New here! Please critique!

[aidantw]

http://atruephotography.tumblr.com/

^^^ This is my site.

I get inquiries about doing senior photos and other things (I have done 3 unpaid senior sessions, 1 unpaid wedding, children & a few pets.) I’ve been asked about how much I would charge, though I do not claim to be a photographer, because I believe that word should only be used for professionals. As of now I’ve only done shoots for free to gain experience.

Please leave feedback! It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[jussharp]

I would remove the animal and flower photos. There is nothing all that special about them. they are pretty flowers and animals, but pictures of pretty flowers and animals are just that. If you are serious about portraiture, they do nothing for your website. Same for the close up photos. There are some skin tone and lighting inconsistencies with the portraits, but nothing on the fauxtog level. There are also a few issues with poor backgrounds, especially the metal fence. I’m also not a huge fan of the brick wall background. No selective color so kudos to you 🙂 You are on the right track. You need to devote yourself to solid training in lighting, exposure, and all other photo techniques. You also need to go look at a lot of photos of legitimate seasoned professionals and learn what makes a superb photo. Finally, practice, practice, practice!

[Dudley]

I concur about the flowers and animal shots (to be blunt they are horrible).  Now if you take the same care with people shots that you did with your selfie then you show promise.   Keep at it…and DO NOT post second quality photos on your web page….NEVER  EVER!   😉

 

use something like Flikr or Picassa to host pics fro posting on forums such as this fro critique etc.

[aidantw]

Thank you both so much! I’ll remove them now!

[IHF]

I agree with the above.  I notice that you also removed some pictures of a woman that had some questionable lighting choices.  I can’t remember her name, but I remember her face.  She has a VERY interesting face.  She’s beautiful!  You need to photograph her more.  I hope she is someone readily available to you to practice with.

The biggest thing you need to work on is light.  Because it’s not that animal pictures and flower pictures are a bad thing to shoot, it’s just that magic wasn’t there.  The magic that the right light can give.  Think of light as the medium and not your camera.  Start here and work your way around to more lighting techniques and basics http://digital-photography-school.com/6-portrait-lighting-patterns-every-photographer-should-know/

Learn how to use the golden hours and how to manipulate and use light.  I think compositionally you’re ok and it seems you have the settings for good exposure and focus down.  I see potential.   There was one picture in particular that you have removed from the port.  The session with the beautiful and wonderfully interesting lady (and just so you know I’m not a creeper. I’m female and happily married lol), that looked to be shot when the sun was quite high.  The light was split, and if she had been directed/posed correctly using this given natural light, or if this session had been shot at a different time of day… WOW!  Seriously I hope she’s your sister or something so you have lot’s of time with her shooting.  I’d love to photograph her.

[aidantw]

The girl you’re referring to is Paige, I believe! I’ve put her photos back up, if you could kindly direct me to which you’re talking about.

Yes, she is beautiful! Unfortuantely she is a college student, so with what free time she has, she is usually busy. ):

That shoot in particular was my very first attempt at photographing other people. Thank you for the link! Very helpful!

 

 

[jussharp]

Now you have a good start to a portfolio. At this point, I would suggest you read the book “Light, Gesture, and Color” by Jay Maisel once a week for the next 6 months 🙂 That or whatever you need to jump to the next level. Anybody can take photos that look nice and make people happy. The goal is to get to the “wow” photos.

[aidantw]

Thank you very much! Will do! (:

 

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