STICKY:  How to photograph a high school Senior

max3k wrote in post #13002522

The locations fit her well and I hope she realizes how adorable she is. Nice photos

Ryan, really nice image. (except for that iron whatever behind her)

Thanks . It was a bar stool, I debated on leaving it there. I liked the image with it better than without.

did you shoot both, or did you try removing it in post only?

Shot both

ok. Obvious answer is whatever the client liked better, so smart move on your part

collierportraits wrote in post #12999037
I wouldn't worry so much about the dirt on the bottom of her feet, but I would worry about the bad shadow under her nose, which makes her... er, not small nose look larger. And that's the only problem that I see. Otherwise, I'd try and put some CTO on the flash to make it match the sunset much more closely. Thanks!

Tiff brought that to my attention as well. I didnt even see it while taking the shots. It was a very quick situation because that sun was dropping like a rock. I used a softbox and didnt have anyone to hold it to get it lower so im pretty sure thats how i got the shadow.I missed it, but, the client liked it. She was in the bathroom changing when the sun came into the low clouds like that, so she ran across the park barefooted and we set the light on her ,got exposure and took the shots. We had about 5 mins so i was pretty happy with what we got. Wish i would have seen the shadow.

bobbyz wrote in post #12996688
Nice clean one. I like it.

Thank you...I appreciate it...

moeronn wrote in post #12997448
Love the warm tones and the attitude here. Looks like you're off to a great start.

Thank you....I appreciate it...

Just finished a few edits of Jennifer who was great to shoot with. There are some really talented photographers here!

i can dig the wood texture overlay.... its an extreme edit, but some people like that. I wouldn't apply it directly though... try applying it as a secondary texture to something more subtle... or even mess with difference clouds in a layer mask to decrease the amount of texture hitting the image. and obviously mask the girl out completely. with this kind of overlay it doesn't look good on top of her arms IMHO.

Imagenomic portraiture. Check it out. I did a lillte spot healing, some curves and ran this filter and here are the results

umphotography wrote in post #10701236
Here are three final images from last night. I posted 1 extra to show you guys/gals her acne and dark circles around her eyes. It was a real tough situation to deal with. Im always looking for better ways to deal with post processing, especially acne and problem areas that High school seniors present. Problem is definately more prevelant with the boys. The Skin on these shots are a little smoother than i like, but this is how im dealing with it.

So if someone has a great way to deal with acne,,im all ears. I use a healing brush, the clone tool at a very low opacity, and smooth to blend v/s smooth to hide. Im hoping someone has a better technique but this is how i deal with it.

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Three Seniors I've shot recently:

1) Kristen

umphotography wrote in post #12996911
Fair enough. I could do more post processing but i prefer the look we get right off the camera. I really am not a fan of manipulating images to the point that it changes what actually took place. I use photoshop to enhance what we got. Im a photographer not a graphic designer who specializes in the use of photoshop. while i like the look, and i get it close on a final presented product that a client would purchase, my preferred way is to get it right in the camera, present, let the client select, and then finalize for print. I dont have the time to final process a file just to post on the forum.

We dont do as many seniors as tiff, we photographed about 20 paying clients this year and photographed 19 weddings, plus our other portrait and family work. The business does well, but, we are a 2 person operation, so we have to get things right in the camera to save time. Photoshop just takes up too much time for us at this stage for our business, however, we are at the point where we have hired a graphic artist to start doing some of the post processing work and develop some new looks. Its been a fun 5 year run and its finally to the point where we can expand. So maybe now the graphic guy can develop some fancy photoshop looks. I just dont have the time at this point.

I am in complete agreement, I am so sick of the plastic skin look. I see alot of stuff where it kills the skin tone/texture, another pet peev is the eyes, I see alot processing where it kills the glassy part of the eye. I normally just keep my mouth shut but like you say it alters the image to the point of it being a digital art piece and looks way way to fake. I am in all favor of the blemish removal, sharpening , a little smoothing but some of the processing in my opinion goes way overboard, IMHO.