Not Satisfied!

I definitely need more practice in portrait type photography (and maybe editing too). The 1st picture is unedited except for sizing. The 2nd is the best I could do using LR5. HELP!!

Portrait photography is about control. The shot you posted is a snapshot. By that I mean almost no care was taken to make a good shot. Start by coming a lot closer to filling the frame with your subject when you frame the shot. The next thing to consider is the background. Its cluttered and full of distractions. In a good portrait you want to isolate the subject except for those things which help tell the story.

Just wondering why you shot this horizontal when the subject is clearly vertical.

As the 1st responder put it: it was a snapshot not a "portrait" session. She was on her way out to a special event and it was a last minute thought to try and capture her in her outfit. Was kind of rushed but just thought that with a 60D using a 24-105mm lens as well as an 85mm lens I would get better results.

Bogino wrote in post #16638647
As the 1st responder put it: it was a snapshot not a "portrait" session. She was on her way out to a special event and it was a last minute thought to try and capture her in her outfit. Was kind of rushed but just thought that with a 60D using a 24-105mm lens as well as an 85mm lens I would get better results.

If you don't make an effort to control the light all that good gear isn't any better than a point and shoot.

I assume this was on camera flash? That's the first problem with the photo... everything's lit from the front and therefore the quality/appearance of the light isn't as nice as it would be if, for example, soft warm light were coming from one side.

Secondly, the photo looks cluttered. The eye is drawn to the stuff on each side of the frame - the girl looks like she's just one aspect of the photo, rather than the main subject itself. If your intention was to catch a photo of how she looked in her outfit then I would have zoomed in a little and turned the camera to portrait orientation, so there's less 'stuff' for the eye to be drawn to.

Most of all, and this is probably the hardest bit to get right, try to find some better light to shoot in. Indoor photos at night are challenging for any camera and lens - good light (either light you find or light you create) is very important if you want pleasing results.

Got to agree with Jo.

Lighting is everything, or at least until you realize that there are at least 10 more things that are everything.

I realize that this is not a "portrait session" but it's not even a good snapshot. There are probably hundreds of primers for portrait photography which you can look at to make sure that you get a better picture next time. All of them will teach you that you broke almost every rule, each of which would have made her look a lot better and would have made you a lot happier.

I'll start with few important tips:

1) Everything that isn't her in this frame shouldn't be there. If you turned your camera and had her stand further from the wall, using a shallow depth of field, everything else wouldn't be there. Photography is a subtractive art form. You need to get rid of everything that isn't important to the picture.

2) Go get some electrical tape and tape down the on-board flash, or disable it, or rip it off. I'm sure there are uses for it (Actually I'm not sure at all. Someone here will correct me) but I have never been left wanting. The really expensive cameras don't even have them. You could have bumped up the ISO, shot at f4, and made sure that everyone stayed very still. The shot would have been 100 times improved.

3) The other 100 things, but those first two would be most helpful.

Bogino wrote in post #16638647
As the 1st responder put it: it was a snapshot not a "portrait" session. She was on her way out to a special event and it was a last minute thought to try and capture her in her outfit. Was kind of rushed but just thought that with a 60D using a 24-105mm lens as well as an 85mm lens I would get better results.

...sort of like saying you have a really good/expensive oven so it should make fantastic lasagna...

^^^This. I've taken plenty of crappy photos with my 6D and 70-200. You can't rely on gear.

One other thing that I am sure will get better with time and practice, make sure you don't have something bisecting her head as you look at her and push the shutter button. That curtain rod growing out of her ears is not something that is going to make her enjoy the image at all.
Next time, have her sit on a nice chair and get down to right around or slightly above eye level and take the shot. No one likes a shot up their nose or seeing the extra chin that is there even if they don't have extra weight.
Practice, Practice, Practice. She is a lovely young lady, I am sure she would be more than happy to let you take her photo again in that dress even if it is not on the evening of the big dance. She and that lovely dress deserve a photo worthy of the subject.

Good Advice given, I am sure it will help you grow and we will look forward to seeing more of your work.
Here is my snippet of advice: If its a snapshot...leave it as a snapshot, don't overcook it by over editing. Have fun.

Here we go again....

I'm going to take another crack at this.

Tonight is Prom night and she will be dressed up again. Hopefully I'll do better this time. Here's what I have available to me:

• Canon 60D (with tripod too if needed)
  
• 85mm 1:18 (Canon)
  
• 24-105mm (Canon--Not the "expensive" version)
  
• 24-70mm F/2.8 (Tamron).
  

Hi Bogino,

First I don't know why everyone is focused on the snapshot when I believe it is your edited shot that you really want feedback on? The edit looks ok. Now having said that it has been pretty well covered that you need to start with a well thought out original to get that WOW final shot.

As for tonight the most important thing to my mind is to zoom in on your subject and shoot in portrait aspect unless the location is very, very, very (you get the idea) important to the shot. Find a shady shot if you are shooting outside and use a reflector (not your on board flash!) to get a catchlight in her eyes. Most of all have fun and enjoy the journey you are on to better photos!

-Tony

I'm looking at the edited image & it's OK for a typical record shot... great smile & no blown areas.
If you had moved her toward the camera, it might have blurred the background & certainly would have darkened it a bit.

Too late now, but look at these:
VERY simple "outdoor studio"

Angeline outdoors