First Engagement Shoot

[joseph_gardner]

<p>Hi all, </p>

<p>I'd really appreciate some critique / feedback on my first engagement shoot set. I realize that it's not the best thing you'll ever see and I hope to improve so welcome any feedback no matter how harsh. Here's my link: <br>

http://www.josephgardner.squarespace.com/elyse-chad/<br>

Thanks in advance! <br>

Joe</p>

[nathansanborn]

<p>I think you should edit the set down a little more. You have a lot of similar images in there. If this is just a proof set for your clients then that is one thing. If you are using this as a portfolio set or to tell a story, then you need to pick only the very best of the set to show. I like the images of the boots, but I only need to see 1 of them.</p>

[peter_cohen]

<p>I agree with <strong>Nathan</strong>. Too much of a good thing gets boring. As an aside -- and this is just my opinion -- I'm not a big fan of dappled sunlight on faces, bodies, etc. I find it distracting. If you don't have one already, get a 5-in-1 reflector of decent size, one that has a translucent panel among the five. You can hang if from a lightstand if you work alone or have somebody hold it up to block the sun if there's an extra set of hands around. That said, I think your images give a good sense of who these people are and the relationship. Well done.</p>

[savagesax]

First engagement, pretty good. They seem like really nice people and you documented this very well.

 

The poses look ok, but I would suggest taking a look at posing people. Books, the internet, anywhere you feel like visiting. With that said you did OK. One of the key issue in posing is having the lady, sometime the man be in a slimming position, making them look less heavy. These people were not over weight at all, but I felt like you could have made them look better through the art of portraiture. For example turning them in the direction somewhere in the 45 degree range and a really fun lens to use is a very long zoom lens. I like the 70-200, or the 100-400 and try to take the pictures around the 200mm range. The longer range lenses make people thinner.

 

I liked the 3 of them facing away, walking away from the camera. I may have wanted to put the little girl in the middle, between the couple as another shot. I'm not saying I don't like this shot. I do! Just adding another pose.

 

The next issue I have is seeing the harsh sun hitting their faces. Look for better shade.

 

The areas you chose to photographed is wonderful and you got some cool shots.

 

Since this is your very first engagement and you wanted the harsh reality check, you did very well. Keep up the fine effort and post more!

[mark_harrington1]

<p>There doesn't seem to be a storyline that can make a set like this very good. I think some of the shots could be cropped a bit tighter and some compositionally more dynamic. The images are right on the edge of being too bright and there is some repetition of the images which takes away. One trick you may consider next time is to think of a story of country boy meets country girl and play off of that. It will help you keep the repetition to a minimum and should make a nice flow for an album or slide show. Here's one way to tell the story.<br>

Guy has pick up truck hood open, girl is looking under the hood, guy is looking at girl (or vice versa)<br />Or pickup in the background guy/girl walking with gas can <br />Sharing lunch or a beer<br />Looking around the town/shops<br />Girl trying on guys hat in a teasing way<br />Guy daughter and Girl hand in hand, perhaps the couple swinging the girl between them as they walk<br />Comparing boots or boot shot<br />Couple leaning against wall/fence about to kiss<br />etc.<br />End off set back at the truck at sunset sitting on tailgate with enjoying a beer together or by the truck and the guy on one knee proposing...<br /><br />Something along those lines helps to create a mood and flow to the shoot. That's just a quick thought, but each shot like this should have a storyboard to help you tell the story of the couple and keep you focused as a photographer.<br>

Just my thoughts, good job for a first project.</p>

[William Michael]

<blockquote>

<p>I'd really appreciate some critique / feedback on my first engagement shoot set.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I am impressed that you captured much about the couple in some individual shots<br />It occurs to me that you created good rapport between them and the camera's lens and you captured that for others to view.<br /><br />I agree that the repetition is not a good idea - even if these are a set of proofs from which the Client will choose - there is still too much repetition.</p>

<p>I think that making "a story" (as mentioned by Mark) is a very good idea and one you should consider as you grow in the Craft. But I don't necessarily think that is an imperative for all Portrait Sessions. It depends what you and the Client want from the session.</p>

<p><a href="/photodb/folder?folder_id=942325">A natural development from telling a story is making a picture story. If you look at the commentary under "Five Training Daze" you will find a link to a Master Class, by Neil Ambrose.</a></p>

<p><br /><br />***<br /><br />I think you would do well to seriously consider several technical points and also make it your quest to improve, generally, in all the Technical Aspects of the Craft. <br />A few points for your consideration I will outline here:<br /><br /><br /><strong>1. Getting the most out of the EF50 F/1.8 MkII Lens:</strong><br />Using that EF50/1.8 at aperture F/1.8, is not usually a wise choice. <br />This is especially so when shooting into the light. <br />You will get adequate shallow DoF for most shots using that lens at F/2.2~ F/2.8. <br />Consider the shot of the couple on the porch where the view is looking up at them. The whole image is soft and the reason is twofold: firstly (and the minor reason), is the lens a tad soft wide open; and secondly (more important) there is a lot of Flare (probably Veiling Flare) which makes a white milky sheen over the image and greatly reduces the mid-tone contrast.<br /><br />Probably you did not have a lens hood and you might also have had a filter on the lens - both would have exacerbated the flare - in any case if the that lens were at F/2.8 there would be a lot less flare in the first inst.. <br />On the other hand you might have wanted to produce a soft & milky image - in which case ignore the previous.<br /><br /><strong>2. Flash as Fill:</strong><br />Some of those shot in dappled light or backlight or in open shade with a bright background, would benefit from using Flash as Fill. <br />On the other hand, you have made a good effort with the Available Light in the shots in open shade where there is a subdued background.<br /><br /><strong>3. Composition / Posing:</strong><br />Be careful how you place the shoulders. <br />Especially note how much image real-estate the leading edge of the Subject occupies in the frame. <br />Specifically be careful with shoulder-less dresses and tops on females, so that you ensure the viewer's eye is NOT drawn away from the Subject's face and toward the shoulder and upper arm. <br />With shoulder-less dresses and tops the competition for the viewer’s eye is much more aggressive, as there are two large areas of skin, which are competing for attention and dominance in the image.<br /><br />WW</p>

[michaelmowery]

<p>The effort was great but the use of the same lens was boring. Try to use at least two different focal lengths to change it up. You are responsible for everything that comes into the frame of your camera. You had a lot of wasted space that could have been cropped out. A general tip to take better pictures is to take a step closer to your subject. It is good to use a medium to long telephoto lenses. You don't need 200mm or 400mm lens to get great shots. I recommend an 85mm to 135mm.</p>

[carol_love]

<p>My first photo shoot were memorable for me as it was the time still ignorance of things but anyhow learning starts in there. I love the feeling when someone appreciates your work at the end of the day its worth it.</p>