First portrait shots of mine

[Walj]

Hi ALL,

This shot of portrait was my first time I did over last weekend. Your c & c would be helpful and appreciated. My setup was 5D Mark II with EF 70-200mm F/4.0L IS zoom lens + TC 1.4x. Thanks a mill. :


Pic #01


Pic #02


Pic #03


Pic #04


Pic #05

[travis4567]

Really nice, love the bokeh in #5

[RustBeltRaw]

To my eyes, #4 works the best. It has a much more interesting expression than the rest, all of which have engaging color, but fairly heavy-handed skin smoothing. The light in #2 is fantastic (shooting light through the umbrella was a good call), but nothing beats expression. In the details category, I think the pearl bracelets in #4 are too close to the border to work. If they're central, they can become a graphical element. That close to the edge, they look like an oversight.

Is your subject a full or part-time model? It can be more difficult to get natural reactions from models, who normally have a library of expressions they keep returning to. Speaking for myself, I prefer to start with people who aren't that great in front of the camera, because it's frequently easier to get natural moments out of them. However, I am not much of a fashion shooter, and these photos definitely have that vibe.

[Walj]

Really nice, love the bokeh in #5

Hi Travis,

Thanks for viewing and glad you like it..

Cheers.
Walj

[Walj]

To my eyes, #4 works the best. It has a much more interesting expression than the rest, all of which have engaging color, but fairly heavy-handed skin smoothing. The light in #2 is fantastic (shooting light through the umbrella was a good call), but nothing beats expression. In the details category, I think the pearl bracelets in #4 are too close to the border to work. If they're central, they can become a graphical element. That close to the edge, they look like an oversight.

Is your subject a full or part-time model? It can be more difficult to get natural reactions from models, who normally have a library of expressions they keep returning to. Speaking for myself, I prefer to start with people who aren't that great in front of the camera, because it's frequently easier to get natural moments out of them. However, I am not much of a fashion shooter, and these photos definitely have that vibe.

Hi Lex,

Thanks for viewing and your valuable feedback. I appreciate! I guess this model from Ukraine is a full-time model here. Yes! she is very photogenic. With regard to your comments esp. on fairly heavy-handed skin smoothing, etc... would you mind sharing with me how can I improve it. I'm using Photoshop CS5 with NIK software plug-in.

Me either not a fashion shooter. I'm actually a nature photographer and do this just for weekend hobby. Below is another shot showing pearl bracelet in full for c & c:


Pic #06 (cont'd)

Thanks a mill.

Cheers.
Walj

[John 2]

4 and 5 from the original batch for me Walad because the pose seems more natural in these two but best of all is the full frame no.6. That's a cracking shot. The pearls distract just a little but it holds it own anyway for me. The light is just beautiful. I'm curious though. Why did you need a 1,4 TC on your 70-200mm?

[IzzieK]

Very interesting...and lovely model. Good shots.

[Stagecoach]

Walad, I have not got a clue about taking portraits but what I find impressive about these is your clever use of background light and colour that does not distract me from the model. Well done.

Grahame

[Colin Southern]

Hi Walad,

I take it that these were all shot with only available light?

[Shadowman]

Nice series, #4 for me.

[Walj]

4 and 5 from the original batch for me Walad because the pose seems more natural in these two but best of all is the full frame no.6. That's a cracking shot. The pearls distract just a little but it holds it own anyway for me. The light is just beautiful. I'm curious though. Why did you need a 1,4 TC on your 70-200mm?

Hi John 2,

Thanks for viewing and your comments. Wonderful and I appreciate it! I attached 1.4 TC because I saw a bride within the same area where I did this portrait shot but a little further. I find quite inconvenient and don't bother to remove it when done. I left it as it is and continued with my portrait shoot...

Cheers.
Walj

[Walj]

Very interesting...and lovely model. Good shots.

Hi Izzie,

Thanks for viewing. Glad you like it too..

Cheers.
Walj

[Walj]

Walad, I have not got a clue about taking portraits but what I find impressive about these is your clever use of background light and colour that does not distract me from the model. Well done.

Grahame

Thanks Grahame - Hi. Glad you like it too..

Cheers.
Walj

[Walj]

Hi Walad,

I take it that these were all shot with only available light?

Thanks Colin - Hi,

Yes! all shots with only available light. I did shoot with hotshot flash unfortunately don't seem like the result.

Cheers.
Walj

[Walj]

Nice series, #4 for me.

Thanks John - Hi,

Glad you like #4..

Cheers.
Walj

[Downrigger]

I like them all and wouldn't know where to begin with portraiture like this. You struck forth from the comfort of landscapes successfully, I think.
In numbers 3 and 5 it seems to me she has unhelpfully picked up some of the green as a tint to her complexion - i.e. compare skin tones for the second to the the third or fourth to fifth. Perhaps intended? And not sure how one would address this if one wanted to... selective warming? selective magenta shift?

[Kyle]

Wow. Fantastic shots. They are all great. I can't decide if 1 or 2 is my favourite but they are exceptional. Only comment I would have is that on 3 the angle of her neck is a little distracting and he expression makes it look like she's falling asleep. Otherwise she is very photogenic. Her expressions really help make the shots.

[purplehaze]

Really impressive, Walj. I too love your backgrounds and #6 is my favorite of the bunch, and #2 second. I wonder if #s 4 and 5 might not have benefited from some fill flash?

[Colin Southern]

Hi Walad,

It looks like you had a lot of fun!

I would like to make a few suggestions though ...

1. I'd suggest shooting with a spectrally neutral card as a white balance reference so you can get the colours closer to what they should be. I hate to say it, but these skin tones are pretty much "all over the place"

2. One of the problems when shooting without fill flash (ie using only natural light) is that that light doesn't make it's way evenly into "hard to reach places" like eye sockets - and thus gives somewhat of a "black eye" effect. It's often something people don't notice -- until they see what it looks like when it's corrected. Ideally we need to be using a reflector at the time to bounce some light back into the face, but failing that, it can be done in post processing by putting a wide select around the eye and brow (with BIG margins) - applying a feather of around 50 - duplicating the selection - changing the blend mode to screen - and then varying the opacity.

3. The other issue with natural lighting is that (depending on the direction) you can easily end up with the background being brighter than the subject - which draws attention away from the subject. The ideal solution is (again) to use fill light), but failing that, you can emulate the same effect by applying a vignette to the background.

4. Generally, you'll want to avoid centering subjects too much.

5. When retouching models generally some extra sharpening, saturation, and whitening around the eyes goes a long way

I'd retouched one of your shots to illustrate the points above - hope you don't mind.

[Walj]

Hi Mark and Kyle,

Thanks for viewing and your valuable feedback. I appreciate your sincere c & c and let me know what you think. It's really helpful. Great!

Cheers.
Walj