Portraits for C&C

trican

Hi all,

I rarely take portraits, so in the coming year I'm hoping to improve my skills in this area. So I was wondering could anyone give me some pointers/ C&C on the following on how I can improve - thanks!


1.


2.


3. Give me a BIG Smile!


4. Don't touch the lens!


5.

hoganpoly

Nice shots, a nice backdrop or plain sheet would help block out the background clutter from the first few shots

kelly1

Hello Trican, as Hoganpoly said, I think background clutter is the biggest problem I see. Shots also look a bit over-exposed to me. I'd say #3 is the best of the lot.

magicbastarder

these seem to be candids though, so a backdrop would completely remove any spontaneity from them.

first two are a bit ordinary, but i like the other three.

Thecageyone

I love 3 & 4, the eyes are nice and sharp [very important in portraits, even candids, though those 2 are not candid] , and the expressions are great.

Sometimes a backdrop to remove clutter and concentrate on the subject works better, sometimes it doesn't. I think the shallow DOF is sufficient here so that the backing doesn't distract. Last one being the best example. Outdoor portraits can be a lot nicer than a plain ol' backing sheet.

trican

thanks very much for the feedback - I never really thought about the distinction between candids and portraits, its much clearer now. Also the comments regarding clutter were really useful, as well as the comments on composition/expression (i.e. 1 & 2 being poor). It was also the first time I really used my flash gun in anger and am quite pleased with the results from bouncing the flash off ceilings (though I appreciate I have an enormous amount to learn about good on/off camera flash). For focusing, I just used a fixed center focus point and focused on the eyes. Then I either locked the focus and/or recropped in pp so that the composition wasn't completely central - is there a better way to ensure sharp eyes?

I did push the exposure in some shots in pp, as I liked the look, but it will be something I'll be more careful of in the future. Many thanks for the feedback it was really helpful

Thecageyone

Only the first 2 seem to be candids, the subjects knew you you were taking them before they looked I assume.

There's nothing wrong with them at all, I would maybe have cropped in a little tighter on #3 and #5, and made #3 much less centralised.

I was going to ask did you use flash, or do you have huge windows with great light! Been bouncing flash all around for portraits myself recently, great tool to have.

magicbastarder

i don't know if the subject looking at the camera precludes the term 'candid' - i'd regard candid photography as being unposed or unrehearsed.

Thecageyone

Of course, but 3, 4 and 5 look like they knew the shot was happening before the click, that's not candid

Adrian.Sadlier

Personally, with children, I find the best shots that bring out a bit of their character, are taken when they are NOT looking at the camera. But I still believe it's all about the eyes, the eyes, the eyes, and ...... you get the drift;)