CO

I took this photo at a studio photo shoot. I showed it at my camera club's critique night. We have an evaluator who is an expert with portrait photography. He made the comment: "the poor gal doesn't have a right arm". He thought that her right arm should have been visible. He thought that I could have asked her to put both of her hands up to the sunglasses or have her turn more towards the camera. What do you think?

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SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

CO, I think the same thing!
BUT, that said, most of my models are pretty new since I do most all my Model shoots for trade, getting paid is what the private sector is for, so we test shoot for portfolio.
I go over all the do's and don'ts with my models as we go, as they happen. BUT, I also tell them that they CAN'T do anything wrong, it's just a different shot but some shots will be more appealing than others, and I show then in the camera.
Now all that said, we work on not lining up both feet, both legs, both hands etc. We know that as normal humans they have two arms and legs/feet, so we should show them.
Yes, with hindsight she should have held the glasses in her right hand and mabe placed the left across her midsection. I try to never hide the curvy parts of the body. here you have her covering her left boob with her arm, something I try to avoid. We also see a hint of the other hand below her waist. The waist adds nothing to the image, I would crop it at least 1/2 way up to the elbow. In fact you have a lot of negative space that is serving no purpose. Personally if you cropped into the elbow, the top of the head and tighter left/right, you could only draw stronger emphasis on her really beautiful face, hand and teeth!!!
CO, that's MY two cents!!!
SS

CO

Thanks for your critiques of the photo. I tried cropping as you recommended. It does put more emphasis on her face. We're having another photo shoot at the same place tomorrow. We have three models attending. I'll be watching out for these things.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

CO is the "expert" published? If so in what publications? And are they "Named Credits"? Just saying...

That said this is a classic example of an "Elbow Pop" which is generally to be avoided...
Tradition has it to always have the face closest to the camera lens in portraiture...

Also the talent's iris/pupil is pretty much slammed into the corner of their eyes... Too much cornea showing camera left which tends to give a talent an unnatural crossed eye appearance... Solution? Have the talent look in the same direction that their nose is pointing...

I agree with Sharpshooter that working the distance hand is again the traditional way of showcasing eye-wear. However using crude language in referring to a models breast is unacceptable and I trust that E.L. Shapiro will delete the offending post... On a commercial set this would be consider totally unprofessional... This is a "Professional" Section/Forum... enough said.

glyphtrix

Thanks for the mandating decorum!
It's flabbergasting that numerous posters are seemingly unawares that women are also photographers and are reading this site.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

There are a number of significant problems in this image causing some unflattering and distracting aesthetic issues. Image management: Theses is quite a degree of distortion in the arm and elbow that is extended toward the camera. This position is awkward to begin with but working too close with a normal, slightly wider that normal or a wide angle lens of zoom focal length setting causes exaggeration or elongation of limbs extended into the foreground of the image. A longer focal length, backing up a bit and, adjusting or modifying the pose would have somewhat remedied this issue.

The lighting is flat. The arm is receiving the same amount or more light than the face witch exacerbates the above mentioned issue. In a PORTRAIT, where you want to emphasize the subject's face, in a planned session, it is best to have the subject wear long sleeves. If sleeveless garments or short selves are worn, it is important to shade the arms with barn-doors, gobos, or through feathering the lights so that the arms are a tone below the face. In most people, the arms receive less sunlight exposure than the face and are usually a bit lighter in tone to begin with.

Body mechanics and pose: The camera has one lens- it's like having one eye so the camera has no depth perception and can not see around things so is important to arrange the subjects position in relation to the camera position so limbs don't seem to be missing. Of course we all know that folks have 4 limbs but when we see a photograph where there are awkward positions, where part of limbs disappear, look like stumps and arms or hands seem to reappear out of nowhere we get a negative visual impact. In this image, having the subject turn her body more toward the camera would have solved this part of the problem.

Eyes- Because of the direction that the subject is gazing and the sun glasses, we don't see much of the eyes. In a classical portrait the eyes should be centered. This is a more casual shot so the sideways glance is not too bad- kinda cute.

In a portrait session, the photographer should direct the subject as to pose. In a fashion of "model" shoots, in some instances, the model moves around, strikes various posies and the photographer may just catch the shots that he or she wants to capture. Trained, talented and experienced models know how to pose and how to feature various garments. They also know how to take directions and how to work as a team member with the photographer,stylists and other staff. Inexperienced models or just regular folks who are sitting for a portrait will usually require more direction.

CO

Thanks for the critique. I'm watching out for these things in future photo shoots.

canon Lee

Hi This is my opinion only, I like posing subjects with their shoulder facing in to the camera. I like to pose women in a 3/4 shot with a hand on her hip, the other would be holding the glasses. I avoid having the subject facing full front, as this looks uninteresting, as well as not having the light model the face. I like using props like sun glasses. For a full length shot, I prefer the subject sitting at an angle to the camera. Positioning one light near a 90 degree angle, would add much drama. I feel aside from a good pose, that lighting plays an important part of relating a certain look and feel.. For instance I would never use a rim light on a women jaw, but would use a hair light ( which I see is not used). I like soft backgrounds, with little detail.. Head and shoulder shots would eliminate the problem of showing both arms. This is my opinion, not from others or books. I have an art background so the projection of feeling and interest are paramount. You can always crop the image to a head and shoulders shot. I also pose with the subject facing inward, as we scan photos from right to left.

CO

Thanks for the critique. I used a silver reflective umbrella for this shot. I've started using a beauty dish a lot. I like that it accentuates features more. The light isn't flat. I've also started to use a second strobe as a hair light. I've been using a 8.5 reflector with grid or my other beauty dish but I'm going to order the Paul C. Buff 10x36 strip box with grid.

canon Lee

My critique is for small adjustments, as I feel generally its a good portrait. Soft shadows created by soft boxes and beauty dishes makes the females look soft, with a bit more color to the face. Silver unbrella reflectors tend to be harsh, hard light, where for a portrait it would be better to use a soft box, on one side of the face and a reflector on the other to fill in shadows.
You are at the stage where you can move the lights around to get different looks ( BTW I added an additional light for a halo effect on the background. Light models around the face. Using a gray background will give you an excellent starting point to get a better histogram reading. I suggest that you work in a darkened room, and use your modeling lights to adjust for shadows. Use shadows to enhance the portrait. If you have a AlienBees mono light, you can adjust the modeling light output to sync with your output slider. Experiment by moving the lights around to see what different looks you can get. I like to set the light just above the eyes. The larger and closer the umbrella the softer the light. Playing with light is so much fun.
Notice the hair light, the change of hair do, the use of a flower and eyeglasses as props. I must admit that I had some effort to get her nose, ( which was not straight or a good shape), highlight as smooth as possible. I know that Im eligible for some critiques here, but remember this was a paid shoot and the editing was what the client wanted. Yes I do have my clients sit by my side and guide me as I'm editing.... I also did some additional editing after the client left, to smooth out the skin tone ( & freckles), which is not included in this sample.

Stanhope Loc: New York City

In the first shot you needed to cover that sliver of skin or expand it to a bare midriff.