Senior

[Svetik]

This is my first time taking Senior picture i know is not perfect i have Canon EOS Rebel, still learning. I didn't do any correction in photoshop.

[Ricco]

Svetlana - with the first shot the lighting is very uneven. You have bits of shade dappled with light.

Next time perhaps try going for an even shade - the second one is much better in this regard

[Donald]

Svetlana

If you want to get into portraiture, you should study the series of lessons that Colin authored. Clink here to access them.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Svetlana,

Donald's advice regarding Colin's portraiture series is well worth following up.

On looking at these two; the most obvious problems are the backgrounds, you need to train your eye, when looking around the viewfinder of your Rebel (before pressing the shutter), to see what else is there and if it doesn't contribute to the image, get rid of it somehow. That could be as simple as moving the camera slightly left or right, moving to a different position entirely, throwing it out of focus by use of a wider aperture, or dealing with it in post processing (PP) - you will need to shoot RAW and do PP if you want the highest quality results.

From what I have seen of Senior pictures (its not something we do in UK), they should be about the person, so don't have anything else in shot that distracts attention from the subject and make sure the subject is large enough in the frame.

So first off, have a go at assessing what's wrong with these yourself (be critical), and if you like tell us, so we can pick up on anything you missed.

Then have another go, using the advice here and above, perhaps with someone else as a subject if necessary, and post the results and we can go from there.

Good luck,

[Svetik]

Thanks Donald, i will defently will go thru them. There is so much info.
My daugther likes both pictures, those ares she wanted to try.
Do you think on first photo if we done later in a day would be better?
With second photo get more closer shot with wider aperture to blur up backgrownd?

[Donald]

Do you think on first photo if we done later in a day would be better?

Certainly, trying this shot with direct sunlight involved is always going to be a challenge. You are much better with diffused light; i.e. when there are lots of clouds around.

With second photo get more closer shot with wider aperture to blur up backgrownd?

I think that is a very good idea.

[Dave Humphries]

My daugther likes both pictures, those ares she wanted to try.

If you're going back for a reshoot;

On the above;
Move the camera to the right to avoid that big iron leg behind your daughter
Shoot at a wider aperture to avoid having all the fence and trees so sharp
Use a longer focal length than 28mm - because you were at 28mm, you had to get close and that over-emphasises the legs and hand due to prespective

On the one below;
Try not to chop her feet off if aiming for full length
Focus on her face, but if necessary, crop in PP to remove wasted space
The texture of what she is leaning against will distract if you crop tighter
Why not sit her on the bench seat?
Stay at the 53mm or longer for these shots.

Good luck,

[Svetik]

Another question, is there trick about glasses? i am trying to get her eyes to see, but they look like they are hiding behind her glasses

[Colin Southern]

Another question, is there trick about glasses? i am trying to get her eyes to see, but they look like they are hiding behind her glasses

Hi Svetlana,

Glasses can present a couple of "challenges" ...

1. The glass can act like a mirror and give either glare or reflections - the "trick" there is to make sure that any flash lighting doesn't bounce light back towards the camera. Sometimes you have to move the lights - sometimes you have to get the subject to reposition their head a little (often look down a little).

2. They can leave the eyes looking a little dark behind the frames - the "trick" in this case is to put a selection around the glass and gently brighten the glass area (and thus what's behind the glass) when post-processing the image.

Hope this helps

[FrankMi]

Another question, is there trick about glasses? i am trying to get her eyes to see, but they look like they are hiding behind her glasses

Hi Svetana, here is a video tutorial on how to remove random glare from eyeglasses. Part 1 of this tutorial show how to deal with overall glare. http://www.peachpit.com/articles/art...25305&seqNum=2

Hope this helps!

[rpcrowe]

I am of an age in which I always expect a portrait labeled "senior" to be of a grizzled old person like me. I am always pleasantly surprised when the image is of a fresh lovely young person like your daughter...

A couple of quick posing tips both for posing and shooting which might be helpful in future shots...

Don't stand parallel to the photographer. Instead stand at about a 45 degree angle to the photographer and place your forward foot towards the camera, place your weight on your back foot. This is perhaps the most important suggestion for any portrait of a person standing.

Often tilting head towards the shoulder nearest the camera will be flattering. Don't overdo this. However, when standing parallel to the photographer, tilting the head to one side is not flattering.

Hold arms slightly away from your body so that they don't flab out. This is most important if wearing a sleeveless blouse.

Don't shoot from a low angle.

Pull shoulders back slightly and gently suck belly in.

Push your face slightly forward.

Try not to have hand or knee closer to the camera, especially when shooting with a wider lens. The natural perspective distortion makes them look inordinately big.

The intertwining of arms cuts a torso in two and both makes the arms look heavier and makes the waist and hips look heavier.

One way to get a natural expression is to turn your head away from the camera and then towards the camera while smiling. This sometimes allows the smile to look less frozen.

Squared off hands are not flattering, instead try to show the edges of the hands.

When shooting, I would try to avoid bright sky as my background.