Photoshoot over exposed?

[kathryntaylor]

Hello I was wondering if you thought the picture to be over exposed? I've been learning about aperture and exposure lately but Im not sure I have the gist of it yet.
I did some post-processing to make it not so bright but it didn't seem to work.
Also, what do you think about the colors and the crop? Should i crop it a bit more?
Any other comments would be lovely as well



more pictures of the shoot are in my flickr account
Flickr: kathryntaylor's Photostream


Camera: Sony DSC-H50
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 16.4 mm

[Trader]

Yes, it is over exposed. If you would look at a histogram of this photo you would clearly see that all of the weight is on the left side and there is considerable clipping.

[BadAssFraggle]

I'm only a novice but i think its over exposed on the subjects legs. The first thing I look at this her legs rather than her face. Also I think the background is a little flat, I was reading about the rule of thirds and it seems like there is do middle to this.

Please correct me if I'm wrong people, I just want to try and help.

[SusanH1970]

I agree with BadAssFraggle (btw that's a hilarious name) about the legs being overexposed - they're blown out. Also, her right arm is very red compared to her left arm. Her face is yellow, probably a color cast from the flower. The background is really undexposed and way too dark, and her black shirt blends in with the background. Cute girl and I do like the idea of the pose, though. Keep trying, you're off to a pretty good start.

[kathryntaylor]

Yeah i agree with all of yall. I kinda figured that there was going to be some overexposure since i had her facing the sun but I didn't know what else to do for lighting. Do you have any suggestions about what i could have done better with maybe my aperture settings or ISO? Oh thanks for the comments

[SusanH1970]

Kathryn, I'm guessing by the long shadows this was either morning or afternoon, not mid-day. Good to start off that way! Instead of facing your subject into the sun, either try having them side-lit or backlit with a reflector to even out the lighting (if you choose backlighting, you may need fill flash as well; and spot metering off their face).

You didn't post ISO but I found on your Flickr properties that it was 100, which certainly isn't too high for this, nor is a 4.5 aperture for a full length portrait. I feel the problems lie in you lighting. Since she's stationary, you could try a slower shutter speed and see if that helps.

Try open shade instead of full sun, also, whenever possible. That is some of the best lighting available when the sun shining bright.