sorry, but I have to ask, on #3 the Bokeh was edited in after the fact at least on the left, was it not? My eye just can't get past it.

Aside from that, very nice job and I do like them all, like I said just getting hung on the left side of #3.

The bokeh wasn't edited on #3 (or any of them for that matter). I noticed the left side of that photo during editing and it's the only thing that I really don't like about that photo and I'm probably going to end up trying to fix it. It was getting later in the day when I took that shot and I wasn't real mindful of my DOF on that one. I opened the aperture up so I could get enough light and with the 135L, that creates a razor sharp DOF and thus the result you see. I should have went up to f5 or 6 maybe and raised the ISO to avoid this. Something learned I suppose.

Thanks!

plumgoo wrote in post #16369452
I particularly like the first two shots. The first one looks "romantic" and soft (not focal-wise, more "feminine"), and very pleasing, while the second shot is rather friendly and warm.

I agree with Northwoods Bill, very nice job, just that left-side on the third picture doesn't seem kosher to me.

Thank you. Yeah, I agree with you and Northwoods Bill. I noticed that last night. I'm going to try to "fix" it in Photoshop. I really love that photo except for that left side of the bricks. I wasn't paying enough attention to my camera settings I guess.

Checked out your smugmug. Your work is fantastic!

vanmidd wrote in post #16369670
#1 is by far the best shot, and you should never be afraid to shoot into the sun.

#2 and #3 are also nice - the last one looks a bit awkward and staged (and I get the feeling you're right up close to her). Really, avoid the setup glamour style shots like this unless that's your thing. Try to keep it natural and candid. The first image has captured a look of introspection, the bokeh creates a beautiful border and the haze adds a bit of mystique to it as well. Great shot.

Thank you. Your comments about the fourth one makes sense. I never really thought about that. It was definitely staged and looks as such looking at it now. "Lay down with your legs under this bench so that I can get over top of you." That's natural, right?

BTW... I checked out your site. Your work is amazing!

Blaster6 wrote in post #16369716
Maybe it's just me but my eyes are immediately drawn to the right in #2. The bricks are distractingly in focus for me. It's an easy fix if you decide to make it.

I would say the entire series is very high quality. Hard to believe this is your first shoot.

Hmmm, yeah now that you mention it, I'm seeing the bricks on the right in number two also. I'll see what I can do with it.

Thank you. I've had a camera and a couple lenses for a few years now but have basically only taken photos of my daughter. So while I think I've got some level of knowledge, I've never actually done a "real" shoot. I'm glad it doesn't completely look like I have no idea what I'm doing.

deronsizemore wrote in post #16368740
Thank you! Means a lot.

Thank ou.

Thanks. What would recommend I change with number 4? Is shooting from above like that just not a good idea? Or do I need a wider lens to make it work?

I appreciate it.

That shot is hard to pull off. The wide angle exaggerates what is closer to the lens. This is making her look like she has a big forehead. Considering she has bangs, she may already be trying to make her forehead appear smaller.

You definitely have a good grasp of the basics. I looked at the rest of the set on your flickr page.

Generally, I would say you could give up some of the head room. Watch out for cutting off hands (i.e. #4) and elbows (the one leaning on the fence).

My favorite is this one...http://farm4.staticfli​ckr.com …50010043_ccd4ae​7792_b.jpg

She has a great smile that you captured here. I would brighten up her face a bit and add some pigment back to her skin though.

very nice work

facedodge wrote in post #16370549
That shot is hard to pull off. The wide angle exaggerates what is closer to the lens. This is making her look like she has a big forehead. Considering she has bangs, she may already be trying to make her forehead appear smaller.

Good point. I'll be more mindful of that in the future. What is a good focal length for a shot like that? Or should one just try to avoid them altogether since you need a fairly wide angle lens to get the shot anyway which will just add some distortion to the photo?

facedodge wrote in post #16370549
You definitely have a good grasp of the basics. I looked at the rest of the set on your flickr page.

Thanks!

facedodge wrote in post #16370549
Generally, I would say you could give up some of the head room. Watch out for cutting off hands (i.e. #4) and elbows (the one leaning on the fence).

Dammit! I do try to be conscious of that and ended up still doing it. I hadn't even noticed to be honest because I do try to avoid it. Thanks for pointing it out.

facedodge wrote in post #16370549
My favorite is this one...http://farm4.staticfli​ckr.com …50010043_ccd4ae​7792_b.jpg

She has a great smile that you captured here. I would brighten up her face a bit and add some pigment back to her skin though.

That one I actually had her holding a reflector on the gold side to attempt to add some light to her face. I'm not sure if the sun was too low at that point to get enough light or what, but it didn't really work out as I had hoped. Tried to fix it in post, but yeah, her face needs to be a bit brighter.

jskaggs72 wrote in post #16370612
very nice work

Thank you!

Definitely love #2! I love them all but #2 especially!
Maybe dial the purpley blue in your darks back a bit, but I love them. Not just for a first shoot, these are genuinely great!

For the last one, I recommend getting on a ladder so you can use a longer focal length. I'm with the others who dislike the whole washed out into-the-sun look. It's trendy like selective color and leg warmers used to be. The series is very good though.

fphotos wrote in post #16376307
Definitely love #2! I love them all but #2 especially!
Maybe dial the purpley blue in your darks back a bit, but I love them. Not just for a first shoot, these are genuinely great!

Thank you. Yeah, I probably got a little carried away the tone of the images. I need to be more conscious of my processing.

cdifoto wrote in post #16376340
For the last one, I recommend getting on a ladder so you can use a longer focal length. I'm with the others who dislike the whole washed out into-the-sun look. It's trendy like selective color and leg warmers used to be. The series is very good though.

Thanks for the thoughts. I'll grab a ladder next time and see how it turns out. Wait... leg warmers are out of style?

Thanks

deronsizemore wrote in post #16376790
Thanks for the thoughts. I'll grab a ladder next time and see how it turns out. Wait... leg warmers are out of style?

Thanks

Well, I wore some the other day and got laughed at. *shrug*

I'm a noob so take it FWIW. The last pic is odd a bit in the way her arms drop off and she shrinks away. The angle I guess does that. But wow the hair with the blue eyes. Totally stopped my scrolling. lol Her eyes don't look as blue in the other pics, was that your LR work?

ds650 wrote in post #16379479
I'm a noob so take it FWIW. The last pic is odd a bit in the way her arms drop off and she shrinks away. The angle I guess does that. But wow the hair with the blue eyes. Totally stopped my scrolling. lol Her eyes don't look as blue in the other pics, was that your LR work?

Thanks. Yeah, others have pointed out that it's not a good angle to take photos from. So... lesson learned.

I wasn't sure about her eyes in that last pic; I had to go back in LR and look. Nothing was enhanced on her eyes in that photo in LR. I guess the light was just right for her eyes in that one.

Just want to say these are great shots. Well done!