This was the worst photo shoot ewhere the lady made me put the white swoop in and i told here the white would offset the the contrast of a african american but what do you all think about this picture. Also the lady made me redo my background 8 times and at the end did not pay me. so lesson learned as I now do contracts and most money is up front.

I worked 8 hours without getting paid on this one.

Taste issues aside, I think your angle of attack was to high on this particular shot.

On a standing shot like this the subject will look much better if you bring your lens down to about the middle of their stomach. Could have used a bit of powder to remove the sheen from her forehead too.

Nice expression though.

Hi April,

A few suggestions.

* Please don't mention things like the payment status of the subject, customer complaints, etc. It is unprofessional.
* Instead, add details such as how you lit the scene, what settings you were using on your camera, and what post processing techniques you applied.
* Check your contrast (white and black points).
* Read up on basic composition.
* Any time you add a prop, ask yourself this question: "Does this prop support the image, or distract the viewer?"
* Same for backgrounds.
* Learn to position a subject in 3 flattering poses. Once you can nail those, add three more.
* Watch out for compression artifacts and other issues. The image has several such problems, technically speaking. Shoot RAW, if you aren't.
* Get the flash off your camera, and work on building a way to soften that light. Those shadows are harsh!
* Read every thread you can find in the people forum on dgrin, especially the pullbacks thread. Find something you think is really great. Try to do it.

April,

I'd highly recommend that you purchase and thoroughly read and understand Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It is a fantastic book for helping new photographers overcome exposure and composition problems.

I would also highly recommend that you put a hold on offering professional services and practice. While it's certainly possible to get money for just about anything these days all you're doing is destroying your name. Give it some time, improve your technique and THEN start selling your services.

Originally Posted by thoth april, i'd highly recommend that you purchase and thoroughly read and understand understanding exposure by bryan peterson. It is a fantastic book for helping new photographers overcome exposure and composition problems. I would also highly recommend that you put a hold on offering professional services and practice. While it's certainly possible to get money for just about anything these days all you're doing is destroying your name. Give it some time, improve your technique and then start selling your services.

+2

April,

You have a lot going on here with this post. You have a quality and critique question and also an unspecified business question.

With regard to not getting paid I think you should re post that in the business section along with ALL the pertinent details like what your agreement called for and why didn't she pay you.

I have a suspicion that the image quality and the payment are both the question and the answer.

I know your new here and it looks like your also very new to photography. Now is the time to suck it up and have an honest talk with yourself. What do you like about photography? Where do you want to go with your photography? Do you have the courage to objectively look at your work and evaluate where your currently at? Are you willing to put in the time and effort to get to where you want to be? Etc.

Look at the websites of other photographers. There are many fine photographers here you can look at and talk with.

How does your images compare to those photographers you admirer?

If you chose to peruse photography start by reading everything you can, take some classes, join a local camera club, practice. You need to study and work at it.

Now as to one of your questions "what do I think about this picture" I don't think it meets professional standards and agree with the post recommending you wait awhile until your skills improve before trying to charge for your work.

I will tell you you won't find a better more helpful forum in the world of electrons and ether than this one.

Sam