Portrait photography

[FritzTheWonderM]

Thanks. She was actually very nervous, so a lot of the time was spent telling jokes to have her relaxed, and then I'd click during her in-between moments of poses for that spontaneous feeling.

I'll post a quick series that will grow in time. ...

Neat series. I like the consistent feel and color (warm brown) to the shots. May I suggest that it may be time to 'graduate' to more professional models? I know budget is always an issue, but you have a great visual style and I think you could push that forward with a few good models and a good make-up artist. I'd really like to see what happens.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

My friends:

Retouched in PS obviously, still cool:

Myself (also my avatar):

I have more, PhotoBucket is silly though and won't let me upload.

 

[beavo451]

...pictures...

Excellent B+W

My friends:

Great color in the first photo, though the cut off chin bugs me.
Up the contrast in the second and you will have a good photo as well.
Third photo: the processing does nothing for me. It has ceased to be a photo and has become digital art.
Excellent self-portrait.

And here is mine for today:

 

[Bocheememon]

Nice images!

beavo451: Very nice posture and contrast of blacks to white. I like that the hat blocks the face to create this mystery of a person. Very interesting!

macgfxdesigner: The first photo is my favorite. It is a great intersection of lines and placement.

PlymouthBreezer The first image is my favorite. It has rich colors and a great background.

I do like the retouched image very much. I like those photos that have the figures facing in such a way. If you have a tablet or are good with the mouse, I would do a bit of smudging to create a painterly effect.

Here is an old portrait of my ex-boyfriend just as he was about to leave for home.

This is taken with 200iso fujifilm.

 

[jared_kipe]

Beavo I've always wondered how one isolates a subject with negative space like that. Obviously in the studio, so you have a black backdrop, and shine light only on the subject? Then Bump the contrast till you can't see anything but black behind the model?

These are not traditional portraits, but still loads of fun. The first sequence was me taking some senior pictures, and was very soon after getting my very own camera (I actually took some senior pictures with a display 300D at an apple store that turned out ok). So we wanted to take the pictures at UW while the trees were blooming. I didn't want to spend the money for a 50 1.8, so I got a $50 Canon 28mm f2.8 that I did these two with. Note the lens flare in her hair on the first one. (Oh, and they appear over-sharpened, that was before the days of Aperture and nondestructive editing.)

The 3rd photo was a fairly recent candid photo I took of her with a Sigma 17-35mm lens I had in for testing at the time @17mm. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out, and I believe it was this shot alone that made me want to get a wide angle lens (wider than 24mm that is).

 

[beavo451]

Beavo I've always wondered how one isolates a subject with negative space like that. Obviously in the studio, so you have a black backdrop, and shine light only on the subject? Then Bump the contrast till you can't see anything but black behind the model?

Yes that is pretty close. Be careful of how far you are pushing the contrast.

I used an Alien Bee B400 with it's standard 7" reflector. Placed high, right, and slightly infront of the girl. She was standing about 7 feet away from the black backdrop.

You have to move your subject as far away from the background as possible to avoid any spill light. The photo received a slight curves adjustment to boost the contrast and levels adjustment to even out the shadows. One of the legs of the light stand was barely visible in the photo, so that was cloned out.

 

[jared_kipe]

Yes that is pretty close. Be careful of how far you are pushing the contrast.

I used an Alien Bee B400 with it's standard 7" reflector. Placed high, right, and slightly infront of the girl. She was standing about 7 feet away from the black backdrop.

You have to move your subject as far away from the background as possible to avoid any spill light. The photo received a slight curves adjustment to boost the contrast and levels adjustment to even out the shadows. One of the legs of the light stand was barely visible in the photo, so that was cloned out.

7' !! Damn, I couldn't pull that off in my apartment. But thats ok, I generally like lighter backdrops, which are much easier to find and use (meaning sky usually for me).

 

[FritzTheWonderM]

Do we want to know what was going on when you took this? Probably not...

 

[cookie1105]

beavo, that photo is astounding. I really like the way the subject is completely isolated and there is absolutely no background clutter. Not being able to see her face gives it that something extra.

Thanks for the tip about cropping Heidi, Bocheememon. I did as you said and the result is much more pleasing.

Here is mine for today. It's a couple of months old. I was shooting in and around the centre of town and came upon this rickshaw taxi driver taking a break.

reb xt + 50mm f/1.4
ISO 100
1/1000s @ f/1.6

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

I did this today actually (friends sister)... Kinda fast... Meh. She needed a school portrait look-alike.

 

[snap58]

An old one from a film scan.
Kodak VPH with Nikon Scanner

 

[FrankieTDouglas]

This is Katie. She is the daughter of my printmaker instructor. She's a lot of fun!

I meant to comment on this photo earlier. I love it. It's soft and inviting, the lens flare just adds to it, and it just strikes me as a well composed image.

And here is mine for today:

Nice studio shot. Her legs sorta... disappear... but otherwise, good stuff. I'd like to see anything else you have from this series.

Great smile. Great composition. Be careful of cropping out the very edges of hats (though looking back at my own stuff, I'm doing the same thing and am only now putting more consideration into it.


Here's a portrait I done a few months ago. I love using a polaroid whenever I can and seeing what is some new spin that can be added onto things. I enjoyed the concept and some of the execution of it.

 

[devilot]

I'm just getting interested in photography... so I'm terribly inexperienced.


This is my father's coworker's youngest son. He's tired from a 2 hour long safari ride.

 

[beavo451]

Good photos everybody! Keep it up!

Plymouthbreezer: Good classic portrait, although the colors are a little weird.

FrankieTDouglas: Interesting concept, I like it. I will upload more pictures of her later today.

But for now, her sister.

 

[Lau]

I'm just getting interested in photography... so I'm terribly inexperienced.


This is my father's coworker's youngest son. He's tired from a 2 hour long safari ride.

I really like this, he looks very tired.

Could it be worth lightening the background or something to push it back a bit? Not that it isn't good how it is, but it would make the eye focus on the little dude a bit more. Someone who knows what they're talking about (i.e. not me) could probably tell you the best way to go about pushing the background back.

 

[ksz]

Ok, since we're posting some baby pictures... This is Dominic, my nephew, at about 8 months.

Hand in the (future cookie?) jar

Quick, look the other way while I rob the bank.

It's MINE I tell you; get your grubby hands off that thing.

 

[wilburdl]

http://darnellwilburn.com/april_water
http://darnellwilburn.com/terry
http://definitiveworks.com/dwayne-thinker

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

Plymouthbreezer: Good classic portrait, although the colors are a little weird.

In the end, it didn't matter, she printed it in grayscale.

 

[macgfxdesigner]

Smile N Laugh

Comments welcomed

Tons of more photos HERE

 

[cookie1105]

Great shot macgfxdesigner. One of my favourites from the Brit Chick series. I really like the warm brown tones that you have managed to capture in the subjects face, hair and hat. Her expression gives me the impression that she is having a good time with you. I like the way that the brim of the hat keeps the viewers attention focused on the foreground rather than straying away to the background.

In a perfect world (to quote RV ), I would have liked a looser crop showing more of the hat and her shoulders. I think that if you could have had more of the iris showing in her eyes it would have given more contact with the viewer. I would also like the spots from the sun shining through her hat, below her left eye, to be cloned out.

Overall a very nice shot, she is a very pretty girl.

Edit: Whoops, my mistake. It is not from the brit chick series, you have just used the same hat as a prop.

 

[cookie1105]

Here is mine for today. My buddy Robin. I was trying to show him how wide apertures produce razor-thin DOF. It actually turned out to be a shot that I am very happy with. I had it printed @ 20cmx30cm and gave it to him as a birthday present. It looked great, especially as it was the first picture I have ever had printed!

reb xt +50mm f/1.4
ISO 100
1/4000s @ F/1.6


C&C welcome!

 

[Bocheememon]

Thanks.

I meant to comment on this photo earlier. I love it. It's soft and inviting, the lens flare just adds to it, and it just strikes me as a well composed image.

Hey thanks! That is one of my favorite photos. Everything in it turned out the way it should. I was surprised that the lens flare my camera caught came out nicely.

Your photo of the girl and polaroid is a great concept. I appreciate good ideas behind portrait photographs that visually venture out of how we see a person. Nice job.

 

[Bocheememon]

Ok, since we're posting some baby pictures... This is Dominic, my nephew, at about 8 months.

Goodness! Children are just learning to use computers at such a young age.

What a beautiful nephew! Oh...the baby fever! The bank robbing shot is charming and adorable!

cookie1105: Glad the suggestion already helped a wonderful image. The black and white image has quite a stare. I like the way the lines are placed in the image; it is a good composition. Also, the play of DOF is wonderful on your lens!

Just another suggestion, and you don't have to take it. I don't claim to be a know-it-all for photos. I'm learning like everyone is here.

See if you can add a bit more contrast to that image without blowing out the highlights and shadows. I think just a little nudge on the B+W and you are good to go!

macgfxdesigner: Love the photo. Wonderfully composed.

devilot: This is an excellent photo! The child really draws you in to the image. Well done Dev!

beavo: The parade shot has a lot of great colors in it. Were you close to the subject? I noticed some soft focus at the bottom.

Jared_Kipe: The first photo in your series has a sultry intesity about it! The third photo in the series is nicely done. It is foreboding!

A suggestion, take it or leave it.
I would see if you can bring some details back on the top of her head. You can do this by using masks in photoshop. Select the areas you wish to modify and adjust to levels to bring back some of the details. Just a few nudges in different parts of the image, and it will be first class.


snap58: Wow, how old is that image? The interaction of the girls head and how the teddy bear follows her gaze creates a mischievous quality to the girl. The black background adds a lot to the photo that a background might take away from it. Is the girl related to you?

Oh and I use a Nikon Coolscan V for my photos.

Everyone else, love the photos!

 

[Mike Teezie]

Alright, a portrait thread!

Here's one from a recent senior session. The client wanted a shot with her letterman jacket - something that's not really my "style" or whatever you want to call it. I'm always afraid of shooting cheesy portraits, and letterman jackets can easily, easily equal cheese.

From my blog, hence the logo at the bottom:

You can see more from this series at my blog if there's interest.

 

[beavo451]

As requested, another one from the session with the unknown girl