Senior portrait session

This very nice young man came to me with a problem. His yearbook pictures were terrible and nobody including him liked them. He wanted something a bit nicer and different. Here are some from yesterday's session - what do you think?
I shot almost 200 pictures in a little over an hour. Attached are three.

Lou

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

and the third.....

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

The soft one is way too soft for my taste, but the other 2 look pretty good. Nice, even natural looking light on his face. Was he happy with them?

i like them but have to agree...number two is really too soft.

I agree with the previous posters. The soft focus is too soft.
Is that his personality? The lips are pursed and look strained.

I bet he has a different expression when he's amongst his friends.

I am still putting together the rest of the images so he hasn't seen them except a few on the camera screen. He is a guitar player and prefers the edgy look and I did take some like that but haven't processed yet. If the soft look is too much I can tone it down. They always seem to look more fuzzy when I post. I'll post more when I do more work on them and show some with the guitar.

Thanks!

Lou

I like the photos but only women like the soft focus I'm afraid... unless you were shooting a wedding or engagament image... Woman love soft focus because it minimizes wrinkles and flaws- but you describe the young man as edgy I am afraid he won't like it. The others, however, are excellent, especially #3. I like the pose and expression very much of that one. I like the diagonal positioning in the frame and the B&W is quite suitable as well.

I have to agree with the soft focus one.. it is not as appealing as the other 2 shots. He is a very good looking young man, I would like to see some more of the shots you have taken. He has amazing eyes!

I've played with this sepia treatment. Maybe it has a little stronger look?

The softer look was a result of using neat image to clean up the complexion a little. I mean, he's 18 and most teens have difficult skin.

Tell me what you think. I'll post some other poses as soon as I have more time to go through all of the images. Thanks so much for taking the time to make comments.

Lou

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

A much stronger image.
good job

More recently posted is my favorite of them all. Nice job.

perhaps with his hair down he will have a more "edgy" look. I dont think his attire is that flattering. I agree I like the last one the best. It could use a pinch more DOF, but im guessing youre working off the soft focus(or is that PS?).