Please criticise these portraits!

[Doylem]

All good suggestions. And maybe remember, too, that the learning curve in photography is part if the fun. Compare these pix with what you produce in a few weeks or months, to see how much further you've got in capturing images the way YOU see them.

 

[annk]

Thanks everybody. Now I have lots of ideas on how to improve the shots next time. 🙂

 

[odaiwai]

great shot. I use a K100D and am thinking of the 50mm f/1.4. What do you think of it? Is it good for work other than portraits? I'd really love to hear a first hand review!

Oops, sorry for the delay - had to go on a business trip.

It's a lovely lens with a very distinct personality. You can always recognise a picture you've taken with it, because it seems to really capture the quality of the light that was there.

A good fast 50 is one of the photographer's basic tools, and I think every one should have one. The Autofocus is pretty good, and the manual focus feel is ok too. Plus, of course, there's plenty of light coming in so it's easy to focus in low light.

 

[failsafe1]

Your light is flat. This means you have no real definition to your photo and everything looks the same. Move your subject away from the wall. Use a shallow depth of field. 5.6, 4, 2.8 if you have to. Focus on the eyes, and change your perspective from straight on to a interesting angle. You could add some window light and cheap hot lights if you don't have experience with strobes. Main thing keep shooting you are off to a good start.

 

[Mantat]

First, forget what the other said: SHOOT RAW! It is the best way for you to correct your exposure in post processing. As for setting the WB, if you dont have a grey card, just set the white point in the eye or a tooth of the subject then adjust a bit to your liking.

Also, as someone said, get a color calibrating device! Get a cheap one for 100$ and use a gamma of 2.2. Macs uses 1.8 but everything on the web uses 2.2 so you better that way and the gamma is inbeded in the file so there wont be a problem when printing.

Now technicalities:
- both your zoom and the 50mm are fine, depending of what you want: blured BG: use the 50mm at 2.8f or 4f. Too wide and the face wont be fully in focus. If you want super sharp pic, go with f11, iso100 at 1/125.
- position: place the camera at the eye level of the subject, it seemed a bit too high in your pics
- Always focus on one eye then recompose
- never have a BG the same color as the subject. 99% of the time, it yields bad results.
- I would have framed the pics closer of the subject, but that's just me...

Finaly, you have a very good subject! She is very expressive and cute so experiment!

 

[CanadaRAM]

Also, if'n you're going for a B&W or sepiatone look, then commit to it and go all the way. Otherwise, it looks like an 'off' colour photo. Experiment with duotones, make your adjustment make a STATEMENT rather than a mumble.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

The glarning thing that suck out on first viewing was the fact eveything was extremely blue/white, as others have noted. Definately bring up the color temp to something more natural.

What processing software are you using? Lightroom or Aperture will make your life as a photographer so much more enjoyable.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

Also, if'n you're going for a B&W or sepiatone look, then commit to it and go all the way. Otherwise, it looks like an 'off' colour photo. Experiment with duotones, make your adjustment make a STATEMENT rather than a mumble.

This is usually true, but sometimes, I think a desaturated picture - assuming you have a good balance of light and shadow, good DOF, and decent overall composition - can make for an excellent photograph. It all depends on the situation and subject.

 

[annk]

Also, if'n you're going for a B&W or sepiatone look, then commit to it and go all the way. Otherwise, it looks like an 'off' colour photo. Experiment with duotones, make your adjustment make a STATEMENT rather than a mumble.

I see what you mean, but I really like a desaturated look. But I'm not getting it right. I know I'm not good at judging color, maybe I need to learn more about color before I try to desaturate.

The glarning thing that suck out on first viewing was the fact eveything was extremely blue/white, as others have noted. Definately bring up the color temp to something more natural.

What processing software are you using? Lightroom or Aperture will make your life as a photographer so much more enjoyable.

I'm using Aperture, but I am not yet at the point where I know what will improve the shot before I start trying to change things. My strategy for learning is to make a note of what happens when I adjust something, so that the next time I have a similar shot to work with, I can look back on my notes to try some of the same things.

This is usually true, but sometimes, I think a desaturated picture - assuming you have a good balance of light and shadow, good DOF, and decent overall composition - can make for an excellent photograph. It all depends on the situation and subject.

Yeah, you're probably summing up my problem. Before I can really use desaturation as a tool, I need to make sure the basic elements are in place. 😱

I really appreciate all the advice I've gotten here, it gives me specific things to change and think about on the next portraits I work with.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

...I'm using Aperture, but I am not yet at the point where I know what will improve the shot before I start trying to change things. My strategy for learning is to make a note of what happens when I adjust something, so that the next time I have a similar shot to work with, I can look back on my notes to try some of the same things.

Ah. I have not really used Aperture for processing all too much with my own hardware and workflow, but I know in Lighroom, if you know what desired effect you'd like to achieve, it's intuitively set up as far as controls to adjust such qualities in the photograph. I suppose the best advice is just keep playing around.

Yeah, you're probably summing up my problem. Before I can really use desaturation as a tool, I need to make sure the basic elements are in place. 😱

Yeah, could be a large part. Because, for example, if your background and shadows were "better," then the desaturating the image would have possibly given way to less garish results.

 

[Clix Pix]

The next time you shoot this adorable little girl, you might want to try capturing her doing something fun that she enjoys. Often the most captivating photos of children are when they're busy playing and more-or-less unaware of the camera and therefore not posing. As an example, here's a shot I took of a friend's daughter:

I agree with those who recommend that you shoot in RAW. Post-processing in RAW is where Aperture shines! I personally am not a fan of desaturated images, especially of people. I think either a color portrait (with the right color balance) or a good, strong black-and-white with perfectly balanced and contrasted shadows and highlights makes much more impact.

Keep working away at this stuff -- you'll get the hang of it!

 

[jayb2000]

lighting tips

Strobist has great lighting tips.
And if you can't get better light than in that spot, hang up something behind her, a sheet with some thumb tacks or something.
Provide some contrast to her skin tone.

I thought the sharpened one looked a bit strange around her bangs.
With a tripod and ISO100 or 200 you might not even need the sharpening.

Cute kid!

 

[annk]

More thanks, to the last three. 🙂

Clix, you are spot on - she was playing a game in the yard Saturday, and I grabbed the camera. Her expressions of concentration were great. I haven't had time to look at the images properly, but it illustrates your point about shooting when they're not posing. And I see your point about color or B and W. Even if I end up still liking desaturation, I need to be able to produce good, unaltered shots first. 😱

One reason I've been using her as a posed model, is that she has infinite patience - she LOVES to see herself in pictures, hehe.

Jayb2000, thanks for the link. 🙂