A portrait study

My take with Sepia tone.

6/5 Very nice!

I like this one the best despite the lady ones! Nice portrait

Massimo, Vincent thanks. I use Convert to B & W software.

Alec, I like both this and the other portrait you posted. The somewhat harsh light contributes to adding a background, a history, to the life of those people.

 

A detail I would have tried to avoid is the horizon hill cutting actoss their heads... it is not so aesthetic, I know it is difficult, since I always do the same and get disappointed once back home since I did not think of it at all in the field, while concentrating on the expressions of the subjects.

Good tip Salvatore, that's why I use a shallow DOF to blur the background to make it not so obvious.

Shooting at mid-day for portraits will give you strong shadows in the eyes like this photo has. You need to watch your light more. Perhaps a flash off camera for a little fill would have helped. His face is at a good 2/3rds angle but his body should be should be showing more so that there is a base for the image - this way he won't appeared as he is slumped over. Good luck.

Darren, you're right about midday sun not ideal for shooting. I didn't use fill flash as I want some modelling shadows and it's actually a cropped image. I didn't show his hands as I wanted a closer look at his face and leather jacket.

Alec, just giving my strict classical portraiture critic. You wouldn't need to show his hands, just turn his body more towards the lens.

 

If you care to see what I subscribe to you may visit the tutorials/lessons here;

 

http://www.montezucker.com. I have learned alot from this man and continue to do so. He gives you the frame work for very nice images in my opinion. Of course that may not work for all cultures?

 

Ozzie

Thanks Darren. Just like tennis it's good to start out getting the basics right. Your 4 images show potential. Continue to learn from the great photographers here and you'll benefit tremendously as you grow and develop your own identity in photography. I know I have.

wonder if it could be landscape, to see more context. But it's just me - I always like pictures to have wider context to tell a story. Here is in this picture I can see or imagine some of it from his clothe and his face and the water behind. The picture works, anyway, even if what I'm thinking is wrong. Good shot