C&C Portrait shot

emac2007

Hi all comments welcome to help me in the process of shooting some portraits



Many Thanks In Advance

Emmet

sineadw

Lovely my only comment is the boy's gaze. Usually not having eye contat with a subject wouldn't bother me, but in this case he's obviously looking at *something* which i find very distracting.

Other than that though, well done

BengaLover

I love it, but next time get the model to take off some jewellry, there is too much distracting bling..the necklace looks out of place.

LeoB

I like it. It could with some eye contact from the child. I dont mind the bling but I would get rid of the watch/bracelet. Did you also take it in colour?

If that is your start well done

emac2007

LeoB wrote: »

I like it. It could with some eye contact from the child. I dont mind the bling but I would get rid of the watch/bracelet. Did you also take it in colour?

If that is your start well done

yeah i did..



Thanks Emmet

pullandbang

I prefer the colour version. Love the opposing diagonals of the two subjects and denims always work well for portrait shots. The red jumper is a bit strong and distracts from the main focus of the shot. The kid should either look at the camera or up at the mother - not to the side of the camera. If you could move them further away from the background, it would blur it a bit and not have it looking like a studio backdrop. All round a very good attempt and I bet the mother loved it.

LeoB

emac2007 wrote: »

yeah i did..



Thanks Emmet

I think I prefer the colour also. This is a lovely shot. Its nice and vibrant and they look so relaxed.

Heebie

I find both poeple are a bit washed out.. not by much, but darkening things very slightly will probably clear that right up.

thefizz

I much prefer the B&W, find the colours distracting. Would also prefer the boy to be looking at the camera. Very nice otherwise.

joey c

Really well done Emmet, for me the B&W is stronger but its close...you managed to capture a lovely scene and obviously made them feel relaxed which i'd imagine is half the battle. The boys gaze is distracting but everything else under ur control u did nicely and -as said above - i'm sure mum was delighted with it.
well done.
joe

Prefer the colour version myself, to be honest. I think there's too much going on for a black and white shot (it's too busy).

Boy looking out of the camera is unfortunate, but this is the reality of shooting a lot of the time, sadly. In a perfect world if he'd kept his eyes at the lens it'd have worked a lot better in my opinion.

I like the brightness (near-blown highlights). I always like to over-expose "happy" photos, so I'd disagree with Heebie in that regard. I think brightness and strong colours give a happier vibe (though I do think that, if you were doing the same shot again, stripping them of their jewelry and advising plain clothes would've helped. There are a lot of patterns/designs going on in this shot, which, along with the jewelry, make it a very 'busy' photo, in my opinion, which isn't ideal for portraiture (when you want people to be the focus of the photo).

emac2007

Thanks everyone, great advice and comments for me to improve on my portraits. It was really a unplanned shot. My son and partner just happened to walk in when i was playing with my lights so i snapped a few shots.

Thanks

Emmet

kelly1

Hello Emac, it's a good portrait shot. To my eye the light on the girls face seems a bit flat. I'm interested in your lighting setup.

Did you use an umbrella and how high, what angle, did you use a reflector etc.The light seems a bit high to me. Was the main light near camera axis?

ThOnda

I can second many notes above. I prefer colour, too much bling on her, the boy is not looking into the camera, lights too high and cause too deep shadows (you didn't have any fill to "soften" any wrinkles, even smile wrinkles) and you almost don't have any catch lights in their eyes.
Saying that, there are only things you have to see when creating the picture, or have an assistant to help you with those details. Shot is nice and if you have the chance, shoot them again. Try to tell them to bring more clothes and matching colours too, works well for family shots.

emac2007

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello Emac, it's a good portrait shot. To my eye the light on the girls face seems a bit flat. I'm interested in your lighting setup.

Did you use an umbrella and how high, what angle, did you use a reflector etc.The light seems a bit high to me. Was the main light near camera axis?

I used umbrella's about 2ft above subjects pointing across at 45 degrees... as i say it was my first shot playing with flashes. have you any tips for portraits

kelly1

emac2007 wrote: »

I used umbrella's about 2ft above subjects pointing across at 45 degrees... as i say it was my first shot playing with flashes. have you any tips for portraits

I'm no expert but I think you need to decide in advance if you want to do black and white or colour. Generally b/w works better with more contrast i.e. a greater lighting ratio. A light meter is very handy!

I'd suggest you look up different lighting styles so you can have a style in mind before you start. Check out loop, paramount/butterfly, rembrandt and split lighting etc. Learn about the importance of focal length. Lots to learn!

emac2007

kelly1 wrote: »

I'm no expert but I think you need to decide in advance if you want to do black and white or colour. Generally b/w works better with more contrast i.e. a greater lighting ratio. A light meter is very handy!

I'd suggest you look up different lighting styles so you can have a style in mind before you start. Check out loop, paramount/butterfly, rembrandt and split lighting etc. Learn about the importance of focal length. Lots to learn!

Cheers for the feedback and the tips

homer simpson

emac2007 wrote: »

Cheers for the feedback and the tips

Well emac

Didn't expect to see you on here. hows the new gear going for you?