STICKY:  How to photograph a high school Senior

What to do when a client LOVES a bad image.......

Not crazy about this one, but the client LOVES it. This is SOOC, how would you edit it?

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umphotography wrote in post #12924739
F/3.5 at 1/100
1000 ISO

I realize that this is a fountain, but it sooo looks like a dandilion! Question - what does she do that her calf muscles are this developed? I would kill for her musclature!

wolfden wrote in post #12962260
Thanks, I don't know, tough to do motion with golf as the club and ball come out blurry. We did try some action ones. Got some putting and drive shots too.

As a golfer, not seeing the clubhead, ball, and feet ruin this shot for me. You can use the motion stopping effect of the flash to freeze most of the action with just a little bit of blur if you are willing to sacrifice a bit of the ambient in the background. Not a senior, but a sample of what can be done
http://kevin-jones.smugmug.com …/824064722_47g2​h-XL-1.jpg

TampaFoto wrote in post #12926436
A few I did two days ago . Comments welcome.

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Okay - I live in America. Maybe this is me either being a prude or the father of a girl. I would make the part of her dress that is a little see through opaque... But only because this is a senior photo. If it were glamour and she were a year or two older, it would totally work.

I like your set - great colors!

USER876 wrote in post #12962455
What to do when a client LOVES a bad image.......

Not crazy about this one, but the client LOVES it. This is SOOC, how would you edit it?

dont you just hate that.... but you have to make the client happy, and you also have to maintain your rep for generating quality images. here is what I would do:

1) create two virtual copies of the image in LR.
2) take the exposure down far enough in one of them to tone the sun down to tolerable levels
3) adjust the contrast/saturation/et​c in the other as you normally would to light/color/expose the subject properly.
4) export both to photoshop and merge them together, getting the best of both images.
5) next time don't show the client your images until you're done editing them and don't include the ones you dont like.

USER876 wrote in post #12962455
What to do when a client LOVES a bad image.......

I avoid it by never letting them see them in the first place.

USER876 wrote in post #12962455
What to do when a client LOVES a bad image.......

Not crazy about this one, but the client LOVES it. This is SOOC, how would you edit it?

I don't know that I would have shown it to her. Trying to look at her eyes - as it is human nature to do so, makes me squint due to the sun that is there - which is also human nature. So now I am squinting while my eyes are looking at the rest of the image. Don't know what to suggest for PP...

I know that this is not what you were looking for for right now... But going forward, only show your best.

USER876 wrote in post #12962455
What to do when a client LOVES a bad image.......

I agree with the others....I might shoot 150 or more shots....the senior will only see the 40-60 that I think are the best. Yes I might have trashed some images that Mom would have bought, however I want every image I sell, to be the quality I am pleased with!

jmalonear wrote in post #12963044
I agree with the others....I might shoot 150 or more shots....the senior will only see the 40-60 that I think are the best. Yes I might have trashed some images that Mom would have bought, however I want every image I sell, to be the quality I am pleased with!

Exactly. YOU are the artist here. YOU are building your brand/style.

By showing all of the shots to the client, including ones that you do not like, you are allowing your work to branded by popular vote - letting your style be dictated by the masses. This takes control of your 'name' out of your hands and allows for a very hodge podge style.

Look at it this way. When you see a photo my Pham, you know it is his. By Tiffany? I could spot one of hers a mile away. Mike? Yeah - him too! The key here is to find a style that you like and "stick" with it. Only until you want to improve on it. Because you are an artist, you are constantly evolving. Mike (for example) relatively recently discovered ND filters and worked that into his style. So hid brand is now evolving - he will be consistant with this all the while tweaking his art, growing it till his next 'A-HA' moment...

Thanks for the replies, pretty much what I was expecting. We did 3 outfits, 2 hours, and I took about 130 shots. I showed her about half of those. I only included these because we saw the sun setting and she wanted a few, we had a few minutes to work and I only got a few, I had to show something for those sunset shots, so picked the two best.

My business model is that I show color corrected proofing images, the client picks their favorites, and those are the ones I do a full retouch on.

apixelintime wrote in post #12962494
I realize that this is a fountain, but it sooo looks like a dandilion! Question - what does she do that her calf muscles are this developed? I would kill for her musclature!

She is a top notch athlete. swimming and triathlons. she is extremely muscular especially for her size and body structure.

gonzogolf wrote in post #12962496
As a golfer, not seeing the clubhead, ball, and feet ruin this shot for me. You can use the motion stopping effect of the flash to freeze most of the action with just a little bit of blur if you are willing to sacrifice a bit of the ambient in the background. Not a senior, but a sample of what can be done
http://kevin-jones.smugmug.com …/824064722_47g2​h-XL-1.jpg

That's cool, we did take some shots like that, we didn't care for them tho. Maybe with more practice one could get it but the daylight was burning away fast. The perspective of the shot I posted is from the hole.

Three from a great sunset last night

umphotography wrote in post #12963699
Three from a great sunset last night

Incredible sunset photograph Mike; one minor thing to watch out for just before you snap a killer shot like this is dirt on the bottom of her feet.

Saw it but had no time. That sun was sinking fast. Less than 5 minutes once it hit those clouds and filtered the light.