What’s Your Preference?

ChrisAdval · #1 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 05:31 AM

I'm in my building stages of my model photography portfolio and as I gain more photos with specific lighting (low, high key studio, natural, indoor, outdoor) both indoors and outdoors I would like to separate the photos based on lighting and if its an on-location or studio shot photo and separate them on my online portfolios.

Some back story on the creation of the photos is I started shooting model photography back in Oct. 2010 with friends, but then finally got the proper studio equipment early 2011 and got ready to go on Model Mayhem (MM) and got my first model shoot from MM around May 2011 and as of today I shot about 11 different models from MM. So, it may or may not be a lot of models but I worked very hard to contact and connect with models on MM in the local (50mile radius) area.

Model Portfolio: Model Portfolio - a set on Flickr

(not complete, but please critique as harsh as you can based on the photos currently in the portfolio, even photos you think shouldn't be in this portfolio)

It's about 45 photos on there now, all EXIF information is available to you via flickr. Not sure if I'm allowed to make this type of post but I really need an overall portfolio critique.

Bruce A · #2 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 06:52 AM

Chris, I have bookmarked your website and blog and made you a flickr contact as what I've seen I'm interested to learn from your work. Unfortunately time constraints will limit me to getting around to having my (very humble opinion) to your request. Unfortunately, although some of the resident experts - pros aren't necessarilly experts I've found and vice versa - occassionally chime in on this critique forum, they seem to be getting fewer and far between, so you may have to put up with some more humble opinions if that doesn't bother you.

As for me, while I certainly appreciate the few critiques I do get in this section, it would be nice if the more "learned" would lend their thoughts. I'll try to get back here soon

windrider86 · #3 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 12:04 PM

Would you mind posting one photo here for us and then link to the rest? Please and thank you. Critique section rules

ChrisAdval · #4 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by windrider86

Would you mind posting one photo here for us and then link to the rest? Please and thank you. Critique section rules

I did read the rules, just I needed a full portfolio with my 45 photos of my overall model photography. And if we're not allowed to post on asking for a critique on a full portfolio then we need a portfolio critique forum.

windrider86 · #5 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 01:57 PM

Please post only ONE image in the thread. If you need to show more, link it to your set. If you post more than one, the other will be deleted at the moderators discretion.

I understand. Just not sure how you can go in and critique over 45 images as each one is unique in its own way. For me anyway, would find it hard to critique an entire gallery when one photo may be too dark and another one may have too many shadows under the nose and eyes while yet another one may be out of focus and still yet another one may have bad composition. Not saying yours are, just saying in general.

ChrisAdval · #6 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by windrider86

Please post only ONE image in the thread. If you need to show more, link it to your set. If you post more than one, the other will be deleted at the moderators discretion.

I understand. Just not sure how you can go in and critique over 45 images as each one is unique in its own way. For me anyway, would find it hard to critique an entire gallery when one photo may be too dark and another one may have too many shadows under the nose and eyes while yet another one may be out of focus and still yet another one may have bad composition. Not saying yours are, just saying in general.

I understand thats why we need a portfolio critique subforum for those (like me) who wouldn't mind critiquing a lot of photos based on a whole portfolio folder. And some others wouldn't mind as well and I'm sure others would love a whole portfolio critique. I didn't want to spam the forum with ONE image per thread, that would be 45 threads... would you want that? (no I'm assuming) That's why a subforum would be extremely useful here.

windrider86 · #7 (**permalink**) 08-12-2011, 03:48 PM

Point taken, will pass it on!

Bruce A · #8 (**permalink**) 08-13-2011, 11:25 AM

Chris, I enjoyed your portfolio immensely. I thought you had the lighting pretty well nailed in most shots as well as the composition. Also, the poses/moods were well defined - edgy, serious, candid and seductive. My biggest problem was the girl with the eyelashes - the girl was fine, but those lashes distracted me in every one of her shots - that's most likely a subjective thing, but I found my eyes homing in on them with each new image. Your work though is excellent - very professional in my humble opinion.

Perhaps a talk with your make-up person

ChrisAdval · #9 (**permalink**) 08-13-2011, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce A

Chris, I enjoyed your portfolio immensely. I thought you had the lighting pretty well nailed in most shots as well as the composition. Also, the poses/moods were well defined - edgy, serious, candid and seductive. My biggest problem was the girl with the eyelashes - the girl was fine, but those lashes distracted me in every one of her shots - that's most likely a subjective thing, but I found my eyes homing in on them with each new image. Your work though is excellent - very professional in my humble opinion.

Perhaps a talk with your make-up person

Well thanks a lot Bruce!

I don't have a make-up person at all unfortunately

The girls did their own make-up. As for the super odd looking eyelashes, yes I agree, it was my first on-location shoot (outdoors) and my first attempt for high fashion style shoot so I thought make-up big lashes would be the idea for that.

Rentham · #10 (**permalink**) 08-14-2011, 03:21 AM

Chris, I like your work overall. I took a look through your linked portfolio set as well as browsing the rest of your Flickr stream. Here are the broad themes of what I noticed:

The Technical Stuff
I like your use off camera flash and I like that you go for drama with many of your lighting set ups. Sometimes, however, it can get a bit too dramatic. For example, split lighting is pretty hard to pull off in a flattering manner for a female. Your shot of Ash Amore may have benefitted from a softer approach.

A lot of your low key stuff seems under exposed in the skin tones. You also seem to have occasional exposure problems with hotspots on faces. Your high key stuff is suffering from severally overexposed backgrounds which are causing flare and wrap. Sometimes that can be a beautiful approach to lighting, but in many cases you are losing distinction between skin tone and background. Now, I know that's because you are shooting in a small space and you probably just don't have the room to move the subject any further off the background.

Also, watch the positioning of your subjects. You do a good job of keeping the eyes lit in most of your shots, but sometimes the subject is looking away from the light and the eyes go dead. During a shoot I just hear Zack Arias' voice repeating in my head like a mantra: Head in a clean spot, eyes to the light.

You also have a tendency to shoot up the nose of your subject. Now I often shoot up at my subjects, but there are few things that you should keep in mind. Ask them to either turn their head and look off camera or look 12-18 inches OVER your head. When they look down at you the it gives the appearance of looking down their nose at you. It also makes their eyes naturally shut a bit so their lids get heavy.

The Other Stuff
I think the biggest thing you need to do is figure out what kind of pictures you want to shoot. I see in your Flickr profile you're interested in fine art nudes. From what I've seen fine art nudes are highly conceptual but some of your more "risque" work tends toward the salacious. That plays fine on Model Mayhem but can you make a salable product out of it? Shooting girls topless or in bikinis sounds great, but where is it going to lead in terms of developing a body of work that is going to get you premium assignments?

Another thing I noticed is several of your models seemed out of the flow of the shoot. As someone who has worked with my share of MM novices, I know how it is to have a model just not know what to do. They freeze up, turn to wood. Ashley looks a bit sheepish in some of the shoots and Stephanie looks downright bored. You gotta keep them engaged and in the flow. I know its like pulling teeth sometimes.

Like I said, I enjoy your work and I think we probably have a lot in common in how we like to shoot. Even on the shots that aren't quite there, I see what you were going for and I see the seed of a good idea there. Keep working to get the exposure fluctuations under control and keep exploring what kind of pictures you really want to shoot. I think you'll have a real strong body of work in short order.

For what it's worth, I found your street image of Heather Dink to be the strongest by far. I'd like to see more in that style.

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