Ha'way then - critique

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Forget model mayhem. Just go straight to Tyne tees models ands work with their new faces or anyone they'll give you. Build up that relationship. Don't pay for models, they are getting your time which is just as important.

Picture wise, I think the highlight is too harsh. That's probably due to the darkness of the surrounding skin so I think you can lighten the mid tones a little. This should soften the harsh light and give a lift to some of the pictures.

The side lit shot is not right. It's not flattering and her hair vanishes. You need a seperate hair light to bring in some difference on that side.

Don't be afraid to crop into a picture you shot full length.

Fill in some of the gaps in her hair as it's a bit rat taily in places.

Lighten her jaw it's a bit 5 o'clock shadowy!

That all sounds harsh when I've put it down but it's just little tiny things that need a tweak.

More importantly get better girls!
 


Jonny said:
Forget model mayhem. Just go straight to Tyne tees models ands work with their new faces or anyone they'll give you. Build up that relationship. Don't pay for models, they are getting your time which is just as important.

Picture wise, I think the highlight is too harsh. That's probably due to the darkness of the surrounding skin so I think you can lighten the mid tones a little. This should soften the harsh light and give a lift to some of the pictures.

The side lit shot is not right. It's not flattering and her hair vanishes. You need a seperate hair light to bring in some difference on that side.

Don't be afraid to crop into a picture you shot full length.

Fill in some of the gaps in her hair as it's a bit rat taily in places.

Lighten her jaw it's a bit 5 o'clock shadowy!

That all sounds harsh when I've put it down but it's just little tiny things that need a tweak.

More importantly get better girls!
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cheers mate, much appreciated.[DOUBLEPOST=1393104894][/DOUBLEPOST]Think a proper model may get a shock if they see my studio set up! It's in my works stores, amongst shelves of invoices :confused:
 
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I had a quick look, and one thing that caught my eye was the skin on her right (iirc) elbow looked wrong - >> either leave her elbow out of picture or offer her a jar of vaseline! (photo 3 and the last photo)

:p
 
peachbum said:
I had a quick look, and one thing that caught my eye was the skin on her right (iirc) elbow looked wrong - >> either leave her elbow out of picture or offer her a jar of vaseline! (photo 3 and the last photo)

:p
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I can just imagine that.....meet a girl from MM, welcome her into the studio and hand her a jar of vaseline

"you're gonna need that"
 
Had a new victim at the weekend. Pics to follow, don't seem to be able to link on my phone from flickr
 
I sorted a make up artist so I guess it's foundation. I could smooth out the skin PP but it always ends up looking plastic which I'm not a fan of
 
Like them all Ross. My only complaint would the first one, looks like she has got a hairy armpit.
 
I like them Ross.
My critique is exactly the same as the others. The armpit looks wrong/dark; and she is a pretty girl and looks very young but she has far too much foundation/powder (whatever) on and it shows poorly in the photos. She should be showing off her young and natural skin.

The catchlights in 2 perhaps? (great in 3)
 
The poses are a little too contrived imo, bog standard, why not get her laughing (even fake) or sexy winking, get some more natural shots that stand out, some personality, show off a particularly pretty side to her alongside this bog standard magazine look.
 
TiredEyes said:
The poses are a little too contrived imo, bog standard, why not get her laughing (even fake) or sexy winking, get some more natural shots that stand out, some personality, show off a particularly pretty side to her alongside this bog standard magazine look.
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Cheers for the feedback everyone.

In regards to her skin, she's 16 and had a few pimples on the forehead which I think the MUA tried to hide.

Agreed on the arm pit, could have perhaps got a reflector in there.

She wanted head shots that she could take to Tyne tees models, hence the serious, magazine look.
 
Ross they are really good. It's easy to sit and critique, but having just done my first studio session workshop, I know how difficult balancing all of the different elements of that kind of shoot are!

I'm chuffed with mine but I was just shooting fellow students so not a patch on yours!
 
UaeExile said:
Ross they are really good. It's easy to sit and critique, but having just done my first studio session workshop, I know how difficult balancing all of the different elements of that kind of shoot are!

I'm chuffed with mine but I was just shooting fellow students so not a patch on yours!
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Get them hoyed up!
 
UaeExile said:
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_MG_1216-Edit by Adam Bowery, on Flickr

_MG_1195-Edit by Adam Bowery, on Flickr
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so you're back in Belmont, yeah?

Straight away what I'd say is try and get some separation between the model and the background, that being a hair light or a flash on the background.

Can you remember the lighting set ups? Personally, I'd try not go beyond f11, I try shoot at f8 and at 85mm I find that gives enough DOF.
 
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oROSSo said:
so you're back in Belmont, yeah?

Straight away what I'd say is try and get some separation between the model and the background, that being a hair light and a flash on the background.

Can you remember the lighting set ups? Personally, I'd try not go beyond f11, I try shoot at f8 and at 85mm I find that gives enough DOF.
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:lol:

We were given a shot list and limited amount of equipment to achieve each shot, these were both shot with a beauty dish angled at about 45%. It was against a white backdrop in a fairly well lit room, so had to close the aperture down - think it might have been f11.

For the next set of shots we were given a couple more lights, backdrops, gels etc, but they didn't come out very well. I had a fair bit of trouble dealing with darker skin tones and shiny foreheads :lol:

Really enjoyed it mind. First time I'd even seen a studio so it was a really good learning experience!
 
The only time I seem to write on this forum now is to criticise. Sorry!
Anyway oROSSo first. I'm going to be reviewing these as a fashion/beauty shoot.
The poses are fine, nothing wacky or cheesy, you'd be tipping into advertising/portraiture if you went there.
If a girl has bad skin, don't side light her. Side lighting is typically a mans light, as it shows off his rugged face, on girls we expect to see flawless beauty!
So if you can fix her forehead in particular in post then do it.
I've only looked at them on my laptop which isn't the most successfully calibrated thing in the world, but I think you can tweak the colours a bit, she seems a tad warm. Actually thats not entirely true she seems healthy, but almost boringly so!
Stick a bit of cyan and blue in the picture with a hint of magenta and let me know what you think.
I also think you have overexposed on the highlights just a tad, they aren't blown out so you can pull those back easily enough.
Oh and hows this for a minor quibble, I don't like the fact you can only see one strap on the 3rd shot, just get rid of it.
These are much better than the other shots you put up previously.
The more you take, the better you will get. It really is that simple.
But you have to start spending more time in post, making the picture as perfect as it can be. You know the skin isn't right, and know that it can go plastic if over worked, so you need to fix it with out going that far. Skin work is difficult and takes time, but its usually easier than hair!
You'll need to start looking at other great photographers work to see what they do.
Again I must say that these are much better than the ones at the start of the thread, so keep working hard!

UaeExile, I'm going to review yours as adverting/portraiture.
I think you have great skin tones on the girl but the guy is underexposed.
The beauty dish is a fine choice of light, but I think you had it too high. The nose shadow on the girl is very long. If you had dropped the light by say a foot or 2 then you could have also got a bit of spill onto the background which would have helped with the separation of the model and set.
I also think the guy shot is far too warm, there is loads of yellow everywhere and a bit too much green. (Again it might just be my dodgy screen!)
Also if you are having issues with shiny heads, which you nearly always will without make up and studio lights, try these things to help. Move the light further away and turn it up, this will give you the same exposure but will soften the light. If space is an issue then don't shine the light straight at the model, I don't mean bounce the light but just angle the light off the model, all lights have a spill (unless you use a snoot or a grid set). So have the light firing past the model, and then you'll only be using the softer light at the edge of the reflector, obviously this means you need to turn the power up a bit.
Finally don't be afraid of using daylight as a fill. Instead of trying to close it out completely, let it fill in the darker shadows.
Pose wise and crop are both ideal for advertising work, as you have created an engaging and friendly shot with plenty of space for copy down the side.
Nice work, and for a first time with studio lights even more so.

I hope you both take this advice in the way I mean it to be. If not you can call me horrible names!!!
Either way I look forward to seeing more stuff from you both and how you progress.
 
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