[shoggard3]

I have yet to find books on modeling, so I've been using actual modeling pictures for references. The pose for the first Rebel shot was actually out of the blue, to me at least. I tried to have his face more toward the camera but wanted to keep his shoulders facing away from the camera, but it didn't go well for that shot. Into the second, I had hooked my camera to the TV to keep him entertained while he was posing and to help him pick up a suitable pose or not. I was using a floor lamp with five light bulbs located near the camera and yet another with just one directly beside Ace. The backdrop was a dirty white sheet but it came out better than the one with the pattern on it from "Everlasting Innocence". I think I'm starting to improve. I've been making mistakes, too, but realizing them every now and then. ^^

[Ryan]

What kind of books are you looking for? Amherst publishes a bunch of books on posing techniques for different genres - wedding, family, etc.

[shoggard3]

Never heard of Amherst but I will definitely look them up. I was looking often at the library or at a bookstore miles away from here. Thanks, Ryan! =)

[Ryan]

Here ya go. Bunch of 'em on Amazon.

[shoggard3]

Here ya go. Bunch of 'em on Amazon.

Found some interesting books and saving up for them now. Thanks, man! So what do you think of the photos?

[jkleb]

The poses and lighting are good, good expressions on the model too. You might want to move the background farther out so it goes out of focus, at least iron it to get rid of the wrinkles. On the second one I would crop out quite a bit of the right of the frame so he doesn't look like he's squashed into one side of the photo.

[Ryan]

On the second one I would crop out quite a bit of the right of the frame so he doesn't look like he's squashed into one side of the photo.

That's what was bothering me about that one too. Generally you want the subject looking in to the frame, not out of it like in the second image. He wouldn't look nearly as cramped if the open space was in front of his face, or if the open space was removed.

[Travis Minnig]

Try to explain to us what you want in a style or look.  Are you intending to have this tension in your images?  Do you want the intensity and mystery and maybe even some darkness in the emotional response to your images?

I, for one, am having difficulty offering critique because I'm unsure of your final intent with your images.  They all seem dreary and cold.  If this is what you are after, you are doing it.

Please clarify your vision to us a little so we can provide comments in line with your intentions.

Travis

[Marian Murdoch]

Sidney, your black and white conversions are really, really flat. Not every image converts well to black and white, so you really have to be judicious when selecting one for such a treatment. I did a quick adjustment to show you what I mean. If you compare yours to mine, you'll see how flat the black and white conversion is on yours.

You entitled this "Rebel" which states to me that you want this to have a hard edge to it. I'm not seeing it here. His expression is rather sedate and nothing screams "Rebel" to me. I can see you tried to make him look tougher with the head scarf, but my eyes are drawn to the words, not the image. Be really careful when selecting something with words as the eye is automatically drawn to them. A plain scarf would have been better, and one worn not in the "Mrs. Butterworth" style.

[shoggard3]

I'm not generally good with titles. I already had "Rebel" in mind when I had taken the photos.

Anyway, I agree with my photographs being flat so I did some revising. In the second one where his face is fully shown, I think I might have made his eyes too bright.

I also wanted to point out, you might see shadows in the corners. Ever since I started using filters I've seen them in my photos and can't figure out how to eliminate them. I use an ultraviolet and a polarizer filter... Should I use only one filter at a time? It could be that I'm using two filters.

[jkleb]

What is your reasoning behind using the filters?

[shoggard3]

I started using them months ago. I know the polarizer filter removes reflections but I'm not sure about the ultraviolet filter... I can't remember its use to be honest. Since I bought them I never bothered to take them off the lens.

[Marian Murdoch]

I started using them months ago. I know the polarizer filter removes reflections but I'm not sure about the ultraviolet filter... I can't remember its use to be honest. Since I bought them I never bothered to take them off the lens.

Well, since you don't know the use of it, that might be telling you something right there.

Read this: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filters.htm

[Ryan]

I used to always keep a UV filter on the front, thinking that I'd rather break or scratch a filter than a lens. And it did save me once. But then I read a post somewhere about spending hundreds of dollars on a good lens and putting a $20 filter on the front. Just didn't make sense and I haven't had a UV filter on the front unless I know that I'm going somewhere where there's a good chance of the front element getting scratched. But somewhere controlled like a portrait session - never a filter.

There's pretty much always a plastic hood on my lenses now instead. I figure that'll do the job of protection if I bang the lens against something or drop it front side down.

[jkleb]

A polarizer will indeed reduce reflections. But, what reflections are you trying to reduce? For a portrait you want reflections of the catch lights in the eyes. A polarizer also only blocks light waves coming in certain directions. This is why a circular polarizer is turned to dial it in to block reflections that come from the side. Straight on they don't do too much. Go find some water outside with the sun shining on it and play around with your polaraizer, that is where you will really see what it does.

As far as a UV filter goes, most modern digital sensors don't need them unless you're going to do some long exposures straight up at the sun. In the early days the sensors themselves weren't coated and could potentially be damaged by intense UV light. Nowadays, not so much. Also, unless you're using a tanning bed for a light source UV is going to be a non-issue in a studio setting.

Everything has a purpose, and there is a purpose for everything. Experimenting is great. But make sure you're not doing something just because it's there. Don't feel bad though, we've all done it. Most of us probably have a drawer full of gizmos that we believed were to be used all the time.