My First try on Portrait Photography~

[ettk75]

Hi there,

I would say its already not a bad try for a start.

Maybe you want to try some close up shots since your model has a pair of nice eyes. For portraiture, the eyes are the most important area; so you might want to adjust her fringe a little or something. This is because most of the shots are having her eyes not clearly exposed.

Next, your composition. Try check out how the other photographers compose their shots. Its not about copy as you are learning; coz in the future you will get your own style.

Since she is your friend, if I ask to have a try out shoot with me; will she charge me any fee or simply for practice since she is also new. By the way, I am new too but I read up a lot on the topic.

Hear from you soon.

 

[zozanthonyzoz]

You have enough setup for portraiture, so please don't feel that you don't have the necessary gears.

i like the DoF in #1 and #4 . . .
I also like the model's smile in #6 . . .
I feel that it is great and lucky for you to have Vivien as your model.

See more portraitures in this sub-forum to learn more . . . i still learning from everyone here. (Everyone means including you as well)

We need to learn how to pose our models as well.
Cos not always we will have professional models posing for us.

For example, her hand in #3 should reposition a bit. Cos only you can see what is taken and models don't.

Thank you so much for the detailed description and things to take note of. I do agree i dun reposition her pose cos rather awkward but i will look into that! Thanks!

Hi there,

Just want to say nice effort for first try! But some pointers and comments, some might be personal preference though.

I find that for portrait photography, the essence of the shoot is to capture the model. Sure, the background does play a part, but the model is the heart and soul of the portrait. What emotions are u trying to pull across? How can you bring it out?

I feel that your friend gives off a more "cute" and girl-next door vibe. You could try concentrating on that aspect of her character, and angle your portraits to do such. No 6 is a good effort.

In my opinion, the eyes are the windows to the soul. In most portraits, you see the face and the eyes take up a more prominent position in the frame. You want to draw attention to the model, so emphasizing her features will be a plus. No.7 is a good attempt, but with the bangs covering the eyes, it doesn't draw as much attention as it should!

Also, you don't want to clutter up the background with unnecessary distractions. Your backgrounds are nicely bokeh-ed, but would it be better to shoot against something plain, like a wall or something? Unless the colours help to push your model as the main attraction of the picture, it might actually subtract from the composition.

Regarding your equipment, your 50mm 1.8 on DX sensor is traditionally considered good for portraits. (~75mm on 35mm film). But you can try taking the 18-70 around to experiment as well. Shooting at 18 and up close will give a different feel for portraits, and shooting at the longer end will also be something different. Just shoot more and try. Go read up on basic composition like rule of thirds, etc, it will help also.

Thanks for your comments! I guess its time for me to eat photography books!!:bsmilie:

Hi,

Personally I feel that its good for 2 first timers, its does seem a little awkward on both parties. Photographer seems to be rushing his shots. Model not 'seducing' the lens enuf, not as spontaneous as we like it to be. If you are not at ease during shoots, dont expect ur models to be, even pros can get affected by the person behind the lens.

Gd try!


#1 posture, #2 horizon and background, #3 fingers on the railing, #4 model's right hand.

U may wanna chk out www.1x.com to get more inspiration.

Thanks! Composition had always been my problem! >.<

may you want to fill the subject with a flash for a start?

For this time round i tried not to use flash cos i like more natural lighting. But thanks for the feedback too!

Hi there,

I would say its already not a bad try for a start.

Maybe you want to try some close up shots since your model has a pair of nice eyes. For portraiture, the eyes are the most important area; so you might want to adjust her fringe a little or something. This is because most of the shots are having her eyes not clearly exposed.

Next, your composition. Try check out how the other photographers compose their shots. Its not about copy as you are learning; coz in the future you will get your own style.

Since she is your friend, if I ask to have a try out shoot with me; will she charge me any fee or simply for practice since she is also new. By the way, I am new too but I read up a lot on the topic.

Hear from you soon.

Thanks for your encouragement and feedback too! For her as she still have her studies, so if there is another session, sure to notify you!

 

[zozanthonyzoz]

At the end of the day, what is there to comment?

First of all, your cmera equipment does not matter. Settings do not matter. What other photographers bring to an outdoor shoot has nothing to do with your pictures.

I will challenge you this. Tell me the 25 bad things about these pictures. If you manged to, then I think you are one step further to become a better photographer.

25? It's jsut a number. So many problems, so little space to write. Btw, model is fair game to comment.

Thanks for your comments! Really makes me start thinking how i should improve myself rather than thinking of equipments and settings! Thanks!

Well I guess TS is just trying to protect his friend because she's not really a professional model or anything and just helping him out, but there's nothing wrong with commenting on the models either, well, most of the time. Actually I think these are quite clean for a first try, much better than my first portrait photos for sure. TS just need to read up more, simple composition rules like rules of third really help

Thanks for understanding my point of view but i understand comment on main subject is also part of the verdict! ;p I shall start eating up photography books! LOL!

I think #7 is nice... I always liked strong eye contact

Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[genobee kai]

Hmm, I like #5 and #6, but i like #8 more. My personal habit to take brighter portrait most of the time.:bsmilie:

Soooo, since i saw u have a 50mm, maybe u can try stop down a bit more to f2 or 1.8? Though have to be more careful that ur subject is in focus, cos the area in focus now also alot smaller. (also beware soft focus when stop down too low) Thus, pic should turn out...brighter, more bokeh behind, subject stand out a bit more...I like

Flash wise, i do often use a small bounce reflector to bounce flash towards the subject. Flash seems to bring out the colours more since it reflects the flash like a shine. Personally find straight flash even with diffuser a bit harsh.

Just my 2cents comments, hope it helps somewhat :sweat:

Cheers

 

[kineticworks]

Her long fringe casted a quite bit of shadow around her eyes. Try to communicate more with your subject, there seems a tiny bit of awkwardness in the air (maybe due to outdoor).

 

[zozanthonyzoz]

Hmm, I like #5 and #6, but i like #8 more. My personal habit to take brighter portrait most of the time.:bsmilie:

Soooo, since i saw u have a 50mm, maybe u can try stop down a bit more to f2 or 1.8? Though have to be more careful that ur subject is in focus, cos the area in focus now also alot smaller. (also beware soft focus when stop down too low) Thus, pic should turn out...brighter, more bokeh behind, subject stand out a bit more...I like

Flash wise, i do often use a small bounce reflector to bounce flash towards the subject. Flash seems to bring out the colours more since it reflects the flash like a shine. Personally find straight flash even with diffuser a bit harsh.

Just my 2cents comments, hope it helps somewhat :sweat:

Cheers

Thanks for your encouragement! I will take note of the Aperture and Flash usage! 2cents or 2 millions to me all are important so no worries!

 

[TheChef]

Not bad for first timer.

 

[zozanthonyzoz]

Not bad for first timer.

Thanks Chef! Still got alot to learn from you guys!

 

[bullseyez]

she have great eyes and cute character. her bangs just cover all her beauty. #1 is nice but her bangs and her face is to dark for viewing. recall back my first portrait is more worse than yours. and im still learning also. try to read more n see how others pro here done the composition.