New to Shooting People: Some Feedback Please

[katherinemichael]

<p>Hello-<br>

I am very new to shooting people. Nature is more my thing. I market and sell some of my nature oriented stuff on a part time basis. However, I have been getting a little bored with what I'm doing lately and my friend wanted some photos of her with her older dog so we went over to the park yesterday. I think they turned out alright, but could be much better. I was wondering if some people more experienced in this area could look at the folder and give me some advice on how to improve. I have always just "seen" photos and made them happen. I have almost zero experience setting shots up, but its time to expand my photographic horizons a little.</p>

<p>The images are in my photo.net gallery, <a href="../photodb/folder?folder_id=917181">Jillian and Max</a> . </p>

<p>A little information:</p>

<ul>

<li>Iso was between 100 and 125 for all shots. </li>

<li>The shutter speed stayed at 1/250 for almost all shots.</li>

<li>I used my D200 w/ 18-200mm lens, no filter, handheld.</li>

<li>I used my SB600 on camera set to TTL BL +1.0 ev aimed at the subjects. </li>

<li>For all but the last two, I used a silver reflector clipped to a tripod set about 3-4 feet away. </li>

<li>My white balance was set to daylight, but they looked really green in post so I bumped the tint +6 towards magenta. </li>

</ul>

<p>I apologize if this is an inappropriate post, but I don't always get the feedback I'm looking for in the critique forum. <br>

Thanks for taking the time to read this and look at my photos. </p>

<p>Katherine</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>Not bad - I was expecting to see some cut-off limbs. People who are new to people photography tend to cut off the feet allot in full length shots, but it looks like you avoided this. Some shots have a little too much background, but they are still passable. One thing I try do when using nature as the backdrop is to try to move my subject as far from the background as possible. That way there is separation betwen them and the BG. I can then open up the aperture to get that nice fuzzy background which they call Bokeh. Another thing I try to do other than finding a nice shady spot, is to minimize the colors as much as possible. The BG should be one solid color, not not a bunch of different colors and/or hues. The good thing about shooting people is that it's a 2 way street, you are not the only one making the decisions. </p>

 

[katherinemichael]

<p>Thank you Harry, that was very helpful. </p>

<p>They were sitting between 1-2 feet away from the foliage. I tend to get nervous when trying to shoot people and sometimes I think I rush things instead of concentrating and taking my time. I should have remembered about the subject distance to background thing. I was disappointed with the backgrounds being too distinct. I have found that the 18-200mm to be very limiting, but I keep it for hiking because it is a light one lens solution. Assuming a similar situation, would my 90mm 2.8 macro have been a better choice for this? I ask because it has a much wider constant aperture. Is it okay to use a macro lens for a portrait? I have a 50mm 1.8 as well. That might have been a better choice for the wide out shots.</p>

 

[georg_s1]

<p>Katherine, ditto on the background. The 90 or 50 wide open or stopped down just a bit would be my choice over the zoom. I prefer to shoot from a shady place with some sparkling highlights unsharp in the background. Personally, I don't care about some overexposure in the background as long as the main subject is well lit. Shooting against the light in the evening hours would add a bit mood.<br>

Please excuse my english and have fun exploring new photographic territories, georg.</p>

[katherinemichael]

<p>Thank you Georg. :) </p>

[bill_from_new_york_city]

<p>I going on non techincal road here. What I do not see in many of the photos is the relationship of the dog and its owner. Some tight photos, just focusing on their faces whould have been interesting. Forget the background it not important to your subjects and many of the photos I can see you could have cropping out the green background.</p>

<p>It the women and dog that is subject. Do not be afriad to come in close and I just do not mean with the camera lens. I mean you coming close to your subjects then they will focus their attendtion on you.</p>

<p>The best photo I would say is the one were the women is walking her dog and she is looking down. It capture the human element of being a dog owner.</p>

<p>Bill</p>

[katherinemichael]

<p>Thank you Bill. </p>

<p>I appreciate everyone's input. :)</p>

<p> </p>