first attempt at engagement photos...

[Kellyj69]

Thanks you for viewing my photos.. please comment..

these were shot at around 7pm .. outside .. no flash .. Rebel Xs, 50mm f/1.8 , ISO 100 - 200,
aperture priority, shutter speed varied

I am looking for general feedback .. composition.. post production tips.. any comments will be greatly appreciated and noted..

Thanks
KJ

the rest of the album is here Amanda and Brian - a set on Flickr

[BigFuzzy]

Hi Kelly,
I know I'm going to sound harsh, and I'm sorry, but I promise I'm being constructive (I think!) because there's potential there.

I looked at all the photos, including your flickr ones (but briefly), and some things are evident.
I'll break it down into "technical" and "style"

Technical:
- You need to get more familiar with flash photography. It seems that all your photos either have too little light in the faces (but nice background) or too much. And even when there is good light on the face, there's poor lighting in the eyes. A reflector or flash would take care of that.
- several of the photos, like this one, are out of focus. That's something you should always nail. If I knew the exif info, which you should post in this thread by the way as per the rules, I'd be able to tell you how to ensure better focus. Right now I can't tell if it's slow shutter speed or poor handling of the camera.
- I like that you tried to get the later sunlight, and that's almost always good, but in a couple of occasions, in an effort to get more light into their faces, you have them facing right into the sun which causes them to squint. Try to get them with the sun at a 45 degree angle into their faces (as a starter).

Style:
I say style, because these are taste related and others may feel differently
- I so absolutely hate the weird hard circle vignette you put on some of the images, especially the white circle.. there's very little I dislike more than a white vignette. Again, others may love it.. to me it feels cheesy and dated.
- poses. In almost all of the photos they are in very similar, if not the same exact poses. Her next to him. Mix it up. Change poses. Move them around. Put her closer to you and use a shallow DoF to blur him out, and vice-versa. But them seated and shoot them from above. Anything to change things up.. very static.

I know I said a lot of harsh things, but I see potential in these shots.. just a bit more creative thought, and a bit of technical knowledge of lighting, and you'll be well on your way, I promise.

[Astro Visual]

Hi Kelly

I haven't looked at the rest of your photos, just the 3 above, and then I read through what BigFuzzy said. You absolutely should not be offended by his words (I'm sure you're not, nice of him to worry though), he is giving good advice. We all had to start somewhere and a steep learning is an exciting place to be!

One thing I will add is that with portraits, if the subjects eyes are in shot, then they must be tack sharp. It doesn't matter how good the rest of the photo is, if those eyes aren't totally in focus then the shot is never going to be great. Make sure your focal point is hitting those eyes when you set the focus.

You got pretty good focus in that 2nd shot, with a bit of contrast added and maybe a bit of sharpening as well, that shot will be quite nice I think.

The little EF50mm 1.8 ll you used is a good little portrait lens so keep trying

[Kellyj69]

THANK YOU!!!!

That is the BEST feedback I've ever gotten at DPS!! I really appreciate it and I have printed it out to keep as a reference

thanks again

KJ

[Kellyj69]

btw .. I don't like the round vignette either .. but I washed out the sky in the background and that was the only way to save the shot so far anyway

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by Kellyj69

THANK YOU!!!!

That is the BEST feedback I've ever gotten at DPS!! I really appreciate it and I have printed it out to keep as a reference

thanks again

KJ

You're very welcome (as my head swells!)