First try at a real person...

[Dodge]

My Victim/wife actually asked if I would take a nice pic of her, she's usually very self concious so it came as a bit of a surprise. Bar a couple of wedding snaps there are no other pics of her, so you can imagine how much she dislikes having her photo taken, real self esteem problem I'm afraid.

Anyhoo, I realise there's a long way to go, portraits being something I just don't do, so I would really like some critique so I can keep trying and eventually do something really nice for her. No tripod was used and just basic room lighting as my main aim was just getting her used to having a camera pointed at her as she was a bit like a rabbit in the headlights to start with. I'm hoping to get something eventually that is more informal and natural looking.

Many thanks folks for any pointers you can give, I'm finding it really tough critiquing myself as I don't know jack about portrait shooting and it being a subject so personal to me.



And of course I had to try something completely different, personally I prefer the rawness of this image, although I doubt it's what she has in mind.



Both taken with a 50mm f1.4 Prime

[zona5101]

Nice work getting the wife in front of the camera! She's very attractive! You need to coax her to let you shoot more! So both images appear to be a bit soft. The first one you've captured a great smile. It would be nice to have a little fill light on the shadow side. I'm torn on her head position. On the one hand, the top of her head draws a bit too much attention but on the other, the woderful look she is give=ing the camera is a function of her looking up. humm - guess you'll have to tell her you need another session!
In pic two, it is a bit dark and a little 'mushy' (a 'technical' term for low contrast HA!) But the image has a very personal feel. The eye position and closeness of the crop adds a sexy, intimate feel.

Keep at it and have fun!

[Life in Motion]

do you think the color is a little too warm? I thought it might be a touch for my taste...

purely for a visual example. I just added a slight bluish filter to offset the extreme warm color and selected the eyes and slid the exposure up a tad. unless you just wanted it that warm...just one opinion .

[Dodge]

Thank you both for the excellent observations, just the thing I was after

She seems to have had a lot of fun with it, and has promised me another try. This time I'll definately set up some lighting beforehand so it's not too distracting during the shoot, Hopefully that may help with the sharpness as pointed out. Our room lighting is quite soft, being low voltage spots and I shot at 400 ISO to compensate rather than stop to set up lighting. I think shooting at f1.4 was too low too on reflection. Is there a 'best' focal range for portraits?

I'd noticed the shadows, but hadn't considered the top of her hair, I see what you mean, it is very dominant. Hopefully as she becomes less self concious she will be less inclined to 'shy away' from the lens, although I do like her expression looking up too.

Love the PP tips too, again, finding the right mix on a portrait is still a mystery to me and I much prefer the tone of the tweaked image, so will definately take that on board too.

Thank you for the kind encouragement and taking the time to offer it !

[rengles]

Hi there,

I think these are some great first portraits! Definitely keep shooting

I agree with Life in Motion that the first shot is a bit warm/reddish/orangish for me...the skin tone in the edit seems more natural to me. In both photos, I might lighten up the area around the eyes, so make them stand out more...maybe just a personal preference

I love the composition in the second one, and the effect of her looking up toward the lens. I really like the softer focus for the skin and hair, but would maybe lighten/sharpen (just a teeeeny bit!) the eyes to draw them out more.

Just some thoughts from a beginner

[LoveDSLR]

By looking at her face, I would say you were using a shorter focal length lens too close in your attempt for a Head & Shoulder shot.

To avoid shadow under her eyes, you should have her holding a reflector as a fill.

[Dodge]

Thank you Rengles, much appreciated, now......Newbie question, how do I sharpen the eyes slightly without affecting the rest of the pic?

My pp work usually consists of tweaking til satisfied, but I have most programs at my disposal as my wife uses them for her work, so any advice is good.

[Dodge]

Originally Posted by LoveDSLR

By looking at her face, I would say you were using a shorter focal length lens too close in your attempt for a Head & Shoulder shot.

To avoid shadow under her eyes, you should have her holding a reflector as a fill.

Yes, indeed I was using a 50mm prime very close on that shot, I have a 100mm f4, maybe that would be worth trying next time instead?

TY for the reflector tip too, again it had never crossed my mind. So much food for thought, ty so much everyone !

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by Dodge

Yes, indeed I was using a 50mm prime very close on that shot, I have a 100mm f4, maybe that would be worth trying next time instead?

With full frame, I use 50mm for full length, 85mm for waist level, 105-135mm for head & shoulder. That is why Canon 85 f/1.2 L II and Nikon 105 f/2.5 AIS are my two favorite portrait prime lenses.

Originally Posted by Dodge

Newbie question, how do I sharpen the eyes slightly without affecting the rest of the pic?

I use pixel-level editing.

[Dodge]

Excellent,

My 100mm is actually Minolta 100MM f2.8 not f4 as I said, Doh! So sounds like the one to go with for head n shoulder rather than the 50mm prime I was using.

Thank you again.