Portraits - Looking for Feeback

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MalmöMakem

MalmöMakem

Midfield
Done a few new portraits and tried a few new techniques etc. thought i'd get some feedback from you lot on here.

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I'll be putting these in my portfolio. I also have several other models lined up this month.

More to follow after the footie.
 


As always mate, excellent light.

She's a photogenic lass, but if I'm honest the make-up and hair isn't great this time.

The pose is abit 'rooted' as well, did you try to compose any shots for different angles? would be interesting to see them.

Is there any processing on these? I know you like to have a mess about i would be intested to see before/after.

out of interest I had a play as the light is so good. Here are a couple of my workflows applied to the first image:

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ayesane said:
As always mate, excellent light.

She's a photogenic lass, but if I'm honest the make-up and hair isn't great this time.

The pose is abit 'rooted' as well, did you try to compose any shots for different angles? would be interesting to see them.

Is there any processing on these? I know you like to have a mess about i would be intested to see before/after.

out of interest I had a play as the light is so good. Here are a couple of my workflows applied to the first image
Click to expand...

few more;

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tried to do as little as possible with these ones.

this one of the originals.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/140/zcopy.jpg/


I know some people aren't a fan of PP, but I love it. end of the day if the person paying for it is happy then I'm happy really.


also only have a couple of different angles. i wanted to try some straight on ones as i didn't have too many last time.
 
MalmöMakem said:
this one of the originals.

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I know some people aren't a fan of PP, but I love it. end of the day if the person paying for it is happy then I'm happy really.
Click to expand...
I'm not a huge fan of PP but I've looked at these two and it is definitely enhanced with PP.
Keep an eye out for backgrounds, if I was paying good money for a portrait photograph, I wouldn't want it spoiled with a poor background.
 
peachbum said:
I'm not a huge fan of PP but I've looked at these two and it is definitely enhanced with PP.
Keep an eye out for backgrounds, if I was paying good money for a portrait photograph, I wouldn't want it spoiled with a poor background.
Click to expand...

Would you recommend something with a vivid background or something a lot more subtle?

Also I'm doing some more examples later on this month that will be a lot softer. Ive had a few enquiries about the "indie" look etc. Then obviously there is the more mainstream ones with a neutral background etc.

These are in the indie background. The site will show case examples of both.
 
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MalmöMakem said:
Would you recommend something with a vivid background or something a lot more subtle?

Also I'm doing some more examples later on this month that will be a lot softer. Ive had a few enquiries about the "indie" look etc. Then obviously there is the more mainstream ones with a neutral background etc.

These are in the indie background. The site will show case examples of both.
Click to expand...

I liked the one where you had your model in front of the wall (comp entry from a couple of months ago), but I'm not sure about the backgrounds in this thread. I'd prefer to see my teenage daughter (if I was paying for a portrait) in front of something that reflected her life maybe, eg shop window, rock concert posters??. What does "indie" mean to you anyway? Modern? Independent? I know you can discuss photographs with your customer but as a showcase you need to be able to show what you can offer and I'm not sure random hills are the answer.

Beware of too much PP giving a startled rabbit look. Getting rid of teenage skin and flattering the complexion are good but you don't want to scare your potential customers away.

Are you going to be a Jack of all Trades or specialise in a certain area?
 
I'm with PB on this one. The background on those three do nothing for the image and all have something distracting going through her head - ie bushes and window frame.

Good lighting, but all of them look a little flat to me. That's my personal preference though because I love contrast, and I appreciate for these photos that probably wouldn't work.
 
I agree the lighting is quite flat on these images... how did you light them? They look like they could have done with a bit of off camera flash to one side it give a bit more depth.

The background as discussed isn't doing you many favours and the closer it is to the subject the less blurred it'll be. Not sure what aperture you shot at here but I'm guessing no more open than f/4 which means your distance to background needs to be quite big to really blur it out nicely. Even with a prime lens at f/1.4 you'd struggle to do anything with that background.

Poses are quite static and rigid... one way to help with a model who isn't used to posing is to use the environment to your advantage and have them leaning against a wall or sitting on a staircase / steps etc, or have them doing something like walking through corn or rapeseed etc.

You could also benefit from leaving more space around the subject as these are all cropped in really quite close and they feel cramped. Try shooting in landscape and placing the girl on one side using the rule of thirds as this will give you a more interesting composition.

Hope this helps :)

Also a good way of helping a model pose is to buy a fashion mag and just rip some poses out of it that are easy to copy. I have a pose folder on my iphone of images I've nicked off the internet and if someone is ever struggling for a pose I just show them a few on there and get them to copy them... works really well as sometimes they just need a visual example of what to do.
 
ajax_andy said:
I agree the lighting is quite flat on these images... how did you light them? They look like they could have done with a bit of off camera flash to one side it give a bit more depth.

The background as discussed isn't doing you many favours and the closer it is to the subject the less blurred it'll be. Not sure what aperture you shot at here but I'm guessing no more open than f/4 which means your distance to background needs to be quite big to really blur it out nicely. Even with a prime lens at f/1.4 you'd struggle to do anything with that background.

Poses are quite static and rigid... one way to help with a model who isn't used to posing is to use the environment to your advantage and have them leaning against a wall or sitting on a staircase / steps etc, or have them doing something like walking through corn or rapeseed etc.

You could also benefit from leaving more space around the subject as these are all cropped in really quite close and they feel cramped. Try shooting in landscape and placing the girl on one side using the rule of thirds as this will give you a more interesting composition.

Hope this helps :)

Also a good way of helping a model pose is to buy a fashion mag and just rip some poses out of it that are easy to copy. I have a pose folder on my iphone of images I've nicked off the internet and if someone is ever struggling for a pose I just show them a few on there and get them to copy them... works really well as sometimes they just need a visual example of what to do.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea. I hate asking people to pose and really struggle to direct people. Way out of my comfort zone...
 
peachbum and ayesane have it right in my opinion. You definitely need to take a lot more notice of what is going on in the background and she looks a bit rooted.

I like some of the earlier portraits you showed.

UaeExile said:
Not a bad idea. I hate asking people to pose and really struggle to direct people. Way out of my comfort zone...
Click to expand...

Sounds like me, I really need to practice more with people, never have taken a lot of people shots and when I have they are nearly always spontaneous rather than posed.
 
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Cheers for the advice again. See what people are saying about the background and that. But with the kind of shot I'm looking for I think the pose works with this girl. Im going to be photographing a mixed bag of people (ones a fashion student and ones 85). So i'll be generating a variety of different people but still keep within a style.

Lighting wise I didn't use any. Mainly as I can't afford the set ups and I'm upgrading in a few months so it'll be a waste of an investment. I'll have a play on Ps to help with the lighting perhaps.

But with the advice about the background i think i'll just go back to the drawing board on these ones.

My next model is a fashion student and i will be taking stuff on a neutral background and perhaps in doors using use of lighting a bit more. but i'll see anyway.

apeture wise, last time i used around 1.4 to 3.0. this time i wanted to use a bit more and have a play. Cheers for the advice again.
 
I like the fence background, gives it that artsy industrial feel, not so much the bush though.
 
MalmöMakem said:
Aye with some I like to get a industrial kind of background look. but the other ones I wasn't overly pleased with.
Click to expand...

Just get a lens which can give you good sticky bokeh; background problem solved. :cool:

Get a portable white/black backdrop aswell, sometimes a scene does not need to be set; especially if the model is interesting like your lassy is there.
 
ayesane said:
Just get a lens which can give you good sticky bokeh; background problem solved. :cool:

Get a portable white/black backdrop aswell, sometimes a scene does not need to be set; especially if the model is interesting like your lassy is there.
Click to expand...

I've got a good 50mm lens. But i think on a few of them id of been better having her stand an extra foot away from the back drop etc.

Ive got a few more to have a play with later. The joys of being able to take 500 odd photos is if like the other ones something is gash. i can try the next set.

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not sure if these are any better.
 
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