Looking for input on my first portrait shoot...

[megkunert]

Hello.

I've been dabbling in DSLR photography for a year now, but I'm just now getting into portrait photography. Looking for any and ALL advice/critique. Be brutally honest. I can take it.

I shoot with a Nikon D5000 and I was using an 85mm 1.4G lens. I shoot in aperture priority mode to get the most out of the natural light available. I really want to learn manual, but haven't taken the time to learn the camera. Bad, bad I know.

I want sharper, clearer photos, but I know I probably won't ever get that with a D5000. Or can I? Advice, please...

To view the other photos, just click on the photo and check out the set on my flickr.





Thanks!
Meg

[megkunert]

deleted cause i'm an idiot.

[oldwolf]

Might want to read the forum rules before a mod gets in here.

Critique Forum Rules

[megkunert]

Originally Posted by oldwolf

Might want to read the forum rules before a mod gets in here.

Critique Forum Rules

WHOOPS!

Thanks.

[sinque]

I think your portraits are very pretty. I have seem
so great portriat photography using the D5000 . and the fast lense.
Keep shooting and posting.

sinque

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by megkunert

Hello.

I've been dabbling in DSLR photography for a year now, but I'm just now getting into portrait photography. Looking for any and ALL advice/critique. Be brutally honest. I can take it.

I shoot with a Nikon D5000 and I was using an 85mm 1.4G lens. I shoot in aperture priority mode to get the most out of the natural light available. I really want to learn manual, but haven't taken the time to learn the camera. Bad, bad I know.

I want sharper, clearer photos, but I know I probably won't ever get that with a D5000. Or can I? Advice, please...

To view the other photos, just click on the photo and check out the set on my flickr.





Thanks!
Meg

What's the EXIF data for this photo?

You have a great model with a nice smile. If I were going to change anything, I might crop a little off the top or lower the camera to get rid of a bit off the top and include more of her dress.

For post work, I'd get rid of the circles/wrinkle underneath her eyes. I wouldn't get rid of them completely but I would soften them up a lot. To nitpick, I'd probably also even out the shadows on her chin.

You can get sharp clear images with the D5000. It has to do with technique. I can't comment on your exposure since I don't know the EXIF. I can tell you that a lens is not at its sharpest at the lower f/stop it can shoot at. You have to find that sweet spot where you get the sharpest image possible from the lens.

Another consideration besides f/stop is the shutter speed. If it's too slow then you'll introduce camera shake. With an 85mm lens I probably wouldn't shoot slower than 1/125.

On top of all that you also need to sharpen in post if you want really clear sharp images. With the combination of the proper f/stop, shutter speed and sharpening in post you'll get what you want.

edit: Forgot to add that I would also lighten her eyes up. It seems like she has really pretty brown eyes but there wasn't enough light hitting them to make them pop.

[megkunert]

Originally Posted by oldwolf

What's the EXIF data for this photo?

You have a great model with a nice smile. If I were going to change anything, I might crop a little off the top or lower the camera to get rid of a bit off the top and include more of her dress.

For post work, I'd get rid of the circles/wrinkle underneath her eyes. I wouldn't get rid of them completely but I would soften them up a lot. To nitpick, I'd probably also even out the shadows on her chin.

You can get sharp clear images with the D5000. It has to do with technique. I can't comment on your exposure since I don't know the EXIF. I can tell you that a lens is not at its sharpest at the lower f/stop it can shoot at. You have to find that sweet spot where you get the sharpest image possible from the lens.

Another consideration besides f/stop is the shutter speed. If it's too slow then you'll introduce camera shake. With an 85mm lens I probably wouldn't shoot slower than 1/125.

On top of all that you also need to sharpen in post if you want really clear sharp images. With the combination of the proper f/stop, shutter speed and sharpening in post you'll get what you want.

edit: Forgot to add that I would also lighten her eyes up. It seems like she has really pretty brown eyes but there wasn't enough light hitting them to make them pop.

Thanks for your input!

I shoot in aperture priority to get the most out of the natural light available. And, I'll admit, I am a sucker for beautiful bokeh (who isn't?). I'm always afraid of using a smaller aperture in fear that I'll lose the creamy background that you get from shooting at 1.4 as opposed to shooting at 8. I'm afraid of my photos looking like they came from a point and shoot rather than a professional grade camera. I know it's stupid, but I gotta have that bokeh! LOL. I supposed I should start experimenting more instead of always insisting on shooting wide open to see if I can find that "sweet spot" you're talking about. I haven't worked in manual mode (bad, bad, I know)... I really need to learn how to adjust the settings on my camera to be able to change the shutter speed. When it comes to technical terms, I am pretty familiar with metering, auto focus, ISO, exposure, etc - I just have to learn the shutter speed. Since I shoot in aperture priority, that's what I'm most familiar with.. makes sense, I guess. Manual mode is just something I haven't taken the time to learn, although I really know I need to. That'll be next on the list of high priority things to do in terms of my photog obsession.

EXIF data for the pic above was:
f/ 1.4
1/200
ISO 200
85mm

On her eyes, the original pics were really dark. I used the dodge tool in CS5 to lighten them up a little bit (without looking alien-ish) and used a sharpening action on them, to bring them out. Do you have another suggestion for "eye lightening" that may be more effective that I'm not aware of? I'm open for suggestions and always looking to improve.

I realized that after I took the snapshot above, that I should have angled the camera downwards a bit more, to get rid of the extra brick in the top of the photo. The d5000 isn't a full frame camera, so it's really hard to get a "feel" for the photo until AFTER you shoot the photo. It's kind of a trial and error type deal for me.

[cherrygirl]

It's a nice capture but the pose bothers me...she looks uncomfortable to me... I do agree there is a little too much headroom. It is too bad there is no light in her eyes...that would give it a little more pop.

Overall it is nice just a needs a few tweaks!

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by megkunert

On her eyes, the original pics were really dark. I used the dodge tool in CS5 to lighten them up a little bit (without looking alien-ish) and used a sharpening action on them, to bring them out. Do you have another suggestion for "eye lightening" that may be more effective that I'm not aware of? I'm open for suggestions and always looking to improve.

For they eyes I might have lightened them up a bit more just like you were doing with the dodge tool. What type of sharpening did you apply? USM or High Pass? Some times the USM will darken things a bit.

There's nothing wrong with shooting in aperture priority mode. That's what I normally shoot in when I'm outdoors but when I want full control like when I add a flash or something like that then I'll go full manual. It's the end product that matters.

[mshockley]

Originally Posted by oldwolf

There's nothing wrong with shooting in aperture priority mode. That's what I normally shoot in when I'm outdoors but when I want full control like when I add a flash or something like that then I'll go full manual. It's the end product that matters.

Just lurking through this thread and so glad to hear you feel that way about aperature priority mode, as I love shooting that way!