Katy

[Barbara554]

Please help! I am trying to learn to take portraits and people shots. All critiques and comments appreciated.

1/60
f2
ISO 400
no flash

[hmcgrael]

Great start..Love the eye poking through the hair and her genuine smile..My focus goes right to the brightest spot on her shoulder/upper arm though...I think her face needs to brightened up a bit..Hope this helps!

[RecurrentNerve]

The composition and pose is good, but the lighting, which is key to good portraits, is not quite there. If you can arrange for some kind of soft lighting to come in from the side (in this shot's case from the right) and downwards at angle of around 30-45 degrees you will notice a difference.

If you can't arrange artificial lights, try and get a similar arrangement with natural light. Have a look at this post on PlanetNeil to see what I mean.

Oh, and it's really useful if you post your shooting info (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, lens etc) with the photo.

[Barbara554]

Originally Posted by hmcgrael

Great start..Love the eye poking through the hair and her genuine smile..My focus goes right to the brightest spot on her shoulder/upper arm though...I think her face needs to brightened up a bit..Hope this helps!

Thanks very much! I see what you mean about the bright spot on her shoulder. I will watch my lighting!

Originally Posted by RecurrentNerve

The composition and pose is good, but the lighting, which is key to good portraits, is not quite there. If you can arrange for some kind of soft lighting to come in from the side (in this shot's case from the right) and downwards at angle of around 30-45 degrees you will notice a difference.

If you can't arrange artificial lights, try and get a similar arrangement with natural light. Have a look at this post on PlanetNeil to see what I mean.

Oh, and it's really useful if you post your shooting info (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, lens etc) with the photo.

Thanks! I edited my post to include EXIF.( I haven't posted in awhile so I had forgotten). Thank you also for the information about lighting. I will recruit more volunteers and practice that important lighting.

[MrJones]

great photo but the white balance seem to be off. she is just to red.
also, try adding a little brightness to the photo.