1st real try at "people"

I shoot more landscape and night stuff and havn't really done too much with people so I had my girlfriend (Lisa) pose for me. Please let me know how it came out, and what could and/or should have been done to make it better.

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A beautiful girl but I find my eye being distracted by the busy background.

I also think that a head and shoulder shot would make the shot more interesting. "Less is More" concept.

Have fun...

Thanks!

Maybe more like this one (same picture, different pp)?

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Yes, I like that much more.

Background intrudes a lot less although it could be a little blurrier for my taste.

Some of the reading I've been doing recently suggests that, for head and shoulder shots, the eyes of the model/people should be placed along the upper thirds line. Looks like you've just about done that here and it does seem to enhance the shot.

However, it not opinion that counts, but yours. Do you like it? Which do ou prefer?

First let me say your girlfriend is a natural pretty lady. You should have no problem taking great shots. With my crop I used a 4x6 format. I thought the background was a little too distracting. Im also no pro at pp but try my best as I learn. Here's my take.

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Thank you for your compliments as well as your rendition. I'll try to get a little less distracting background next time or just stop down a bit to get more of a bokeh.

Nick

And what a great person to open the account with. I'm not sure I would stop down more though. You risk losing a good focus over the whole face, but if she moved forward, away from the shrub the background would become less distracting.

Your portrait is truly wonderful. I like everything: the expression of the model, exposure, skin tones, lignting, PP. The only point is the crop, and the messy BG. Nothing you cannot solve in PP.

This is my try at it:

OL9245 wrote in post #6304553
Your portrait is truly wonderful. I like everything: the expression of the model, exposure, skin tones, lignting, PP. The only point is the crop, and the messy BG. Nothing you cannot solve in PP.

This is my try at it:
http://masla.smugmug.c​om/photos/372234048_nM​EYr-X3.jpg

Thank you very much! I appreciate your comments as well as sharing your edit!

Nick

I like it but I think the pose could be better. Try this link for a start.
http://www.photos-of-the-year.com/pose/

She looks relaxed in front of the camera and you've got a great start.

Pretty girl. I like the cropped edit.

I also enjoyed your galleries. I couldn't recognize a single picture from Schenectady - been more than a few years since I was at Union.

amd is the best wrote in post #6303449
Thank you for your compliments as well as your rendition. I'll try to get a little less distracting background next time or just stop down a bit to get more of a bokeh.

Nick

Thats the landscape photog in you......
Just kidding!!

The camera is not kind to most anyone when shooting them straight on. In this case you have a pretty subject and can get away with it. May try twisting her hips away from camera this will always give the appearance of thinner. She will thank you....

Always think like, twisting a wet rag to expel the water, the more twist you have the thinner they will appear. Have her give you more angle with her shoulders as well. This will give more personality to the shot.

Just my .02....

She's a tad cool and needs a crop, but nice shot. I think she can stand to be photographed head on because there's no mistaking the fact that she's not overweight. I might have warmed her up a bit much but a lot of the color was drained out.

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My eye really likes the crop just above the waist. If you turned her shoulders slightly to the right, it would add to the shot as well (Avoid the straight-on look).
Beautiful woman.