Graduation Portrait

[bigL]

Camera:Nikon D3000
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, did not fire

So I posted a thread last night asking for any tips on shooting outdoor portraits because I am new to photography and I had never actually been asked to take photos of somebody until yesterday. Anyways here is the final result of my first actual shoot.

[laurel2sg]

I think it's very nice. you just a little overdone with saturation and blur. My congrats!

[mynameisharsha]

The shot's great. The background is what makes this unique and stand out from the rest.
Great job!

[zona5101]

very nice...a little dark as you have lost some shadow detail but still, very nice

[SusanH1970]

Your focus and clarity and excellent! However, I do the the post processing is a bit over the top. Her skin looks on the orange side and there are spots on her black gown that look blue. Can you post the original?

On a side note - I think this would have been better shot in portrait orientation rather than landscape. She wouldn't have been cut off at the wrist and you wouldn't have as much of a blown out background.

Not bad for your first portrait, though!

[bigL]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Your focus and clarity and excellent! However, I do the the post processing is a bit over the top. Her skin looks on the orange side and there are spots on her black gown that look blue. Can you post the original?

On a side note - I think this would have been better shot in portrait orientation rather than landscape. She wouldn't have been cut off at the wrist and you wouldn't have as much of a blown out background.

Not bad for your first portrait, though!

Here's the original, I also have the portrait orientation posted on my flickr page if you want to check that out.
I agree on the post processing being a little to much, I really need more help/tips on that.

I really appreciate the feedback from everyone!

[zona5101]

example of less is more...your SOOC shot is significantly better.

[ajm057]

Very sweet original, but really could have done with a stronger fill light to balance out the exposure. You can make some adjustments in PS to darken the highlights and lighten the shadows, but the sky is just blown out. Experiment with the fill flash option on your D3000.

Given this was a very special occassion - I would also spend a little time cleaning up a few of the more obvious skin blemishes on the forehead in particular and darkening the white flares on the cap. You can do this in PS elements or other relitively inexpensive packages.

I would also suggest 2 crops:

a) if you wish to keep to landscape orientation - the bench/railing is not quite level and there is a post or tree on the left that needs removing - both of which can be done in a simple crop - see C1 below for the combination of these.

b) alternatively there is a lot of uninteresting space on the left of the photo - I would try a square crop (rather than portrait) - see C2 for an example of what this might look like.

You have the original file to work with - see what a tighter close-up crop looks like too. This is a very pretty girl and the eyes are clear and sharp so you could get in closer.