[aine-caitlin]

Portrait photography is not my forte, but I am interested in learning about outdoor portrait photography. I went out with my daughter and her best friend a couple of weeks ago and took these shots. They’re a lot of fun to work with, but I’m afraid I started having too much fun and forgot about things like lighting and exposure. From my own inexperienced standpoint, though, I think these are the best of the bunch I took, and I’m pretty happy with them, but I know they could have been better if I knew more about what I was doing. I don’t know what I can attribute to the limits of my camera (Sony Cybershot DSC-H2 – not a DSLR) and what I can attribute to just lack of skill on my part. I’d appreciate any advice or suggestions.

[NT73]

Pretty models apart from the piercings.
#1, #3 and #6 You have cropped the top of the head off or taken a little too close.
#1 a little blow out on the top of the hand. If you have EV try -1/2
Apart from that I find the composition on them all, except #1, is good and I like the backgrounds.
#1 The Lennon image just drags me away from your subject.
#4 is a matter of taste, (sky blown) but I would like to see the sky a bit darker or blue. Again a -EV or wait for the daylight to lessen in intensity.
They are all nice enough to print.

[smarti77]

Just to prove that any critique is subjective....
To me the first image stands out as the pick of the bunch. I really like the composition including 'Lennon' and the bright white hand doesn't bother me because the face is perfectly exposed. The colour and contrast is beautiful.

I'd be interested to hear how much post production has been done on this image. Did you soften the skin?

Again - its a matter of opinion - but I do find the piercing distracts from the beauty in some of the other images.

Great work.

[Paul.R.Lindqvist]

#1 my favourite!

Composition works great, and i just love the saturated colors and contrasty look.

#2
Its nice aswell, would have loved the same PP as in the first, i like the fact something is happening.

#3
Apart from the IQ of the actual image, i think you captured her well.

#4 The framing doesnt work for me, and would love to see more of her eyes.

#5
Close to #1, composition and the angle works very well for me. Great punchy colors, same pp as in the first, love it.

#6
While its not my favourite out of the bunch, im sure its one of the images thats has the most sentimental value to the girls (or will in a few years)

All in all, i think you did a great job! You didnt let your gear limit you, im impressed!

I assume the girl with the glasses is your daughter ?

She is a looker for sure, very camera friendly.

[Irma]

I see that you were consistent in your color treatment, and you cared for the background. I see poses and expressions come natural, and I also see that you make them feel confident enough to look at the camera.

It is a pleasant feeling to see them smile.

I don't mind the piercing at the contrary, it adds to the story, and it is and it will be a part of this girl's life that she will always remember, and something to talk about in the feature when they see these pictures.

[NT73]

Retracted. What I was putting was not to do with critiquing the photo's.
Maybe retracted was a wrong description, but I have not found a way to remove a post completely.

[aine-caitlin]

Thank you all for your comments. I used a couple of different techniques in my post processing on these to try some different things I’d been reading about. Now let’s see if I can remember what I did. On #1 and #5, I used a soft light layer with high pass sharpening. On #2 or #6, I just warmed the color up a bit and did a little blemish touch-up on the faces. #4, again, not much done to it except to dodge some shadows on her face a little. #3 I probably worked too much. Her face was rather washed out, so in addition to boosting the overall color, I tried adding a little more color to her face. I don’t think I exposed it properly to begin with, but I guess I was trying to save it because I loved her expression. Paying more attention to exposure and lighting is something I know I need to work on. Really, though, the larger version looks better and sharper than this one that’s been resized for downloading.

Yes, the one with a dozen ear piercings and red glasses is my daughter. I find the different opinions on the piercings amusing. I like her look, and I’m just so happy I have (so far) been able to talk her out of piercing her eyebrow, her tongue, and her lip (I was concerned about her teeth). Oh, you should see her tattoo – but that’s another picture I may post later.

[woodyga]

#1 need fill light to the right eye
#2 again need some light in the right eye
#3 Love it!!
#4 add fill flash 1 1/2 stops under ambient
#5 left hand looks broken
#6 the backlighting is nice - cropped head

[matthew]

I've been wanting to take the time to look at your photos properly, so I'm sorry its taken so long. I've skimmed the other comments, but have been trying to keep my opinions fresh.

Initial thoughts -- photos with your daughter in them have much better colour harmony than the photos of just her friend. Partly that may be because the framing us usually looser, and that her jacket has such a great combination of colour, but even with the last one her scarf picks up the greens of the background beautifully. I know you have a great eye, but I think this shows a great sense of style for the both of you.

1 - This is probably my favourite; it does bother me a bit that her head's just a bit cut off. I like the stencil graffiti for the colour and how it matches her jacket, but the message of it distracts from the 'Love' message. It might be interesting to do a version with it partially obscured and another with it completely cloned out to see what difference it makes. The pose and expression are great, and if your daughter gets her complexion from a photoshop action, you're going to make a fortune from fashion retouchers. (Or paid them a fortune.) Unfortunately the light is a little flat and it loses some definition in her cheek bones. But the way the darker tones forms a box around the bottom, top, and left side of the frame makes up for it.

2 - My other favourite. Her pose is natural and it's a nice moment. There's an interesting tension between her engaged expression and the fact that she's leaving and that there's a physical barrier between her and the viewer. The bright hand is a problem because of the way it loses the colour in her nails, which otherwise matches the paint on the door, among other things. (From photo #5, I'm getting the impression that the colour wasn't there on that finger to begin with.)

3 & 4 - Nice and lively shots, but they lack the environmental interest and connection of the first two. And the lip ring is ... well. It wouldn't be my pick.

5 - The colour harmony with the blues is a nice touch, and here the looking-under-the-top-of-the-glasses matches the direction of her gaze. But it might be nice to see her eyes some time.

6 - This is a nice 'friends' photo, but I'd prefer to see them on the same level, or closer. And the light-coloured something in the background is distracting, but that's an easy fix.

Overall, I really like the series, and it looks like you all had fun doing it.

[aine-caitlin]

I appreciate your comments Woodyga and Matthew. I just haven’t gotten to a point yet where it’s second nature to notice all the fine details, but it’s good to have these things pointed out because it keeps me conscious of looking for these things next time, like eyes showing through glasses and small distracting details and cutting off heads. I know about fill flash, but I don’t always remember to use it, and I think I could benefit from a reflector, which I’ll get soon. Well, I’m going to keep practicing, and I appreciate all of your constructive criticism, as well as words of encouragement.

[Zig]

As ever, I find your work really interesting..I do think you've got an excellent eye.
1= great: some nice colours going on: the carrying over of the blue from Lennon's head into the subject's clothes gives a good sense of connection/continuity;
2= the banding in the background and the fact we can't see her eyes is frustrating....I'm really interested in the hand, to be honest: I can "see" a nice close-up such that the nail without varnish is on the red phonebox, with the nails WITH being on the silver handle;
3+4= (man, she's lovely!)...fill-flash would help here;
5= excellent. The red shoes and hair really balance this shot...and the green as the complementary to the red gives a complete sense to it. Brilliant;
6= good exposure..and I do like your processing: very reminiscent of the cross-processing we used to see in magazine shots with film and transparency(ie, film developed by E6[I think]). I'd be happier if the models were closer together(oo-er missis) and if the heads were either clearly above or below the lake border.
I think it was David Hockney who said that if you get the edges right, the picture should be fine: your clearly natural eye once again "automatically" composes and sorts both the edges and the relationship of the other "bits" of the composition.
In a sense, I'm not sure I feel qualified to comment at this length, as I just bang out a few landscapes, but I do know what I like and I know what works for me in terms of eye and composition. Well done you.

[aine-caitlin]

Thank you so much Zig. Coming from one who can “bang out” a landscape or any photograph as well as you, that means a lot. I’m getting a good sense from all of this of what areas I need to pay more attention to. And I like your idea about the red fingernails and the phone box door – something similar to an idea I had about her red fingernails and her red guitar, if I could just get her to sit still long enough.

[Pavel]

Hello aine-caitlin,

Your photos have a charm of spontaneity and charm, but there is too many to review. I would suggest that you consider posting one or at most two photos at a time, unless you just wish to get overall comments on the lot. My favourites are the first and last images and I like the first one the best. I will therefore comment on the first photo. I like this photo a lot, because it tells a story. The pose and the look goes well with John and "love" and your daughter somehow sems to relive the time when I was young. It has the right mood and feel and your daughter has the right expression - it really all comes together. Her placement in the photo is also good, although the top strip is distracting and her head touching the frame is not working for me. I would probably prefered to give a 1/2" more space above your daughter's head. Otherwise, I like the crop. The lighting of the face is fine. It is soft and yet there is enough shadow to give the face dimensionality. The hair seem a little unsharp, but the pants are in focus. I suspect that you focused on the leggs and not the face. My monitors are not properly adjusted right now, but it appears that your photo is a bit too contrasty, with some deep shadows around the pants and jacket and the hands appear overexposed. I hope this helps. Pavel