Zachary Welch wrote:
Hello all
My name is Zachary, I am fairly new the the forums and very new to posting! Ed Shapiro invited me to come by for some thoughtful feedback, and for the wealth of knowledge in this sub forum. I have taken photos for many year, but had avoided taking photo of people until recently. I had also avoided using flash until the last couple years, but have slowly learned to love it, to the point that I am now often upset with my pictures unless I use flash! Recently I started trying to learn the nuances of various lighting modifiers with a test dummy I have named Buddy. I still think “he” is a good way to ingrain knowledge of how flash power, Aperture, and light placement intersect, However with Ed’s encouragement, I think I will rely more on friends and my lovely girlfriend VeeElle as model so I can start working on engagement with the subjects
I will include three shots that I have made with a single umbrella. Two were done indoors, with a single umbrella that was partial closed as key light. And then I have a photo that I did of her and her business partner for an advertisement in a regional magazine. I have adjusted exposure slightly in the outdoor shot. I was using a 60inch umbrella with a single Godox AD200 at near full power with the sun setting to camera right, at about a 45 degree angle to the people. I was very proud of how I balanced the shot, though I know it is still not perfect. After about an hour of shooting they were ready to be done.
I look forward to comments on that photo, and am including the other two as a baseline for future criticism!
Thanks much for reading what turned to a long post
Zachary. Formally “SolXRex
Hello all br br My name is Zachary, I am fairly ... (
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Hey, Zack! Welcome to this section. I hope you will find it a good learning resource in your portraiture.
I have some information pertaining to your last image of the two doctors. Here's my critique- I hope you find it useful.
Firstly, I like the expressions you have captured, they are straightforward with good eye contact and friendly- some folks feel that medical professionals are somewhat scary- ask your girlfriend about "white coat syndrome"! They are professional looking but show a warm and understanding attitude. Good business and professional portraits should always bring out approachable personalities.
The urban background is OK as well- it tells of geographic location. It is out of focus but recognizable and that is good.
You have handled the eyeglasses nicely but the eyes in the subject with the glasses are slightly under illuminated- it difficult to raise the main light enough to avoid reflections and still get adequate illumination in the eyes- that is a very finite adjustment. Sometimes, slight downward tilting of the eyeglasses will address this issue. In a full face shot- you won't see that the temples of the eyeglass frames are tilted. Sometimes a smaller light source will minimize the size and aid in the controllability of the reflections.
Details- The open jacket is somewhat problematic. A casual manner of dress is not bad but so much of the white shirt showing tends to dominate the image- it becomes the most prevalent highlight in the composition. The high collar on your girlfriend's blouse shortens here neckline slightly. So...if you have a chance to pre-plan a session you can advise on some of these clothing issues- neckline, color, tone, style, etc. Sometimes I get them to borrow a pair of identical or similar BLANK frames from their optometrist or optician to use during the session. Certain prescription lenses can magnify or de-magnify the eyes to a great extent, and/or cause other interferences due to bifocal, progressive or tinted lenses. Other times, blank frames will not work because the subject will stare, squint, go cross-eyed, or be extremely uncomfortable without their lenses so we need to be able to contend with the reflections. Folks who where eyeglaas all the time shod be photographed with their glasses in place, otherwise their images may seem unnatural or uncharacteristic.
If you had brought in your main light in from the other direction the lighting aesthetics on both subjects would be better. It would have provided a"shorter" lighting pattern on the young lady which would be more flattering to her facial structure.
So...to illustrate some of my points, as we do here, I did a quick and dirty edit of our image. I tried to close the jacket to bring more attention to gentlemen's face and I brightened his eyes. I cropped in a bit tighter as there was a bit too much negative space. Also- these kinds of business headshot are often published in smaller sizes and you need more emphasis on the faces. I added a slight vignette as well.
Most lighting issues cannot be solved in post-processing- the need to be addressed in the shooting. Some clothing problems can be somewhat modified or corrected in post but again, it is better and more realistic to look after these details while shooting. My edit, by no means, is a complete finished product- it is only to illustrate some of my critiques.
Any questions, feedback and/or comments are invited and appreciated. Long and detail post with supporting stories are welcome here. Portraiture has much to do with people, their stories, requirements, likes and dislikes and all things human, and the photographer's approach as it has to do with gear and technical details.