Beauty Portrait Shoot: I did a photo shoot with a lovely young lady who has been my go to practice model since I began 5.5 years ago. She was 11 and now she's 16. We are both learning...

alissaspieces Loc: New York

I did a photo shoot with a lovely young lady who has been my go to practice model since I began 5.5 years ago. She was 11 and now she's 16. We are both learning and growing together. During this shoot I decided to put a piece of tulle around my lens to see what kind of effect it would have. I know this was a trick that has been used in studio portraits many times. SOOC it did appear hazy, but I have been working on my post processing skills as much as my shooting, so this was my favorite out of the bunch. The second one is without the tulle. I really like the way the tulle added just the right amount of softness without making the photo soft. For both of these, I used a 48 inch octo box camera left feathered. She is sorta wrapped in a white v flat on her right side. There is also a gridded rectangular softbox on her right side behind her. Also used a fan for the first time ever.

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carlysue Loc: Columbus

I know you want input from those photographers that are more expert in portrait (I'm not), but I cannot help but notice how you've brought out her beautiful features with the simple and complementary back ground. I would not have recognized the use of tulle around your lens but your results are wonderful. She is a beautiful girl with exquisite features,bone structure, expressive eyes and lips to envy. I think these are fabulous, Alissa.

alissaspieces Loc: New York

I find all feedback, good and bad useful. I like getting feedback from those that have the most experience, sure. But it is also always good to see what others think and see what moves them. I always appreciate anyone who takes the time to write their thoughts as long as they are done tastefully and with good intention, even if the feedback is not pleasing to them. Thank you Carly Sue, I really do appreciate your words, a lot. :)

carlysue wrote:

I know you want input from those photographers that are more expert in portrait (I'm not), but I cannot help but notice how you've brought out her beautiful features with the simple and complementary back ground. I would not have recognized the use of tulle around your lens but your results are wonderful. She is a beautiful girl with exquisite features,bone structure, expressive eyes and lips to envy. I think these are fabulous, Alissa.

alissaspieces Loc: New York

I hope I didn't offend anyone in another thread to make you think that I only want feedback from the professionals. I really do listen to what everyone says and then make my own decisions on what I want to incorporate and what I don't agree with. I always value what you say. Thank you again. :)

carlysue wrote:

I know you want input from those photographers that are more expert in portrait (I'm not), but I cannot help but notice how you've brought out her beautiful features with the simple and complementary back ground. I would not have recognized the use of tulle around your lens but your results are wonderful. She is a beautiful girl with exquisite features,bone structure, expressive eyes and lips to envy. I think these are fabulous, Alissa.

carlysue Loc: Columbus

alissaspieces wrote:

I hope I didn't offend anyone in another thread to make you think that I only want feedback from the professionals. I really do listen to what everyone says and then make my own decisions on what I want to incorporate and what I don't agree with. I always value what you say. Thank you again. :)

I cannot imagine you offending anyone,Alissa. What I know, is that you are taking your photography to several heights above what I'll ever be able to do and as you learn and grow, advise from those with experience is valued...whereas I sit here with my mouth and eyes agog with wonder and excitement!

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Alissa your aesthetic is always charming... likely latent within your gender... possibly why the dominance of female makeup artist... enough said.
Food for thought... When having the talent work their hand in close proximity to their face it is generally best to have them avoid making facial skin contact with their fingers... doing so can/will dimple the skin and cause more pronounced shadows...

When shooting beauty narratives I will advise the talent to lightly touch their face then pull the finger(s) back just a tad. This greatly softens the shadows the fingers may case... But don't take my word for this, invest time studying the high end ads in VOGUE, ELLE, BAZAAR etc (reverse engineer these images since they are at the zenith of the current accepted "art" form)

tulle? works well on bridal gowns and women's millinery... best avoided in front of your capture device's optics... like film it is not generally accepted in today's competitive arena... too many far more effective and elegant solutions in post now...

btw, the hue and chroma of the nail and lip decor do not play well together here...
A color wheel is your best friend Alissa... or better yet collaborate with experienced nail techs and accomplished makeup artists.

Final thoughts? Your watermark "branding" adds nothing to this narrative...
and may actually reduce your perceived worth in the eyes of those within the industry...

Best advice? Alissa have you consider the merit/worth of moving on to the Instagram platform?
UHH is not likely going to be a fountain of creative knowledge for you at this juncture...

All the best on your journey...
Thank you for sharing Alissa

alissaspieces Loc: New York

Thank you Thomas for taking the time for such a thoughtful critique. I agree with you on many points and I as I am not hiring my "model" I didn't use a real makeup artist or have much to say about the nail color. But I am glad you are making me think about that for my next shoot. I am actually on instagram and also very much on facebook where I do a lot of posting and learning from a variety of photography groups. I do try to remember about not touching the face and I will now have to go back and inspect my photo because I didn't think I saw any dents. I am always glad when you look at my photos as you help me to see where I can improve. Thanks!

Thomas902 wrote:

Alissa your aesthetic is always charming... likely... (show quote)

alissaspieces Loc: New York

OK phew. I had just written in another thread that I really look for some of the professionals to give me feedback and then realized that it could have been construed as rude. Ironically, you wrote that and thought maybe you read it what I had said. Silly me! Thank you! :)

carlysue wrote:

I cannot imagine you offending anyone,Alissa. What I know, is that you are taking your photography to several heights above what I'll ever be able to do and as you learn and grow, advise from those with experience is valued...whereas I sit here with my mouth and eyes agog with wonder and excitement!

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I know absolutely nothing of portrait photography, but I do see a lot of such photographers’ work. That said, I think your work is excellent--both versions.

SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

I really like the first one Alissa. The tulle does really soften the image. I have used cut up nylon material for that effect. With the side-by-side comparison, the second one looks harsh.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Nice work.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Alissa, I generally like your work and these two are no exception. I think Thomas’ comments especially useful as he reminded me of some things I hadn’t thought about for a while. I won’t post anything that’s already been covered so that only leaves me with one comment on the first portrait, and that’s regarding your crop, which with the way you cropped it makes it look unbalanced, heavy on the right side and her hair is cropped off too. Yes, I understand the rule of thirds and all so I think I know what you were trying to do, but for me, it didn’t work on this one.

alissaspieces Loc: New York

Thanks Jaymatt!

jaymatt wrote:

I know absolutely nothing of portrait photography, but I do see a lot of such photographers’ work. That said, I think your work is excellent--both versions.

alissaspieces Loc: New York

It is crazy because I think the second one is one of the nicest portraits I have done to date, but put it next to the first one and it does look harsh! I cannot wait to go at it again with all kinds of cut up nylons!

SpyderJan wrote:

I really like the first one Alissa. The tulle does really soften the image. I have used cut up nylon material for that effect. With the side-by-side comparison, the second one looks harsh.

alissaspieces Loc: New York

Thanks!

DeanS wrote:

Nice work.