Couple of Candids - Natural Lighting

A couple candids of a younger cousin of mine. Not exactly the BG's I would pick myself, but I was trying to learn from the natural lighting. These are virtually SOOC, with a minor boost in PS.

How'd I do?

1.

lil bit over exposed for me.....that what i see ...thanx for sharing,like the 2nd one

-The backdrop is a little bit distracting. I would have used something textured like a brickwall or wood, or used the lens wide open to create some smooth bokeh. Usually it's a good idea of have darker background by a few stops to isolate the subject.

-Composition: you chopped her left arm on #2. It seems a little bit tight too. I would have made a few steps back and give her more environmental room.

-Lighting: natural light it seems, and it looks a bit flat. Shadows are your friends when they are in the right places. Always look for the direction of the light, the size of the source and the color. A window source would have been great. It's usually directional, it can be specular, or you can diffuse it with some light curtains, and colors can change depending of the time of the day or curtains used.

-Post processing: it looks a little bit flat. You mentioned photoshop, but isn't there a way to bring more contrast or color out of the camera? I am not too familiar with Canon DSLRs, but you should be able to apply some basic setting in camera to boost contrast or colors if you are not going to do much post processing.

And the most important...

-She isn't giving you the best expression or pose. You gotta boss her around a little bit to get your desired pose. Chin up, chin down, sit up, lay down etc... I wish you could have gotten better eye contact with her in #1. All it takes is talking to the model, giving her feedback to make her feel more comfortable. It's more of a social exercise and a photoshoot.

Hope it helps.

Thanks for the comments. Means a lot to me.

Again, these weren't planned photos or anything. Just candids from a party. So, I was limited on choices of BG's and didn't exactly want to instruct my family to pose a certain way. I was already getting on their nerves with my constant snapshots. hehe.

That said, I thought I would focus on getting the lighting right. Because that's where my knowledge lacks bigtime.

I still have much to learn from my shooting.
And your comments and crits are taken well. It's the best way I can learn.

Thank you again for taking the time.

Any other suggestions out there?

No problem.

If you want to focus on lighting, I highly recommend Nikon's guide to creative lighting. There is a little emphasis on Nikon products, but the knowledge this guide dispenses is invaluable to all photographers wanting to learn about lighting. It makes lighting a breeze to learn.

http://www.amazon.com …ve-Lighting/dp/B001KJ91V4

Much appreciated, bud.

I like them. Some good advice above.

Thanks for taking the time, Ryan.

I like especially the second shot.

The first shot is a little soft. Her eyes do not seem to be in focus. The second shot is nice. She has a pretty smile and appears to be photogenic. Practice with her some more.

Grazie.

Yes, i agree. Unfortunately, she lives in another state and I really don't see too much of her. But, yes ... very photogenic.