Critique on my first Portrait Shoot

[nmajmani]

So yesterday I went out and did my first portrait shoot, with two of my friends volunteering to be the models. Although both I and my friends were happy with the results, I would still like to know where I might be able to improve my technique. The entire set can be viewed here: Portraits - a set on Flickr

I am particularly interested in feedback on posing, lighting, and composition.

[fais54]

It would be easier to critique if you picked a couple of your favorite shots, but I'll try my best. To my eyes, these are all good, only on a few them I feel like the lighting could have been better, but you did get some great ones. These are my favorites:

Erin | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Christine | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Erin | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[BigFuzzy]

Hi nmajmani,
Can you check out the forum rules and help us out by picking one photo and ask some specific questions as to what you'd like us to comment on?
Thanks!

[nmajmani]

My apologies. This is one of my favourite shots, and what I am interested in here is comments on the pose of the shot, and the use of props specifically in this photo.



EXIF
ISO 500
Aperture F7.1
Exposure 1/125

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by nmajmani

My apologies. This is one of my favourite shots, and what I am interested in here is comments on the pose of the shot, and the use of props specifically in this photo.

EXIF
ISO 500
Aperture F7.1
Exposure 1/125

Ah, that makes it easier, thanks!

First impression I got, before anything else, was that it was a bit "posey".. didn't feel very natural to me. It felt like "stand here and pose for a photo".. Technically, ALL portraits (that aren't candids) are technically this, but I think you know what I mean by saying it feels a bit forced? This feeling is amplified by the use of the prop

You did a good job of shooting in open shade, so the lighting is pretty balanced and soft.

To me I would have used a larger aperture (smaller f/stop #) to get less Depth of Field so as the blur out the background which is a bit distracting.
Is there a specific reason you shot at f/7.1 and iso 500?
Had you used the widest aperture, you would have been able to have good shutterspeed without having to use ISO 500 and whatever noise that brings with it.
Of course, if you goal was to have a lot in focus as opposed to a shallow DoF, that's fine, but to me a shallower DoF would have helped make the subject pop out of the background more.

In the end, it's a good start... you're clearly thinking in the right direction instead of just putting a person in the center of the frame and snapping a shot.. Just work on getting the shots (I did look at all of them after all) a bit more natural looking as they all felt they were trying really hard to pose for a photo. And consider having a shallower depth of field to focus more on the subject (this is, of course, an artistic choice, not a must )

Keep posting, and welcome!