My nephews Graduation pictures

This is my first attempt at taking graduation photos. How did I do? So

far I have uploaded 2 of them.

The lighting is very flat on your subject while the background is backlit with bright colors. This draws my eye to the backgroung instead of your nephew. Usually best not to cut off feet or hands and not crop on a joint (knee). The pose and expression don't relay much about him. Maybe try backgrounds and locations that relate to his lifestyle, and at a time when the light is at its best. Best regards, Ray

Ray has offered some very good points. I have corrected some of the problems but will offer some expression suggestions after I tell you how I did my enhancements.

 

I used the clone tool on darken and deepened the background. That way your background isn't so busy. I added some contrast to his face.

 

Using the Elliptical Marquee Selection tool feathered at 60 pixels, I selected an oval around his torso and then selected the inverse. I used the Brightness/Contrast control to darken outside of the oval.

 

I dodged the scleras (the whites of the eye) and the catch lights of the eye for extra "pop".

 

I also added an edge treatment.

 

The most important part of a portrait is expression. One mentor used to say "use ESP" or Expression Sells Portraits. We can see his expression is between wanting to "rip your head off" and total boredom.

 

If you want someone to laugh, there are a couple of things you can have them say. One is "snickle fritz". They may not say it, but they always laugh. Something else that works with teenage boys is "Think about something you are not supposed to think about." It never fails.

 

When kids are in grade school, they learn the "grade school smile". That is expressionless eyes and a big curve for the mouth. It always looks goofy, and many teenage boys will just refuse to smile. Teach your subjects that you don't smile with your mouth, that you smile with your eyes. Demonstrate it by doing the "grade school smile" for them. Big curvy grin with blank expressionless eyes. That always gets a laugh. Tell them we are taught that a smiley face is two dots for the eyes and a big curve for the mouth. It simply looks goofy. Then covering your mouth and smiling with your eyes, show them that you can cover your mouth and still smile. Tell them "Smile with your eyes and forget about your mouth." Most of the time your subject will have an "aha!" experience.

 

If you don't find my suggestions helpful, then please send me an email and I will be happy to delete them for you. But if you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me, either.

Thanks for the sugestions guys I'll work on these photos a bit and see if his Mom likes the edited ones more. As for the expression on his face thats a typical Ron expression he uses that expression a lot. The busy fall background was his Moms idea. But if I calm the background down just a bit that would make Ron the center of focus as he should be. Thanks agian.