New Venture - Portraits

[Felicia]

I love faces. So I'm dipping my toes into portrait shooting. Here're some of my favorites from my latest shoots:

#1
http://www.feliciabphotography.com/photos/218668990-M.jpg

#2
http://www.feliciabphotography.com/photos/219708401-M.jpg

#3
http://www.feliciabphotography.com/photos/218865432-M.jpg

#4
http://www.feliciabphotography.com/photos/218370851-M.jpg

#5
http://www.feliciabphotography.com/photos/218323112-M.jpg

#6
http://www.feliciabphotography.com/photos/218668801-M.jpg

#7
http://www.feliciabphotography.com/photos/218400348-M.jpg

[saurora]

These are adorable! I especially like #1, 4 & 5. :clap

[gubbs]

I love the close crops, very cute :D

[xris]

Really nice work! :clap:clap. And if you get releases they would make interesting stock shots. Lots of character.

[ShepsMom]

These are the cutest faces!! I very much so like #1 Those eyes!! Nice work! :thumb

[Travis]

Wow! Beautiful shots Felicia!

[Icebear]

:lust

[adpace]

Fantastic portraits! they're all adorable, nice job!!

[Felicia]

Really nice work! :clap:clap. And if you get releases they would make interesting stock shots. Lots of character.

Thanks for the encouragement, xris, Travis, Shepsmom, Saurora, Icebear, Gubbs & Adpace!

The good news is that I DO have releases on ALL of them!!! :barb Only problem is I have no clue about how to get them out as stock shots... :scratch Any discusssion threads or websites you've seen out there you could point me to?

[Elaine]

Adorable subjects and wonderful shots! Love the close crops and colors. Looks like you have another area of photography to pursue! :clap

[Felicia]

I got a PM asking me to put setup info in the thread. Sorry I didn't get that up the first pass - new to this forum... :wink

All of the shots were with my new Canon 85mm 1.8. Shots 1, 4, 6 & 7 were taken outside around noon under the shade of some trees on a light or pastel colored blanket. I used a 580 ex for fill flash.

Shot 2 was taken indoors with ambient window light coming in from the left. No flash. The beige color in the background is carpet.

Shot 3 was taken outdoors on a foggy day around 9:00am with a lake in the background. I used a 580ex for fill flash.

Shot 5 was taken outdoors in the late afternoon, around 5pm. No flash.

[LittleLew]

Dear Felicia,

Altho I like this as a group, there are some specific problems I would like to bring to your attention. The question I always ask myself is 'Is there anything that could make this picture better?; that seems to elicit more useful reactions than whether I like the picture or not.

(Portraits formatted in 4 x 6 where there is lots of open space means special framing and seem somehow odd to me, socialized as I am to look at 4 x 5 - but that is a personal thing. Another personal thing is a dislike of logos that intrude on the face of the subject)

1) great comp and tight crop but it looks like the real focus is on the knit sweater rather than the eyes and face.

2) seems too OOF overall.

3) there seems to be a lack of modelling shadows in the face and I assume that the entire face was in shadow and brought up in post-processing. Perhaps a little fill-flash to give catch-lights in the eyes and some brightness to the face.

4) 6) & 7) are quite nice, good exposure great crop. [ IMO, 7) is best of all in terms of color and saturation]

5) Nice pensive picture but, IMO, would benefit from a portrait crop and some burn-in to remove the brightness of the collar of the shirt which attracts the eye and make the face more the center of the picture.

I hope these coments are not offensive and are helpful to understand how others might see the pictures.

Lew

[Felicia]

I hope these coments are not offensive and are helpful to understand how others might see the pictures.

Lew
Thanks for taking the time to explain how I can improve the shots, Lew. I'll absorb and see if I can incorporate your tips into my next shoot. :D

[LittleLew]

Thanks for taking the time to explain how I can improve the shots, Lew. I'll absorb and see if I can incorporate your tips into my next shoot. :D

Dear Felicia,

I didn't mean to sound like a know-it-all. My comments were just my opinions and I hope you will ignore what you don't agree with.

Lew
:wink

[DavidS]

I love the ones of the baby. Especially #1 and #4.

[jeffreaux2]

All nice although2 could have used a bit more depth of field.

Be careful with #3. I have noticed that with children it is safer to use a longer focal length to get close in shots. His eyes look like the left one is turning in a tad.....maybe not. This is especially true in asian children, or others with eyes spaced farther apart. You move in close with a medium telephoto....50mm in my case....and their eyes turn in to look at the camera.

Distance cures this.

[ob_3]

I appreciate you taking the time and posting the info ... thanks for sharing

regards

tom

[Felicia]

Dear Felicia,

I didn't mean to sound like a know-it-all. My comments were just my opinions and I hope you will ignore what you don't agree with.

Lew
:wink

Of course they're your opinions. I like opinions. They make life interesting, and I can learn from them. Thanks for sharing your opinions with me. :D

[Felicia]

All nice although2 could have used a bit more depth of field.

Be careful with #3. I have noticed that with children it is safer to use a longer focal length to get close in shots. His eyes look like the left one is turning in a tad.....maybe not. This is especially true in asian children, or others with eyes spaced farther apart. You move in close with a medium telephoto....50mm in my case....and their eyes turn in to look at the camera.

Distance cures this.

#3 was actually shot at f11. But you make a very enlightenting point about the DOF and almond shaped eyes. Thanks! I'll tuck that into my bag of portrait info. Man, taking pictures sure can be complicated, huh! :D