| Author | Thread |
|
|
08/31/2006 09:58:45 PM · #1 |
Ok, so after shooting family and friends to death, I bit the bullet and joined onemodelplace. I met a really sweet young lady and we did a photoshoot today. I would appreciate any comments you may have.
Thanks in advance.
BTW - I HAD A BLAST - I LOVE THIS PHOTOGRAPHY STUFF!!! haha
  
  
(edit for typo)
Message edited by author 2006-08-31 21:59:29.
|
|
|
|
08/31/2006 10:05:15 PM · #2 |
|
|
|
08/31/2006 10:12:45 PM · #3 |
| just in general, pick a background that is somewhat fluent and bares a decent contrast too the person |
|
|
|
08/31/2006 11:02:46 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by danthesquidkid:
just in general, pick a background that is somewhat fluent and bares a decent contrast too the person |
Couldn't agree more, these shots have somewhat busy backgrounds that detract from the model. Also, what kind of lighting(if any) was used for this. |
|
|
|
08/31/2006 11:15:40 PM · #5 |
Yep, what they said. You may be able to get away with the background if you could blur it out. It would be hard to do with the 50mm, but if you used a longer lens and zoomed in from a distance, it could. Otherwise, always be aware of your background.
Congrats on your first shoot. They are a lot of fun. Keep at it and keep experimenting to find what works best for you.
|
|
|
|
08/31/2006 11:24:54 PM · #6 |
Might I suggest the Portrait Lighting Thread for some light reading?
|
|
|
|
08/31/2006 11:31:59 PM · #7 |
Ha, ha. I love it.
Are you sure that was the correct thread though? I'm getting something on Infrared when I click.
Message edited by author 2006-08-31 23:35:30.
|
|
|
|
09/01/2006 02:36:44 AM · #8 |
You did fine for your first session. You achieved some lovely skintones and got good exposures. The items that have been noted previously are issues with these shots but those are things that you will eventually develop an eye for and learn to not do. With a natual lighting scene (Lord it feels like I haven't shot any modeling work outdoors in forever now) you have to be very mindful of your background. Sometimes your composition can be drastically hurt or helped by how you design the scene and what's in the background.
I like these two shots and because they come closest for me to being technically good shots. In you have started separating the model out from her background through a shallow depth of field. You have something running through her head in the background which detracts from the overall effect of the shot but that's something you'll get used to seeing and learn to adjust when you look through the viewfinder. You have the points of interest off-center, you've balanced the composition with the model's shoulder/neckline, you have some lovely diagonal lines that have the effect of directing the viewer's attention (on the top & the shoulder). This shot starts to work but again the background just happens to kill the effect for me with the line through the subject's head.
In you have a fairly dynamic pose but the model has a little competition from the mixed background. If you put her in front of the trees it would be one picture. If you placed her in front of the cityscape it would be a different picture. In either of those situations you'd need to probably work on your composition to take advantage of either the organic and natural feel of the trees and water or the artificial and urban design of the buildings as a backdrop for your model. This shot has the trees contending with her natural lines (see how the tree cuts through her left arm) and then in contrast with the organic, leafy feel of the trees you have some moderately strong colors and geometric shapes in the buildings behind. Any of these elements can be used to good effect in a modeling shot but here the composition just seems muddied by having all of them "available" for your viewer to get distracted by.
is an even better example of how the multiple designs in the background (square windows and perpenicular lines of the buildings contrasted with the natural curves of the trees and shore) overwhelm your subject. Recompose these shots or use a shallow depth of field (lower f-stop to something like f/4 or f/2.8 and then raise your shutter speed to compensate) to pull your subject out from the background and present her to the viewer.
had some potential but the exposure is off by a little; the duck is blown out while the subject is underexposed but the building in the background is pretty well exposed.
is a decent composition; you got some shallow DoF here, but the vertical lines in the background are tilted and in conflict with the horizontal lines of the bench and the diagonals of the subject's legs and arms. The jeans become as much the subject of this shot as the model's face given that the jeans actually seem to take up as much space as the model's skin, they are properly exposed (even in the shadows) and they seem to have the focus (like the lens is focused just about on the knee area of the jeans). Great expression tho.
has some potential but it has both the prominence of the model's arm and her hooded eyes working against it. Hiding a model behind her arm can present an element of a shot but here it just doesn't work; her arm is just her arm and its hiding part of her face. A more important issue with this one is the model's eyes. Normally (like there's anything normal about photographing people, right) you want a subject's eye closest to the camera to be the largest. Its what your viewer will expect. Mentally people grapple with a portrait if the eye farther away from them in the shot is more open than the one closer because the more distant eye ends up looking larger and that kinda throws the facial expression out of kilter for a lot of viewers. There's nothing you can do to keep a model from looking at you with hooded eyes (her lids partially closed) but you can choose the angle from which you shoot or if you notice that one of her lids is lazier than the other, switch up her angle and photograph her from the other side.
These are just some thoughts; take 'em for what they're worth. I'm headed back to bed now. Nite.
Oh yeah, congrats on your first shoot. You did fine.
|
|
|
|
09/01/2006 03:19:30 AM · #9 |
Lake Eola is not really the best place for a shoot. Too recognizable, at least for somone who knows Orlando.
I agree with the comments about the background being busy.
Message edited by author 2006-09-01 03:19:59. |
|
|
|
09/01/2006 07:29:01 AM · #10 |
I'm going to assume you used flash on all these. Turn it off and start learning how to work ambient light into giving you direction. If the sun is coming from above then figure out poses that'll take advantage of it (hint: lots of reclining). If the sun is low then play with light coming in from the side. While initially everyone tends to run for shade to keep the shadows smooth, you don't want things to get too flat. Figure out how to get direction and work with it.
Try and get lower with your perspective. You're coming in really high on a lot of these.
Watch your backgrounds. Nobody says it's absolutely necessary to throw it completely OOF, but if it's in focus then compose so it's not distracting - integrate your background into your image.
As far as working your model, everyone's different. Eventually you'll figure it out. Some variety in poses and expression wouldn't hurt.
Message edited by author 2006-09-01 07:29:12.
|
|
|
|
09/01/2006 08:45:00 AM · #11 |
Thanks to everyone for all of the great comments. So much to take in and learn from. I have another shoot Sunday morning (at the beach - thank God) Hopefully I can keep the background from being too busy on this one! haha
I must admit, at first I felt a bit slammed with the comments... Then, I set the ego aside and realized that I got just what I asked for. There is just SO much to think about when doing this stuff. I was just happy the darn photos were in focus!
I will take all of your comments and try my best to apply them to my next shoot.
On a side note to Mr. Riggs. I have been a great fan of your work for over a year now. I have looked at your work and tried to study your images and figure out just why I like them so much. I wound up with a very long list of reasons. I truly appreciate your in depth analysis of my work. Although very new to photography, I aspire to reach a level that will make even someone like you say "WOW!" when you see my work.
(edit for typo)
Message edited by author 2006-09-01 08:46:13.
|
|
|
|
09/01/2006 08:54:47 AM · #12 |
Has anyone mentioned that your model is gorgeous?
|
|
|
|
09/01/2006 12:43:58 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by emorgan49:
Has anyone mentioned that your model is gorgeous? |
Smile.... I think that goes without say.
She is a wonderful young lady. Just graduated as a business major and is a professional dancer. I really feel lucky that I got to work with her.
Message edited by author 2006-09-01 12:44:30.
|
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 09/07/2025 05:38:22 PM EDT.
