I got my first sunburn of the year shooting some pinup models on Coney Island yesterday. This is the first time I have shot people, in this sort of setting. Tougher than I thought it would be (a lot of harsh light yesterday). Anyway, here are some of the results:

Joanne On the boardwalk



I definitely need a better fill flash.






Amber on the Beach










Amber, Joanne, and Katelan

I really dont care for one or two, I would like 3 if you had shown more of the model; 4, 6, and 7 look great; and 8 and 5 look mediocre. but nj overall.

coney island can be a fun place to shoot, but it is not the easiest. i hope you don't mind me critiquing you. i don't mean to sound harsh, i'm just trying to help!

joanne is my favorite. i looked at your website and felt that some of the other pictures you took of her were better than the ones you posted.

the first shot is very washed out, this can be cured by bumping the contrast or playing with curves. the pose isn't the greatest, but it's not horrible either.

the second shot does not work for me. the pose could be great, but with all the horizontal lines in the shot including the horizon, it looks odd. the fact that the shot is on a weird angle is not helping it. i think a slightly closer, downward angle might do better here because it could eliminate the horizon.

the third shot needs some more contrast to it, but even then i don't understand the picture that well. i'm not saying it's bad at all, but i just don't understand it.

your shots of amber on the beach are interesting. i try not to shoot on the beach at coney island because the sand is pretty nasty. maybe that's the look you wanted. i think the first two of amber could use a little more pop, but i like the poses and the style of them. i don't like the background, i think a more cleaner beach and background would be look better. those buildings don't do anything for me.

was the water cold that day? the third shot is pretty good, but the lighting looks like it was difficult and i don't know how i feel about the rocks there. they're a little distracting.

the last solo shot of amber is your best of the series. absolutely great! i love the light, the pose, and the background! i know those reds are beautiful, but i think this would do wonders as a b&w shot. think about it.

your last shot doesn't do anything for me, sorry!

i hope i could help!

I don't mind critique at all! This is the first time that I have shot models, and it is obvious to me that there are problems, so I'm very interested in hearing what people have to say about how to improve them.

I would loved to have more "frolic in the water" type shots, but the water was ice cold. As far as sand goes, Coney Island is pretty grim, but where can you go near New York that has good sand?

My comment is about foreground/background separation. The background is too sharp and tends to intrude. Are wider apertures available on your lens to blur the background a bit more?

#1 Model silhouette is lost among the bench lines and mural.

#2 Figures in background are distractingly sharp.

#3 Same as #2, and elbow crashes into background bystander. (Can be hard to avoid in a busy place. I am now in the habit of using the burst mode to try and get multiple moments of the same shot to avoid things I did not notice in the viewfinder.)

#4 Head stuck to boring hotel. If the head was in the sky, her hair would silhouette dramatically.

#5 Pretty good, but I still think the background is too sharp.

#6 Like #4, she would stand out better if the hair didn't lose its outline in front of a dark rock area.

#7 I think this would have worked better if either the background was more out of focus or she was between the wheel and tower, instead of being attached to the wheel. Left edge of bikini is lost in the wheel hub and fence due to similar tones and colors.

Seems like a reflector would help on the ones where the model is backlit or with harsh shadow, but I don't have much reflector experience.

Otherwise, they're kind of fun. I like the general attitude, and the concept in #3.

Originally Posted by Justiceiro I would loved to have more "frolic in the water" type shots, but the water was ice cold. As far as sand goes, Coney Island is pretty grim, but where can you go near New York that has good sand?

you would be surprised. . .
a couple miles down the belt parkway, take flatbush ave south to jacob riis park. i find the beach there to be very nice, but obviously it doesn't have the same attractions of coney island. if you're willing to drive another 20-30 minutes from there, you could go to long beach which is a very long, but narrow strip of beautiful beach. and then a little passed that is the excellent jones beach. if you want to talk more about locations, i'll be glad to discuss it in the location forum.

A very mixed bag of photographs, styles and approaches. They may not all be perfect but it shows variety. For me the 6th photo seem to be the best match between the model, post processing and the pose. I really like the 1st image too but it needs some post processing work to show it in the best light.

There is also photo #7 - if she only looked straight into your camera. It's very cheeky: just look at the curves and straight lines

Jones Beach is not as bad as it used to be. Sand is much better than what you have photo'd @ Coney Is.
I'm liking Amber's pics. The gritty backgrounds sort of fit with her grit-glam look (for lack better word), but having them come out of her head takes away. Just an opinion. Her knees apparently got bright red after being in the cold water. :)

Lovely models, great idea-- your timing is off though. Not sure what Coney Island is like at dusk, but either dusk or dawn would vastly improve these photos if you absolutely must shoot on the beach. When the sun is overhead and blasting away, there's not much you can do except move into the shade and use fill lights or a reflector. Or use a scrim.

One good trick is to put your model in the shade-- under a beach umbrella or just inside an overhang, then use a reflector to bounce light back onto her.

Originally Posted by dogwood Lovely models, great idea-- your timing is off though. Not sure what Coney Island is like at dusk, but either dusk or dawn would vastly improve these photos if you absolutely must shoot on the beach. When the sun is overhead and blasting away, there's not much you can do except move into the shade and use fill lights or a reflector. Or use a scrim. One good trick is to put your model in the shade-- under a beach umbrella or just inside an overhang, then use a reflector to bounce light back onto her.

Thanks for all the comments guys. I definitely need to get a better flash and a reflector (that's a great idea, I can't believe I didn't think of it beforehand). I will also pay more attention to the "building growing from the head" problem.

I think these are definitely good for a first time. I had no idea how difficult pinup photography was until I tried it myself (and dogwood gave me good advice, too)... and it ended up more "retro" than pinup.

I think #3 has a lot of promise, but then again I tend to be drawn more towards more subtle shots, not so much what they classify as the "cheesecake" type of pinup modeling. The beach shots also have a ton of potential - and these are much better than some of the professional pinup photographers I've seen so far.

You're really lucky to have such great models and a place like NYC to play in. I'm looking forward to seeing more!

Originally Posted by schmooo I think these are definitely good for a first time. I had no idea how difficult pinup photography was until I tried it myself (and dogwood gave me good advice, too)... and it ended up more "retro" than pinup. I think #3 has a lot of promise, but then again I tend to be drawn more towards more subtle shots, not so much what they classify as the "cheesecake" type of pinup modeling. The beach shots also have a ton of potential - and these are much better than some of the professional pinup photographers I've seen so far. You're really lucky to have such great models and a place like NYC to play in. I'm looking forward to seeing more!

thanks Schmoo. There aren't a lot of decent shots from this session, my technique for shooting people outdoors really sucks. Also, some are simply too crowded. But the group that does this tends to shoo trelatively frequently (there are about 15 photogs who meet bi-monthly) and thye usually have studio access. It's a little easier to control things in that situation.

I really enjoyed shooting these. The models were a lot of fun to talk to and work with, and I like the whole genre, so I think I will stick with it for a while and see if I have capabilities in that area. BTW, your shots are realy nice.

If you get up to New York, maybe you could join us on a shoot.

what would happen if you do some curve adjustments, vibrance, and contrast in the first photo? make it pop a little more, it's really bland....and one dimensional.

- RE

Originally Posted by Justiceiro thanks Schmoo. There aren't a lot of decent shots from this session, my technique for shooting people outdoors really sucks. Also, some are simply too crowded. But the group that does this tends to shoo trelatively frequently (there are about 15 photogs who meet bi-monthly) and thye usually have studio access. It's a little easier to control things in that situation. I really enjoyed shooting these. The models were a lot of fun to talk to and work with, and I like the whole genre, so I think I will stick with it for a while and see if I have capabilities in that area. BTW, your shots are realy nice. If you get up to New York, maybe you could join us on a shoot.

That is very cool that these models have good experience with this type of thing. As a photog new to shooting people, I am too busy fiddling with my camera and worrying about lighting to guide them. I noticed that your models are very confident and spot-on with their looks, which is a great advantage!

I would LOVE to try something like that if the invitation remains open. I visit NYC frequently because of family and doing something creative like this would be a wonderful reason to slip away for a few hours. ;)