First attempts at Portraiture

I have always been a wildlife and landscape Photog but have recently become interested in taking shots of people for the 1st time in my life. Was lucky enough to be invited to lunch the other day to a friend with a beautiful daughter and her equally beautiful cousin.

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Nice subjects. The colors are a little cool for my taste.

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I like the first one. I think turning a shoulder toward the camera, maybe a little head tilt, or something would make it more interesting than just a strait on shot. Maybe shooting the shot from a different angle. Technically nothing much to complain about, beautiful model and shot. I think you will find most on this forum and other places will suggest never shooting strait on with shoulders and head square with the camera (nothing new there). She looks nice, keep up the good work.

The bright highlight on her forehead really looks bad. The Patch Tool in Photoshop would make quick work of it. A 45 degree turn of her torso sure would have helped.

Benji

The first one is great. I don't have my monitor calibrated yet that I'm using so I can't comment about the color but the composition , lighting etc. look good to me.

the second one is great but I'll have to be honest i'm a sucker for real blond hair.

I would echo the post of tacoma200. The focus, exposure and lighting look great. Now if we could just tweak the pose a bit...

You have done well

For a first attempt, you've done great! As some of the above has already said, perhaps having your subject sit at a slight angle to the camera (up to a 45 degree angle works well) would make for a slightly more pleasing portrait. For the lighting you had at hand, I think you balanced everything pretty well - nothing that a little post production can't help, anyway. Nice first attempt! You should do more!

Thanks for all the CC. I really need help in this!!! Took a couple more shots at a local Saturday Morning Market yesterday. 1. Posed

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#2 looks a bit dark, to me. But I would say that you did better with these attempts. Good, natural-looking poses, nice color... great job! Now, for the nit-picky changes...

If the background permits (such as no distractions, or other ugly background obsticles), try to get your subject out of the center of the shot. This will add a little "drama" to your portraits and give your subject some breathing room.

For your first few attemps at portraiture, you're doing very good! Keep 'em coming!

I definitely prefer number 2, however I think it's a little underexposed and the background could be better. Lovely model.

You're first attempt is good, but I agree with Harold that it's a little cool, however I don't think simply enhancing the reds is the best way to go. (or did you do something else Harold?)

looks like you've got some potential here....I'm looking forward to seeing more

Dark and a little blue.

Here is a quick edit....

Here is a different crop with only the levels boosted. always keep a close eye on your histogram and levels, they'll help you out a lot, and like they've said previously, the subject off centre is good too. keep an eye on the background of your image, use your camera settings and cropping to remove unwanted subjects. You're moving ahead fast, these last ones are nice, the first is too, but too front on I feel

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Nice capture, and superb colors.

Just added more light, and decreased local contrast a tad.