would like an honest opinion :-)

[takeplacebo]

i have been into photography since i was a kid and got my first camera (a point and shoot film kodak in the early ’90s) when i was about 7.  where i work, i get opportunites to take photos of resident seniors and their families/friends at events.  i am looking to expand my portfolio.  i ideally would like to do portraits and event photography.  my first official event (which i’m paid) is on june 22 for a vow renewal ceremony for 6 couples. the ceremony will take place at a church and the reception will be at the senior housing community next door.

these pictures were from a halloween party event.  i put them on a collage on ps elements, hence some cropping with some of the photos

 

http://adoberevel.com/shares/abd96847d35a48d0aa8c87f22115ac9a

 

just wanted an honest critique and see what i could improve on, things like that.

 

my current equipment:

nikon d7000

nikon f4 (film body)

nikon em (film body)

nikon sb-600 speedlight

35mm f/1.4 rokinon lens (manual focus only)- this is the lens most used

50mm f/1.8 af-d nikkor lens

85 f/1.4 rokinon lens (manual focus only)

28-105 af-d macro f/3.5-4.5 nikkor

105mm f/2.8 nikor ai-s (manual focus only)

50mm f/1.8 nikon series e lens (manual focus only) – used on nikon em

75-150 f/3.5  nikon series e lens (manual focus only) – used on nikon em, but has lens creep 🙁

 

thanks so much.

[IHF]

Just looks like nice snap shots to me.  Mostly taken without changing your natural standing position.  Like you just walk around snapping from your eye level and shoot from a passer by’s point of view.  Try moving around more and exploring different perspectives.  Try getting eye level with your subjects, instead of shooting down on them.  Study posing/directing, so your subjects don’t look so “Hey! I’m getting my picture taken!” or learn how to catch people without them catching you.  I like the shot of the little girl, but you could have used a faster shutter.  No need for motion blur with that one, and because it’s there, it just ruins what could have been a very decent shot.  Keep practicing.  I looks as though you have a good understanding of exposure, and focus, but for me you are missing the mark too much to sell your services as a pro

[IHF]

oh and it’s very important for a portrait/event tog to learn how to isolate their subjects from the background.  Lot’s of busy backgrounds going on.  Teach yourself depth of field and learn how shallow DOF can improve your shots and turn the into photographs, rather than snap shots

[Worst Case Scenario]

I H F has pretty much covered it. You basically have one shot repeated 30 times, assuming you are showing us your best work – you still have a long way to go.  Try recreating some of these shots with your camera on manual and the 105mm fitted. Shot at 2.8 to learn how to loose the backgrounds.

[takeplacebo]

thanks for the advice, everyone.  i did take the suggestions and applied them.  i took on my first client two saturdays ago  for senior photos and these are some of the images from that shoot.  please give comments/suggestions, highly appreciate them. thanks in advance 🙂

 

http://flickr.com/gp/dispatched_polaroid/5s25x0/

[nesgran]

Your colour consistency is pretty far off, some shots are green whereas others magenta. Sort that out so that colours look the same over all the shots and it’ll look far better.

The problem you can’t do anything about now is that slightly strained smile she has on pretty much all the shots, it doesn’t look great. A couple of the shots are in the sun which means you have hotspots on their faces, something that is quite evident in the second to last shot. You also have a couple of badly cut off limbs. I would personally have gotten rid of the bra outline she gets in the black dress. How many shots are you going to give her? If you can cull some of them the end result will look better, especially since you have many shots which are basically the same

[ebi]

oh that poor girl…you totally messed up her senior portraits. I hope you didn’t charge her for those. If you did, then shame on you! You got your first camera when you were seven? So now, you are what, like 8? So, I guess i have to give some constructive criticism now or otherwise the rest of the people in here who are just being nice will get mad at me.

First off, stop charging ppl for photos, you aren’t ready for that. And if you have to bring paid work in here for critique you are obviously lost.

– she’s too posey posey. Loosen her up a little bit. talk to her, make her relax. Tell her to keep it all very natural and light.
– the smiles suck. Have her do a soft smile or catch a real moment when she’s smiling.
– photos need to be brighter (on the ones that aren’t overexposed, i mean) and you need to color balance.
– shoot from a higher angle – all that under the chin stuff doesn’t look good.
-edit better. You’ve got way too many selects. I bet if you edited down to 2-3 images per look, you’d look less like someone who didn’t know what they were doing. throw out bad angles, bad moments/smiles and overexposed images, etc.

[hb]

ebi nailed several things; I see a few others that you want to be aware of: with those letter jacket shots I would have moved her farther from the background, then shoot with a longer focal length.  That combination would give you much better separation by getting the background more blurry.

In one shot it looks like you’re using flash and her skin tones are totally blown out.  If you’re going to use flash you’ll need to learn how to balance it with ambient light for a natural look.  Shooting through an umbrella or soft box from approx 45 degree left or right of the subject can go a long way; a pro can use flash and make it look like natural light but it takes some time to master.  Also, stray hairs in that particular shot are out of control; she looks like she stuck her finger in a light socket.

Raccoon eyes in several shots: if you’re going to use natural light watch out for where you place your subject relative to the sun.  The eye shadows are a huge no-no.

Water-in-the-background shot.  Underexposed.  You probably had your camera on some auto mode and it set the exposure for the water which is much brighter then the shade you have her in.  Hence, the water looks great but she doesn’t.  Shoot in manual, use the spot-metering mode on your camera and expose for her face.

Looking out the window shot: I have to say that this, for me, is the best of the group but the color temp is way off.  Her pose is more natural and the window light is very good here and you have decent detail in the shadows.  Not sure if you used a reflector to lighten that shadow side; I’m guessing not based on your experience level but this is decent light to work with.

Just keep practicing and go to some workshops or maybe even watch YouTube vids on lighting, composition, posing, etc.  There is a wealth of info out there.  I took a photog class in college back in 1986 which is when I first got hooked but have learned mostly from online sources over the recent years and it has become my full-time gig.  The rest is practice and improve.  Good luck!

[fstopper89]

While the senior is a huge improvement over that boring snapshots, you should not be taking on clients (especially paid) before actually knowing what you’re doing with the exposure triangle. the white balance and exposure are all inconsistent. You need to practice a lot on friends and family to really get to know how your settings and how they affect everything.

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