tinafrye26411 Loc: West Virginia

I'm a beginner so please be gentle.

DSLRChuck Loc: Wisconsin

Well, I'm a beginner also, so I may be of little help, but You have a beautiful subject, and they look great to me.

Erbin Loc: Poquoson, Virginia

Photo 1: Very nice soft lighting ... To prevent the arm from looking like it is amputated, I would have her fold her arms together as a support for her beautiful face ... I would crop this photo to remove the distracting trees and the table she is lying on.
Photo 2: A tighter crop would shift her to the right for a better composition.

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

Your composition, & exposure are great. The soft look is not appealing to me. That's only my taste. I'd rather shoot a sharp shot, treat the skin to soften it and keep the eye area relatively sharp.

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

Good advice and crop Erbin.

Plusten Loc: Fruita Colorado

She does have some beautiful eyes,,great shot

Jersey GRRRL Loc: Long Beach, CA

Hi Chuck, nice attempts. I prefer the first one over the second as it looks more natural. When I looked at 2nd image, it struck me that her head looks uncomfortably and unnaturally twisted. I like your tonal range and you also did a nice job with lighting. If you don't know how to shoot portraits it can be glaringly obvious. Each person's facial structure reacts differently when shooting with flash so you really know how to light it. Women have different problems that come to "light" than men. So you need to know your lighting so you don't create an elongated nose or double chin, for example. I like where your going with this. Just remember: SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT! The more you shoot, the better you'll get and find your "vision." Also, I highly recommend visiting museums and Artist websites to see how others are interpreting portraits. I think you are DEFINITELY on the right track and are off to a very good start. For me, I learn SO much by viewing other people's work. Since I've been hitting LACMA, the Getty and voraciously viewing others work, my imagery has improved tenfold. Keep it up. Experiment. Think OUTSIDE the box, as they say. The more unique your vision, the better you will become and the more interested people will be to hire you.

Marcia
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tinafrye26411 Loc: West Virginia

Thank you she is my daughter. So I agree she is beautiful. :-)

tinafrye26411 Loc: West Virginia

I would like to thank all of you for your advice and direction. My daughter (pictured) wants to be a model and I would like to take all of her shots so I need as much direction as I can get.

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

Rule #1 - Never use a 50mm to take a close-up portrait. Barrel distortion will ruin it. Use an 85mm or greater.

tinafrye26411 Loc: West Virginia

Thanks for the tip Bob

Hiskid.58 Loc: Erie, PA

Not sure on this, but on a cropped sensor camera, a 50mm becomes a 80mm. Doesn't that cancel out the distortion since you would be standing back farther to get the same shot? I've been wondering this for a while now. Thinking of getting a 50mm f1.4 for doing portrait type stuff. My camera has a 1.6 crop factor. Sorry if this is a hijack. I do love the images and agree with all the comments so far. To me the one shot was a little too close.

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

I just happened to watch an hour online talk show "The Grid" on http://www.kelbytv.com that gave that tip and explanation. The talk show is free and available to watch at any time by anyone. I'm a regular fan.

bobmielke Loc: Portland, OR

Watch the show, link below your post.

tinafrye26411 Loc: West Virginia

What do you think of this shot?

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