Looking for critique

Help me see the error of my ways please. Constructive Critique please.

seems a little underexposed and she looks really mad at me!

She is my practice target.....she hates my camera!

agree both underexposed and kinda uncomfortable looking pose in 2nd one,neither is a flattering facial expression

Underexposed and over attituded The cross lighting isnt particularly flattering on her. If you want a beauty light get the flash more on the camera axis. If you are wanting dramatic artsy lighthing but still a bit softer try to get some fill in there using a reflector or second flash.

they are called models, you can find tons that will shoot TFP and will actually smile for you and pose for you.

they are great to practice and try lighting styles on.

mike_311 wrote in post #16716749
they are called models, you can find tons that will shoot TFP and will actually smile for you and pose for you.

they are great to practice and try lighting styles on.

She is my daughter and she is available whenever I need her. I am practicing on my poses and cropping. Don't really care if she smiles.

mdaddyrabbit wrote in post #16717302
She is my daughter and she is available whenever I need her. I am practicing on my poses and cropping. Don't really care if she smiles.

i know, i a have a daughter too, that's why i use models!

no offense but its much easier to practice posing with people who know how to do it, its just some advice, sorry if i came off as smug.

if you dont know, its called TFP, trade for prints, they model for free and you give the images for free. its a great way to add to your portfolio and practice.

mike_311 wrote in post #16717556
i know, i a have a daughter too, that's why i use models!

no offense but its much easier to practice posing with people who know how to do it, its just some advice, sorry if i came off as smug.

if you dont know, its called TFP, trade for prints, they model for free and you give the images for free. its a great way to add to your portfolio and practice.

Hey, no offense taken your advice is greatly appreciated, hope I didn't come off sounding smug. The main reason I use her is by the time I get home cook dinner, feed the dog, help with homework, I normally only have a few minutes to grab a few practice photos. I have been shooting for a while and don't feel like I am progressing. Really discouraged with my skills. I am going to try a different approach. I thought maybe a better way to progress would be to go back to the fundamentals of photography with some basic training videos and put myself in a position to allow others to pick my work apart. At this point I feel like I am still at rock bottom so if this doesn't bring better skills and confidence I have only lost time.

I do have a couple that will be posing for engagement photos this weekend. So they are as close to models as anything I have used lately.

I just took a few more photos a few minutes ago. I am thinking I will post them for a critique.

Need your opinions on 2 more from this evening.

#3 big improvement. Better smile . Better without cropping off top of head. Perhaps reduce redness in face a little.

#4 eye lighting/processing looks a bit odd - perhaps a lower light angle.

Shirt creases not very flattering.

Suggestions for learning better composition?

The second set of photos are much better than the first. A couple of things to consider. Use the shoot as an opportunity to practice everything as once. She has what appears to be a scratch on her nose, that is a very simple fix. While I love her freckles, I would reduce the darker skin marks. Don't completely get rid of them, but tone them down ever so slightly.
Moving her just a bit more away from the background will get rid of the obvious shadows on the wall. And I would say turn the flash/strobe down just a touch. The harsh shadows on the last one would be less obvious making the eyes look odds. Looks also like you did a retina touch up on the 4th which is just a bit overdone. Tone it back a notch and you will be good.
She looks to have been having a much better time in the second set than the first. I would probably not have even posted the first set.

sirquack wrote in post #16719702
The second set of photos are much better than the first. A couple of things to consider. Use the shoot as an opportunity to practice everything as once. She has what appears to be a scratch on her nose, that is a very simple fix. While I love her freckles, I would reduce the darker skin marks. Don't completely get rid of them, but tone them down ever so slightly.
Moving her just a bit more away from the background will get rid of the obvious shadows on the wall. And I would say turn the flash/strobe down just a touch. The harsh shadows on the last one would be less obvious making the eyes look odds. Looks also like you did a retina touch up on the 4th which is just a bit overdone. Tone it back a notch and you will be good.
She looks to have been having a much better time in the second set than the first. I would probably not have even posted the first set.

Thanks my friend, I really appreciate your advice. What advice can you give me on where to crop from the top. Crop the top of the head or not crop the top of the head. What are the rules with this?

There is no hard and fast rule for cropping heads. You just want to make sure when you are cropping to avoid cropping right at joints or parts of hands or feet in my book. With head shots I always try to get all of the head in the shot. But again no hard and fast rule requires it.
If I was cropping a head shot I try to make sure to crop so no background is in a corner.