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07/10/2005 12:58:47 PM · #1 |
DPC Mentorship – Rules of the Road
Group: Portrait
Mentor: sher9204
Students: jenesis, stdavidson, debitipton, smilebig4me1x, nico_blue, briantammy
NON-MEMBERS PLEASE READ, TOO:
1. If you are not an active member of this mentorship group, please feel free to follow this thread. It is not intended to be exclusionary - we hope everyone can learn from it.
2. If you are not an active member of this group but have a question or comment, please send it directly to the moderator by Private Message. The moderator will either answer you directly or post your comment and their response to the thread. Thank you for understanding that we are trying to keep these groups small and on-topic. If this experiment takes off, we plan to start more groups to try to accommodate as many people as we can.
3. Mentors are volunteers with jobs and/or families. They're human too, and may make mistakes on occasion. If you feel the burning need to criticize them, point out a mistake, or point out your own infinately greater knowledge in they subject they are teaching, please do so in a PM to the mentor, not in this thread.
4. Have fun learning!
P.S. To see updated group information, see my profile.
Message edited by author 2005-07-12 16:54:16. |
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07/10/2005 01:04:38 PM · #2 |
I'm looking forward to this. I'm heading off to the beach in about an hour though, I'll be back later this evening. Taking my camera of course.
brian |
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07/10/2005 01:29:55 PM · #3 |
hiya! give me a little while to get my thoughts together and we'll get started. if you have any specific questions or suggestions, please post them here or feel free to e-mail me...skh715@yahoo.com
i'm really looking forward to this! :) |
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07/10/2005 01:31:50 PM · #4 |
Very coo! I threw my name in the hat and went back to work figuring wherever I ended up would be fun. This is perfect. I love portrait work and am looking forward to learning from everyone.
Debi |
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07/10/2005 02:54:39 PM · #5 |
I'd love to join this group.. if its not too late :)
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07/10/2005 03:09:46 PM · #6 |
Can I join the group too? This is an area I am really trying to learn and improve??? Pleeeeeeaaaaseee??????
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07/10/2005 03:25:59 PM · #7 |
| I would love to join also ! |
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07/10/2005 03:45:56 PM · #8 |
| you're all welcome to join...the more the merrier! :) |
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07/10/2005 08:26:38 PM · #9 |
People pictures is NOT a strong area for me. I'm interested in controlled lighting studio techniques, natural setting candids and stuff like that. Maybe we could talk about post-processing techniques to enhance portraits and those kinda things.
For those anxious to get started here are some outdoor and indoor maternity pictures I took we can critique. There is plenty of improvments to be made. :)
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07/10/2005 08:35:33 PM · #10 |
ok gang...how do you want to start?
well, let me tell you a little about my portrait style and show you some of my pics. first of all, i'm not a big fan of stiff, posed portraits. i like for my subjects to have fun and let their personality show through. my portraits are similar to candids...sort of "controlled" candids. i do my work on location and with natural light. i do sometimes use a flash for fill light, especially in full sun.
Portraits
so, tell me a about the style you like. post some of your work. we'll discuss them as a group and i'll answer any questions you have. also, from time to time, i plan to bring in a "guest" mentor...i'm still learning as i go and these will be photographers with a style i really admire.
how does that sound? :)
Message edited by author 2005-07-10 20:48:11. |
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07/10/2005 08:39:51 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by sher9204:
ok gang...how do you want to start?
... we'll discuss them as a group and i'll answer any questions you have. also, from time to time, i plan to bring in a "guest" mentor...i'm still learning as i go and these will be photographers with a style and i really admire.
how does that sound? :) |
Reviewing the style and works of truly great well-known portrait photographers might be something to do too. Maybe trying to duplicate their work would be something worth trying to help us improve.
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07/10/2005 08:42:47 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by stdavidson:
Originally posted by sher9204:
ok gang...how do you want to start?
... we'll discuss them as a group and i'll answer any questions you have. also, from time to time, i plan to bring in a "guest" mentor...i'm still learning as i go and these will be photographers with a style and i really admire.
how does that sound? :) |
Reviewing the style and works of truly great well-known portrait photographers might be something to do too. Maybe trying to duplicate their work would be something worth trying to help us improve. |
i like that idea! |
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07/10/2005 08:45:56 PM · #13 |
Sher... I have been an admiring groupie of your photography since long before your recent interview. I'm pleased to be a part of your group and look forward to learning from you. :)
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07/10/2005 08:50:14 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by stdavidson:
Sher... I have been an admiring groupie of your photography since long before your recent interview. I'm pleased to be a part of your group and look forward to learning from you. :) |
thanks so much, Steve! i'm really looking forward to this and i know i'll learn a lot from all of you, too! :) |
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07/10/2005 08:55:29 PM · #15 |
Sher.. I sent you a PM.. dunno if you got it. I am interested in joining this group.. either as a student, or as a co-mentor if you're interested. (I think we compliment each other very nicely in this area of photography). Let me know :)
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07/10/2005 09:07:04 PM · #16 |
I love natural photos with real smiles the most. all of my portraits are with natural light. almost all of my portrait are done at around 7pm when the light isnt so harsh and the BG is a tree/brush line and the sun is behing that creating a "safe" shadow for my girls to sit in. i chose this spot to avoid the blown highlights my camera is so fond of;) here are some photos i took this evening. my oldest daughter jessica hates to have her picture done but she was very tolerant of me this evening( I learned that a bribe works well for her cooperation). my youngest is always ready to have her picture done and i think she is so photogenic... I might be biased here;) ok..enough rambling from me for now...heres the photos(many more in portfolio "portraits" and"me and my family")
   
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07/10/2005 09:24:31 PM · #17 |
I'm new to portrait photography, and would love to hear about any tips and tricks/post processing ideas. The most recent I tried was:
Sher, I've been fascinated by your work since quite some time.
I like the dreamy feel in these two a lot. How did you process these?
 
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07/10/2005 09:37:42 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by Artyste:
Sher.. I sent you a PM.. dunno if you got it. I am interested in joining this group.. either as a student, or as a co-mentor if you're interested. (I think we compliment each other very nicely in this area of photography). Let me know :) |
that sounds great, arty! any way you want to help out is fine with me. :) |
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07/10/2005 09:49:54 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by sher9204:
Originally posted by Artyste:
Sher.. I sent you a PM.. dunno if you got it. I am interested in joining this group.. either as a student, or as a co-mentor if you're interested. (I think we compliment each other very nicely in this area of photography). Let me know :) |
that sounds great, arty! any way you want to help out is fine with me. :) |
Excellent! I look forward to it :)
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07/10/2005 10:02:21 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by stdavidson:
People pictures is NOT a strong area for me. I'm interested in controlled lighting studio techniques, natural setting candids and stuff like that. Maybe we could talk about post-processing techniques to enhance portraits and those kinda things.
For those anxious to get started here are some outdoor and indoor maternity pictures I took we can critique. There is plenty of improvments to be made. :)
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i think your photos here are beautiful, steve. they have a nice emotional content to them and your subjects seem relaxed and happy. you have a nice variety of poses, too. my one critique would be to have them interact with each other more and less with the camera. sometimes catching your subjects off-guard, just chatting with each other, can really produce some amazing photos. some photos with neither of them looking at the camera and less posed gives a more candid feel and can really pump up the emotion in the images.
let's get some opinions from others in the group. |
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07/10/2005 10:09:29 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by sher9204:
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i think your photos here are beautiful, steve. they have a nice emotional content to them and your subjects seem relaxed and happy. you have a nice variety of poses, too. my one critique would be to have them interact with each other more and less with the camera. sometimes catching your subjects off-guard, just chatting with each other, can really produce some amazing photos. some photos with neither of them looking at the camera and less posed gives a more candid feel and can really pump up the emotion in the images.
let's get some opinions from others in the group. |
I agree with Sher, but I'll take it one step further. From what I can see, the main issue is the fact that the male in all your shots seems more concerned with *trying* to pose, and with the camera, than he is with his wife/girlfriend and just being relaxed and himself. In a portrait of two people together, you really, as Sher has said, want them interacting with each other and their environment. Having *one* of the two looking at the camera, while the other one doesn't, is something you'll really want to try and avoid.. although having *both* looking at the camera in some shots is great. Other than that, you've got a great grasp of composition, and seem to understand the fundamentals quite nicely. I'm not a huge "technicals" person.. so I defer that to others ;)
Message edited by author 2005-07-10 22:09:45.
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07/10/2005 10:09:32 PM · #22 |
Hello all !
Well most of my stuff tends to be studio as that is the area that I am trying to migrate to professionally
This image is from yesterday - It was a five minute session as she was a little on the cranky side after the first few...
Message edited by author 2005-07-10 22:26:24. |
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07/10/2005 10:15:57 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by Artyste:
Originally posted by sher9204:
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To me the soft focus is a bit over done... I do really like the images though...the b&w looks very good.
Message edited by author 2005-07-10 22:16:57. |
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07/10/2005 10:29:36 PM · #24 |
what pretty girls, Cher! the poses are wonderful and i love the one of them laughing...it really shows thier personality. also, it isn't a "by the rules" portrait and i love that aspect.
tell me a bit about the camera settings you used. they seem a bit underexposed to me. i understand posing them in the shaded area but you have to pay attention to your exposure and make sure you have enough light to get a good focus. when shooting your subjects in the shade, it's a good idea to use a reflecter to bring a little more light in. this doesn't have to be anything expensive...a simple piece of white poster board positioned to reflect the light can really make a world of difference. some post-processing can help bring up the levels, too.
anyone else have some thoughts on this? |
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07/10/2005 10:43:21 PM · #25 |
For the record, I tend to focus on child portraitures, and am ready to give any help or advice to anyone that would like it for this area of portraiture specifically. You can see a lot of my work in this section of my portfolio:
Children Work
Feel free to have a gander, and post your work for my and Sher's thoughts.
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