My first attempt at a Portrait shoot

[ahickman]

Hiya DPS!

Well, yesterday my sis and I decided we were going to get some good shots of her to send to her long-distance bf. We took our time doing her makeup, her hair, picking an outfit, and drove around with several locations in mind. We ended up here and I am pretty happy with some of the shots we got. Here is one shot I took:




A few more are on my Flikr, but this is one that I was happy with. What do you think? Is the background ok? I touched it up because it had a blue tint originally. These are going to be for her boyfriend and our mom for Christmas. What would you change? Would you blur the lake a bit? Does the pose sit well with you?

We will be shooting all week (she has a twin and we have a brother, so I have a lot of shots to take between now and Friday while they are out of school). As always, any and ALL feedback is welcome - even if it is "Ugh - redo!" Thanks again and have a great Tuesday!

EXIF:
Camera: Nikon D60
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 112 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

[ahickman]

That bad, eh?

[See & Wonder]

I like what you have going with the location. The water adds a nice touch but doesn't become the focus. I really like her genuine smile . . . did you take other positions??

Good job on the first.
CW

[ahickman]

Originally Posted by See & Wonder

I like what you have going with the location. The water adds a nice touch but doesn't become the focus. I really like her genuine smile . . . did you take other positions??

Good job on the first.
CW

Thank you so much for responding! Yes I took some more poses yesterday and quite a few more today. I am pretty lucky that she is so comfortable in front of the camera. Since we are only able to post one at a time, I was going to wait until tomorrow for the next few but feel free to check out my blog or Flikr for more. I should be uploading more soon. It was really tough because I wasn't sure how much should be cropped out of an outdoor portrait? If she is sitting on the ground, is it wrong to crop above the knee? If I have most of her arms, should I leave her hands, etc. Any advice?

[WooD]

I like the location, and the pose is OK, but I'd have had her wear long sleeves. It seems to me her arms draw more attention then her face.

[ahickman]

Originally Posted by WooD

I like the location, and the pose is OK, but I'd have had her wear long sleeves. It seems to me her arms draw more attention than her face.

Lol, how funny, I chose two long-sleeved shirts for her today and one for her twin! Yay! I agree now that you mentioned it. I would update my flikr but my card reader is being mean... I am trying to get it to work. The USB ports on my hubby's computer are screwy.

How is the lighting? I didn't have any reflectors or anything like that...in fact the girls complained today because half the time they were squinting so I am sure they would have killed me if I had come near them with anything shiny. LOL. Would I have benefited from using a reflector? If so, where can I get one and what would it help? Thanks again guys, I was so discouraged today when no one seemed to be responding...

[WooD]

Originally Posted by ahickman

Lol, how funny, I chose two long-sleeved shirts for her today and one for her twin! Yay! I agree now that you mentioned it. I would update my flikr but my card reader is being mean... I am trying to get it to work. The USB ports on my hubby's computer are screwy.

How is the lighting? I didn't have any reflectors or anything like that...in fact the girls complained today because half the time they were squinting so I am sure they would have killed me if I had come near them with anything shiny. LOL. Would I have benefited from using a reflector? If so, where can I get one and what would it help? Thanks again guys, I was so discouraged today when no one seemed to be responding...

I think you had some good light, no harsh shadows. Her eyes are squinted, but that's something that's hard to overcome sometimes. I've shot people that no matter what the lighting was it always looked like they had their eyes closed.

Don't get discouraged over not getting many replies, it just happens.

I've posted threads before that I thought I was the only one able to see them.

[kgb224]

Outstanding attempt.

[TheWombat]

I don't think the boyfriend is going to care about the lake. If it were my shot I'd crop the heck out of it, and include just the sitter.

Great smile though!

[Robby]

I am not an expert....but I love it.