How do I avoid this kind of result next time?

[mermaidshells]

Dark room and nothing but an overhead light, hall light and desk lamp to keep the light up. I think I over compensated the ISO or...something. Either way I know that this is a kinda 'bleh' picture but I'm running out of ideas on how I would fix it next time I tried a shot like this.



Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Exposure: 0.1 sec (1/10)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 48 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Composition? Exposure? Focus? Aperture? What did I do right? What did I do wrong and how might I improve it? Was it the lighting causing the problem? Did I over compensate? How's the pose? Is it even readable? What about the color balance?

Thanks in advance guys!

[miyukisarah]

What were you trying to accomplish with this photo? Or what were you trying to convey?

[mermaidshells]

I was trying to get a kind of casual, sexy and warm image. But this seems totally blown out to me. Am I too hard on myself? I guess for the most part I'm wondering what I can do to improve this image next time I shoot, because I'm going to try to take it again some time soon.

[stevoarnold]

hey there,

I have three main ideas, firstly you mention you were going for a warm look, but you have shot her against a blue background which is a cold colour.
secondly, the light is quite hard, which suggests that the lights were far away from her. the closer the light source is to the subject, the more it will wrap around the subject in a soft and diffuse way. also, using a desk lamp suggests that you weren't shooting through a diffuser of any kind, such as an umbrella, which would create a really soft light for your subject.
my third idea would be to crop the frame a bit, turn the camera to portrait orientation and fill the frame with the subject. this might create more of an intimate feel.

hope this helps

[cziz]

I get the idea of this photo.
Lighting:
To get softer light hang a white bed sheet infront of your light source and get it as close to the subject as possible. I would lift the lamp way up to minimize the shadow on the wall, or adjust the light to cast a recognizable shadow of a woman in a hat on the wall. Right now the shadow just looks like a blob of darkness.

Pose:
You might want to try moving her away from the wall camera left (might help with the shadow as well). It kinda looks like she toppled and hit her head on the wall. Her right arm and shoulder looks really uncomfortable. Maybe a more deliberate looking pose would be in order.

Good luck... If you re-shoot it post it here, I'd love to see it.

[mermaidshells]

Wonderful! Thank you so much stevoarnold and cziz! These are great ideas. I such a beginner I would have never thought of using a an umbrella or a sheet to defuse the light. Thanks for all your ideas!

I'll definately post this up again when I take the new shot!

Cheers!

[PS*]

I was going to suggest moving her more forward off the rear wall. There is no depth having her that close. Could you have opened your aperture more so you could have used a lower ISO? Did you try taking the shot multiple ways, like without the overhead light on or sans lamp? With f5.6 the focus is fine, but I think opening up could have have created more story and given more attention to a specific place. Also what is your white balance setting? She is really pink, I am a pale girl myself so know how that goes but the cool of the blue and the cool flush of the skin are really distracting.

[Alefeb07]

I agree with what everyone is saying. You need to increase your shutter speed as well though. 1/10 is not fast enough to catch the small shake the subject may have had, but of course to do this, you must increase your light.