"Silence" shoot C&C Please

I am just not sure what you are trying to say or promote with these photos. Some grip tape over a girl's mouth doesn't make an ordinary portrait suddenly creative.

Let's look at this as if the grip tape wasn't there.. you have a rather flat portrait of a cute but ordinary looking girl in front of a black backdrop. You can't see her eyes and she isn't wearing anything particularly interesting. Without the grip tape you have a portrait I would rate at exactly average. Probably 2.5 out of 5 on my rating scale. Nothing technically wrong with it but nothing particularly interesting about it either.

So you add some grip tape to her face. OK. Why? I keep looking at the photos but I can't figure it out. I think the problem is the photo is so incredibly ordinary to begin with that adding the strange element of black tape over her mouth clashes way too much.

Like I said before, place her in an interesting location and add the grip tape and you have something. Maybe put her in a bathtub, nude, wrapped in the shower curtain and clutching the grip tape. Then vary your lighting so it's more dynamic rather than flat. Then open your lenses wide open instead of shooting at f/19. Then you might have something.

No message I guess...It was just me and a friend messing around with lighting (as we both need lots of practice) and she said I got an idea. So she grabbed the tape, we threw in the shades, and just shot away. We liked the closer angles more than being far out. We couldn't should wider than F19 without the background or backdrop showing being we were in my back yard during the day. We have no room in the house right now. How do you get lighting that's not bare bulb into a normal size bathroom anyways?

I like the ideas and get the point about the pictures NOT having a point.

Wasn't meant to be a shoot really, just messing around. But now it's opened up some more ideas (partially from all the suggestions here). I just feel like I have nowhere to shoot. I get nervous shooting in public (not fond of all the attention and not living in the best of areas), and I hate the shape our house is in right now inside and out. Long personal story. It's kind of getting in the way of me learning and practicing, but I just don't know what to do.

Sorry for the rant. Just frustrated.

take your hot model downtown and ask her to buy a coffee, then take a picture.. voila

mansalim wrote in post #11160375
take your hot model downtown and ask her to buy a coffee, then take a picture.. voila

How will that help me learn to use strobes?

do you have a buddy who has a room you could use for photos and strobes?

JPepus wrote in post #11160419
How will that help me learn to use strobes?

strobes isnt for indoor only maybe you can find a patio and use it..

mansalim wrote in post #11160997
strobes isn't for indoor only maybe you can find a patio and use it..

That's the problem...I have a Patio in the back yard where these were shot, and a car port which I've done other shoots. Just sucks cause that limits all the pictures to basically waist up shots to avoid the ground right? Only backdrop I have is an "on-site" setup which is just a square background that doesn't lay on the floor. Did use a few white sheets on the ground bunched up once. I think I'm just bad at coming up with ideas, props, etc. Everything except how to use the camera.

What would you guys do for a shoot like this? You have 3 AB800's (320ws I think), the basic modifiers (softbox, umbrellas, PBLM, Grids), On-site back drop, Dirty wood slat white walls lining the car port. And a Camera, model, basic household props obviously.

I would think you could pick up some drapes at a thrift store cheap fort a backdrop..gives you different colors and textures anyways...

Go through the glamour section, you will get loads of ideas, there are some super talented people there, as well as Kids and family....