Attempt at Senior Photos

[jnhouchins]

Here is my first attempt at Senior Photography. Luckily, this is my sister, so I won't disappoint anyone if it isn't perfect.
I shot this in the woods so light was a challenge. A reflector was used, but no flash.
This is the original image. I would like to warm up the tones a bit in PP. Any other suggestions regarding composition, pose, etc would be appreciated.

Canon Rebel T1i
ISO 400
f/4.5
No flash

[MrJones]

I really like it. I like the pose and I like the scene.
it's a bit cold as you mentioned and a bit underexposed but it's a great raw material to work with.
have fun PP it and come back with your final result and post it back here!

[TheMoons678]

Background is a little distracting. What length is this and how far away were you from her?

[jnhouchins]

Originally Posted by TheMoons678

Background is a little distracting. What length is this and how far away were you from her?

Focal length was 33mm and I was about 4 feet from her. I agree that the background is a little distracting. I was hoping for a shallower depth of field.

Do you have suggestions for improving this shot in the future?

[MrJones]

I've played with it a little:
1. soft light layer at about 50%
2. multiply layer at about 40% (with the girl masked out)
3. brightness layer (with the background masked out)
4. warmed it up with a photo filter layer (better done in camera raw)
5. added a guassian blur filter in another layer and masked it selectively.

here is the result, if you want me to take it off - let me know..

[jnhouchins]

MrJones,
Thanks for help, I will definitely give it a try. The blurring of the background gives it an almost magical feel.

[TheMoons678]

Yeah bokeh is hard to fake. To soften your background you can use a longer length, close the distance between you and your subject, and increase the distance between your subject and background.

[utsc2006]

I like the angle you shot at. Nice posing. However I do agree that a longer focal length would work better to blurr out that BG. Try something like a 70-200mm to get the effect I think you are looking for

[jnhouchins]

Thanks everyone for the critique. I appreciate the feedback on blurring my backgrounds. I plan on giving it another go this coming weekend.

I did get some shots from my Sunday shoot that turned out with great soft, blurred backgrounds.