First Attempt Portrait

[lanikatherine]

My sister wanted some shots of herself so we decided to do a little mini shoot. The backgrounds aren't the best as we were just playing around but I think some of them came out pretty well.I am a new student and just learning about aperture, focus etc. I use Picasa Editing. Any opinions or suggestions on lighting, posing etc. are appreciated. Thanks

[BrentGambrell]

Hmm. The photos seem unclear and blurry. The composition isn't right on either. In my personal opinion, I think you did okay for a beginner. To be honest, these just look like you got a point and shoot and just took photos. Work on lighting, iso, and exposure! Get the technical stuff down, before you try and learn poses, props..etc.

[lanikatherine]

Thank you for your opinion! But are you looking at the same thing I am. Which ones look blurry to you?

[smc1377]

I moved your thread to the photographing people section being that you're asking for advice and help, which is not allowed in the Share Your Shots section.

[lanikatherine]

Oh, sorry about that. Thank you!

[lputman]

I would have to agree with Brent in that they are not the best focused photographs. What were your camera settings? You might consider using a photo hosting site like flickr. The embedded linked images appear better than attached images in posts.

[Lee Sacrey]

Well, I like the shots you have taken. I am not a pro but, I would try using f/11 as that seems to like some kind of starting rule for portraits. I guess if you are happy with the photos then good on ya. I would just compare them with future shots so you can see how much better you get with practice. What is key to me is - if you like taking the pictures great everyone gets better the more they shoot. Enjoy what you do and just keep shooting.

[Ciscley]

• Come inside and sit her sideways next to well lit windows.

• Seat yourself across from her, don't stand above her.

• Set the aperture as high as you can (ie, the smallest number) so that your depth of field is very limited. This will blur out the background and soften everything that's not in the sweet spot.

• Now take your time focusing on her eyes. Make sure her eyes are totally in focus, not her nose which is what most people do w/ AF.

... btw, I think the fourth shot is the best of these. Comp on other three is too central for me. They look blurry on my screen too. Looks like y'all had fun! Finding someone willing to patiently sit there while you practice photographing them, best gift ever!

[naeno]

The fourth one is definitely the best, but this is why it's the best...she has catch lights in her eyes (small white spots in the pupil that make the eyes more vibrant), she's not smack dead center in the frame, there's no clutter in the background, and there is very little bra strap showing (the part that is showing can be cloned out easily). I would probably try a vertical crop on it, but that's just me.

It's true that your focus fell on her nose in most of the pictures, which is why several people said they look a little blurry. However, for a first shoot, you've done a good job!

[lanikatherine]

Thank you all for the advice. I think where I get confused is I mainly use the f-stops to control lighting. My camera is rinky dinky and the highest aperture is 3.2 and the lowest is 8 so I guess that doesnt really give me too many options.