My intro to portrait/modeling photography
 

I recently decided to try my hand at portrait and model photographing. Invested in some lighting gear and am really sorry I didnt sooner! bri7synyster is my model. We both need some constructive criticisms on the composure of the shots, modeling techniques, etc. This was our first shoot together.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6730_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6732_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6734_S.jpg

My Favorite:
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6738_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6748_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6754_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6761_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6774_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6799_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6808_S.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...IMG_6813_S.jpg

I thought you were only posting a few, silly goose. :*

Nice.

Check out Alvin Nguyen Photography on the web and Facebook.

He's a young guy that I "met" on my350z. He has hit the fashion world and skyrocketed. He does some amazing stuff and is very open to questions.

Alvin Nguyen

http://www.facebook.com/AlvinNguyenPhotography

Not sure where you're from, but he's originally from Seattle.

My only critique is that they aren't nudes. And by nudes I mean you, Jay. :bowrofl:

Seriously, they look good to me. I think there are some tweaks you can do to make the lighting more appealing but I'll leave that to the more experienced guys to critique. I'm really just getting started in taking some serious photos myself. :tup:

Awe thats so sweet steve! Lol

I'm gonna check out alvins work when I get home from work later. Thanks, I appreciate the reference!

Only critique I have is this photo



Not a fan of the pose, sort of an awkward angle.

But everything else looks great.

I agree. I was kinda pissed that he posted it. I hate my profile. Lol

Well, if he had hired an attractive model, it might not have been an issue.

Oh I can wait to see her reaction to that!!

You should put her behind the camera for a shoot.

http://static.moviefanatic.com/image...-zoolander.jpg

Cool story, Hansel!

steve's right, the lighting is a little off, but more experienced photographers can comment. esp this one i think can be brightened in the foreground with a separate light source (the background is a bit overexposed for my liking too):


my least favorite is this one:

the odd angle and the lighting throw me completely off, like my eyes are drifting to the lower left because i just feel like everything should be falling off a cliff at that angle. i think there's some experimentation to be had in portrait photography, but sometimes the basic frames go the farthest.

overall though, pretty good. :)

Yeah, you are exactly right about both. The first has lighting issues, and the second you are dead on, looks like everything is falling off a cliff. I should leave the crooked angles for the car!

I need more time behind the camera with portraits, but for my first time out, especially with new equipment, Im pretty confident I can only get better from here.

She wants to. Ill have to put my cool shades on...



And maybe only the shades!

:excited:

Oh I'll so have him do it. I'll pm you the results ;)

:bowrofl::bowrofl::bowrofl:

Cute girl!

Bartstar Photography

They look good, but could be better. It looks like on some shots she's in a shaded area, but she's a bit underexposed while others are in the open. On a sunny day like this, the light is really harsh and isn't the most flattering if it's direct sunlight. There's a lot of hard shadows and overexposed/washed areas. Its a great source, but you need to control the light. There are a few ways to "light" her up properly with softer light and get rid of the hard shadows.

http://images1.opticsplanet.com/640-...-ll-lr3551.jpg

-The first is a reflector. You need to move your model into a shaded area. Then use the reflector to control the light that hits the model. It's basically a shiny, collapsible reflector on one side and white on the other. You bounce the direct sunlight back to the model, but the result will be spread more softly. You also control how is and where the light hits, which can make or break the shote. I personally like Lastolite. They come in different sizes.
http://origin.kaboodle.com/hi/img/b/...=1298876358000

-The second approach is a collapsible diffuser. This is a bit more cumbersome and requires setting the diffuser up high and you will probably need a helper. The advantage is not having to move to shaded area with a large enough diffuser.

-The third approach is to move to a shaded area and use a strobe/flash. Sunlight is great though, so why not use it.

I was using a single flash, off camera, with a 24x24" softbox. Looking back, I could have used to expose for the background better, upped the flash output, and/or used both of my flashes. You are right though, there are a lot of slightly under/over exposed areas in some of the shots. The time of day was harsh in that spot too, lots of shadows and bright spot spots, so getting everything exposed right was difficult.

Yup, that's kind of what I'm getting at. The composition is good, but the light needs to be more even. If you're gonna use a flash, it needs to pretty much overpower sunlight to expose properly. Your aim is to under-expose available light to an extent and then use the flash to pull the highlights out.

ok, thats the explanation that explains a lot to me! Thank you!

#7 shows the problem of photography in bright sun. The dreaded white nose tip. Open shade is best, or use strong reflector and reposition model so sun doesn't hit nose tip.

Oh nose! You're right!

Bri7Synyster, you are a quite pretty woman and the photos are mostly quite reasonably done. Thanks much for having them posted here.

CMike2780
"He who laughs last didn't get it"

Fine song by Mark Knopfler called "The Last Laugh," duet with Van Morrison. Nice song.

"I need more time behind the camera with portraits, but for my first time out, especially with new equipment, Im pretty confident I can only get better from here."

6spd, you are already better than 99% of the people out there with cameras. Minor problems can be easily corrected. See comment re photo #7, for example.

I wish you can blur the background a lot more, especially the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, the background has so much color and 'stuffs', blur them.

And yes, the pose in the 9th is a bit awkward.

Trial and error, keep going man, have fun!!! :)

I really don't have much to contribute to the technical aspect here. However, since I have no vested interest and I will gain nothing here-can I say "beautiful eyes!" :tiphat:

True. Being focused on other issues at the time, I missed some of the more fine details. In time though. And thank you!
Yeah, I really wish I wasnt limited by the stock lens. I dont like to do background blur myself either so I think ill have this issue for a while until I can get a more capable lens. Im still debating which would be my best choice for this type of photography.

For portraits, it's better to go with a 50mm or higher to avoid unflattering distortion. If you've ever seen them do portraits, it's usually with a long lens with the photographer about 8-10 feet away. Faster lenses with large apertures obviously make it easier, but tele lenses with constant large apertures are usually pricey. DOF and bokeh can also be achieved by controlling the distances between the subject and what you want blurred. I've used this calculator in the past to give me a general idea. You can also do the blur in post, but its better to do it with the lens.

Turn the aperture as large as possible and zoom it as much as possible, that will create a very very good depth of field.

For portrait, I will suggest a range of 50mm to 105mm with constant f/2.8, the aperture could be larger with a prime lens.

What is the brand of SLR you are using??

Nice
 

You have a nice Euro look. Exotic.:pics:

Translation: you're a white chick!


:roflpuke2::roflpuke2::roflpuke2:

Im using a canon T2i with the kit lense. I really want a 50mm f/2.8 prime. The kit lense just doesnt get the desired DOF for either my car shots or my portraits. All of those shots, save 1, used whatever the largest aperture was for the zoom length.

:bowrofl:

Yeah, most kit lens only drop down to f/3.5@18mm or f/5.6 @ 55mm. think Canon sells a relatively inexpensive 50mm f/1.8 or 'normal' lens that's supposed to be pretty good. I want to say it's around $100-200. It get's tricky when shooting cars though, since you usually have to be pretty far back to get everything in the frame. Not a big deal if you're doing a shoot, but it's limiting when you're at a meet or car show.

yeah, I never do any meets or shows.

I love the cheapo 50 f 1.8!

Warning, 5.0 content.

Very nice Steve!