Portrait - Amanda phase 2

OK guys, here are the best ones (in my little mind)

I know my main light was too close to the ground
I know I should have turned both flashes up a stop or two.

And yes Cindy, I know more about her complexion than her husband.. [shrug]

I deleted number one
I also made sure the rest of them were the correct version and took off that banner thing.

#2


#3 This is the shot I would consider my best.


#4 unless this one is my best...


#5


#6


If you have the time, the rest are here
Amanda 2 Photo shoot

Wow Bob,  If these are the best ones from your session I'm alittle disappointed.  You have way to much bad lighting on your subject.  And what does it take to clean up her blimishes just alittle. 

Best to ya, Ernst

What are you saying Bob?

Take it as is, shrug it off, learn from mistakes and so be it.
Everyone has opinions, that's what makes photogs unique, all have likes and dislikes, opinions, art etc.

There are occasions where there are obvious flaws, as posted.

Wrinkles in clothing in a Commercial/Fashion style shoot, no need for worries.
This is an outdoor shoot, let's not go overboard in post pro, it's not a classical photo studio style.

What floored me was F22, WHAT the

Cheers

Problems, problems and more problems!

Yes, she is pretty and yes some of theses may do for her portfolio and YES! they can be so much better.

When you are creating portfolio images for a model you are helping her to “sell” her image and her talent, therefore good flattering lighting and technique is of the utmost importance.

Most of theses images have “no” lighting in that the shadow areas are underexposed and there is no aesthetically pleasing lighting on the face or body to do a good selling job for the young lady!  Remember- you job is to get her hired.

When back lighting is used, to don’t want it to spill on the facial features such as the nose and forehead causing hot spots and call attention to places you don’t want the viewer’s eye to go.  The lighting you have done also reveals too much texture and emphasizes skin blemishes more so than if the lighting was softer and more even.

The proper technique is to use the back light as a hair and separation light source and use a fairly shiny silver reflector to catch the back light and produce a recognizable and flattering lighting pattern on the face and body of the subject.  In the 2/4 length view of your subject there is too much depth of field and the background is “hot” and distracting as well as the bright yellow car as compared with the lighting level on the face.  The remedy here is to use a wider aperture. Throwing the background out of focus and also using another part of the car as a prop without the rear view mirror and the metal nameplates showing.  When you are choosing the background, fine a place that is darker that the subject or use the reflector to shoot more light at the subject- thereby darkening the background by creating a grater ratio between the subject and the background.

Many of you images reveal a “crooked mouth” – this is an asymmetry of the facial structure that many people, even pretty ones, have.  The smiling expressions stretch the muscles of the face and eliminate the problem.  Certain people can be photographed in a 2/3 facial view with the higher part of the mouth on the further side of the face with a smiling expression as well.  You need to do various angles and expressions during a session to assure that you have flattering camera positions and angles.   As you practice you will come to notices these things right off the bat and make the corrections easily as you work.

Things to watch- REVIEW:
 Lighting, shadow exposure, facial analysis and expressions, background elements, ratios, color harmony and distracting props.  Also-  Avoid complicated poses where hands and arms are improperly placed causing “amputations and stumps”- keep it graceful, natural and simple!

I hope this helps!

Ed (S)  PS-  Old habits die hard- you have to kill them by taking new approaches and starting from scratch foe each new assignment- building you lighting and poses and paying attention to detail!
 

There is a better way. Use the edges of the reflected light and you will notice it is the most beautiful light. It will be less than the natural light and it is very soft.

BTW, don't be disappointed about a negative critique, don't even be disappointed if the critiques are negative for a few years. As long as you improve one thing at a time your work will slowly show progress. How do you think we all did learn the tricks of the trade? You started with a good point, a beautiful model!

I feel proud when someone who has better things to do takes the time to rip one of my photos apart. Always have. On other boards I am helping newbies as that is the way I can return the favor so to speak.

Leen, could you elaborate on your statement "Use the edges of the reflected light" as it relates to preventing the model from squinting because of the light in her face?

Leen is referring to FEATHERING, that is, using the edge of the light beam rather than the center of it.  This is a studio lighting technique that works nicely outdoors with reflectors as well.  Doing this will give you  better texture, more control, better specular as well as diffused highlights- a better gradations of tones.  This works best with a shiny reflector and there are ways of directing the subject's eyes away from the light source and bringing in the light from further away or at a certain angle whereby the subject will not tend to squint.

If you use flash as a "main light" in an outdoor setting, there are a few things that you need to watch out for.  If the flash overpowers the natural light too much, you will get a very waxen effect with an almost night-like background.  It is important to balance the light delicately to achieve a correctly exposed and natural image.  Bare bulb is a very effective tool in doing this.  When shooting in early morning or late afternoon, I place a warming gel filter around the flash tube to maintain the warmth of the light at those hours of the day.  I recommend ROSCO gels- they won't melt or deform, they keep their color for quite a long time and  are available in a multitude of colors, hues and densities. Whether you are using flash or reflectors, there needs to be enough reflected or flash light to punch throgh and create you lighting pattern.  Again- it is a matter of balance.  Testing and practice are required.

About critiques:  I think I can speak for lean in this matter- Leen, correct me if I am wrong.  When we committed ourselves to be moderators on this new forum, we took on the responsibility of giving fair and informative critiques, tips and suggestions.  It is not a bother for us because this "duty" comes with the territory.  The important things to remember is that theses critiques is that they are intended to benefit the maker of the submitted images and for no other alternative motives such as egoism, talking down at people or any of the like.  There is, in reality, no such thing as a bad or negative critique unless it contains personal attacks or are totally subjective.

When my own critiques become a bit heavy, so to speak, it is because I usually observe a person's work over and extended period of time and when I see the same flaws or bad habits emerging time after time, I need to be honest and constructive and say "OK!  Listen up- I have pointed out theses things before and you ain't listening or you did not GET IT as yet"!  It is time for a wake up call when I issue such a critique.   It is also just as important to to realize that I am not asking people to change their points of view or stylizations.  I am, however, suggesting that people learn the basics first and then go on from there to exercise their creativity with know how and skill. 

It is like music- You mat like classical, jazz, rock 'n' roll, acid rock, punk, chamber music, Dixieland, bluegrass, country or whatever.  Good musicians know their basic theory and harmonies.  The don't play out of tune or out of pitch and when they break the "rules" they know what they are doing and the effect it is going to have.  When they jump out of the box, the still have their basics with them- the rest is talent.

Unlike many critiquing venues, we offer sound advice and solutions to problems.

Another tip!   When you are photographing a beautiful model- you may have a hard job on your hands.  There is beauty in so many people that I have seen and photographed that is not considered beauty by the "Barbey doll" set of art directors and model agencies- I am not one to "standardize" beauty.  The big "HOWEVER" is that the agents and directors DO go by certain standards- the standards do change from time to time but basically the standard is "PHOTOGENIC"  that idiscribes a person who has a certain facial structure and body style that photographs easily whiteout too much manipulation in camera angle, lighting- in other words; you can stand them on their heads and they can conform to the standard.  This description includes very few people and the rest of the world's population need some help.  In portraiture, the corrective methods are essential to keep clients satisfied and even top models have their better angles.  This is why I emphasize technique.  After that the talent kicks in- you need to be able to work with people and inspire all subjects to give you good expressions and be natural movement.  It is important to help people that can not pose naturally to be able do so. 

One method I suggest for the guys is to look at all your female subjects with a "jaundiced eye".  Yes they are pretty- attractive- YES! a nice figure- yes beautiful eyes- all that stuff.  Your job is to look for trouble!  Seek out lazy eyes, funny smiles, bad hair days, bad postures, strained expressions or poses, and everything that it not PHOTOGENIC and then seek to correct what you find.  The ladies can do that with the guys as well.  Oh! by the way, guys cam be more vein that gals- but they won't tell you! 

OK!  So you say "I don't want to embellish people, I want to show them as the ARE".  That's fine.  So throw away the makeup, your retouching equipment (Photoshop) and go raw!  Problem is though, in many cases, the lack of technique DISTORTS the subject and in the end there is no reality.  Such things such as really bad camera angles bad lens choices and other factors can create distortions that not only degrade the subject's appearance and shows them as the are NOT!

A method for handling critiques:

When you get a critique that is a bit hard, don't apologize or humble yourself but rather  EMPOWER yourself with the knowledge you have ascertained and as hackneyed as it sounds- try and try again.  Practice and goal setting are the best learning tools you posses- they don't cost anything accept time and putting in that time is the only way to grow as a photographer.

Keep on trucking!    

Oh!  You can thank us by submitting more results and new images.  Perhaps you all can try to get more of your fellpw photographer to join our forum and participare fully. Our reward is seeing participation, improvment and progress!

Thanks for everything! 


Ed S.