Uaana

I'm looking to get better at this.
Find the entire process just interesting, challenging, and out of the cold!

That said, this is my first "official" attempt TFP with a family I connected with on instagram.

Challenges included.
10yr old on her first solo shoot and no formal training. *She would constantly slouch.
*Great kid, just one more thing to keep track of and correct without being the evil, mean photographer.
Loose / Bacon neck shirt. Corrected slightly by putting a sweater on.
I'm an absolute rookie at portraits, I had the ideas in my head, watched a ton of videos..
But this will obviously take much more practice.

Seeking wisdom and guidance from you.

Final shot

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Battling the bacon neck

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JD750 Loc: SoCal

I hope you got a release and asked permission before posting shots of a 10 yr old girl on the internet.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

I will just comment on your "final shot." I am no expert so take my wisdom and guidance with a large grain of salt. The other photos show more life, more emotion. I would have liked to see more separation of the hair from the background on camera left. Also, a little more light on the eye. Her knuckles should be more relaxed. Her facial skin seems to have too much red. The sparklies in the lower right are distracting. What you are doing is hard, so, given that, you're doing a good job. But you wanted suggestions.

Uaana

Thank you and much appreciated.
RE: Final shot.
The red wasnt quite as obvious on my laptop. Definitely shows up more on my phone.
Agree with the separation. We had been playing with some misting to achieve that but I just didnt have the kick/blue light on camera right set high enough.
*I could see it hitting her hair on the backscreen and thought I could dial it up a bit post.. When I expose higher I get too much detail that I wanted left in shadow.

Thanks again!

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

There are several issues that need to be addressed for improvement. I'll concentrate on the final shot for starters.

Lightning: The main light is too high and too split resulting in no light in the eyes. You may have done this to avoid reflections in the eyeglasses, however, there are a number of other ways of controlling any unwanted reflections and still retaining brilliance in the eyes.

In one of the other shots, there is a "kicker" light, that is, a light directed at the subject from about 135 degrees to the camera/subject axis. That can be an effective accent light but it has to be more carefully placed and toned down. Light striking the subject from an angle in excess of 90 degrees tends to be brighter and needs to be feathered, diffused or reduced in power. The angle of incidence theory is an important rule to learn.

Details: The clothing colors are nice. You have to watch thigs like sagging necklines on the shirts or blouses.

GOOD STUFF: Really nice expressions and your ideas for a potentially great low key portrait are getting there. Her personality comes through!

I know this is lots to absorb but getting good at portraiture takes time, patience, study, and practice. There are many BASIC rules to learn, not as rigid laws, but practical and repeatable starting points. Great portraits sometimes require "stepping out of the box" but first you have to learn the contents of the "box".

The low key ligh is somewhat effective but you need a bit more shadow detail which is controlled by you to fill light source.

Posing: Some folks, including kids, tend to slouch. Most people can hold a pose longer and ream more comfortable if the spin is at full extension. Certain posing aids like adjustable stools for better footing and an adjustable posing table (a kida leaning post) can help the subject maintain a good posture and support more dynamic poses. Even in a close-up shot- the way a person is seated and the position of their hips, legs, and feet influence their shoulder line and posture.

Hands: There are certain methods of posing hands so they appear gracefully and do not look as if fingers are missing.

Composition: Every portrait des does have to be "centered" but in theses, the negative space is not serving any compositional purpose.

If you are going to post more of your portrait images, and I encourage you to do so, it is wise to obtain a model release from all your subjects, especially kids where the parents or guardians should sign off on the permission.

Tell me what kind of lighting gear you have and what kinds or styles of portraiture you would like to pursue. I can direct you to a few free online sources for some basic lessons where you can study the required elements and learn the terminology and nomenclature of the lighting and posing language. You can continue to post here for further suggestions, ideas, and critiques, and tutorials.

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

Obviously, this section has mainly to do with photographing PEOPLE! In today's social environment and the prevalence privacy issues, it is importat to secure model releases for all images that you intend to display on or off line, as samples of your work, as part of your portfolio, for entering int contests or in learning or teaching activities. If you are a full or part-time professional, you probably are already aware of this. In my own case, the release in intrinsic in all my contracts and work orders. Even as a hobbyist, it is importat to protect your interests and that of the media you post or publish in, that you have all the necessary paperwork in order.

This is especially important in the cases of your photographing children. I don't think I have to get into all the gory details, but there are some pretty dreadful things going on in the world and online having to do with abuse of kids. I am sure everyone posting on this forum and section are fine ethical folks but we must all be vigilant, and fastidiously look after the legalities surrounding our craft. We all want to protect all the kids and carry on our photography work unencumbered by negative legal issues.

Uaana

E.L.
Thank you!

Lighting first.
1 Godox MS300 solo
1 Godox V860 ii speedlight
5 in 1 reflector, 24x24 softbox, 42" bounce umbrella.

RE: your input. Very much appreciated!!
I'll try and fill in how I ended up with where I ended.

Yes, you are correct, light was placed high to avoid reflection.
Tried using the reflector to fill from below "clamshell" but she has a soft neck and got stuck on the creating a jawline/shadow to ovoid the double chin appearance.
A few of those turned out ok light wise but we were also working on wardrobe control and hair issues that precluded me from using them further.
As noted previously the neckline shirt sag and slouch were a constant issue. I'd get something I liked facially only to see "purple bacon" on the left shoulder.
We resolved by putting on the black sweater.
* I didnt see the sequins as a big distraction and it's an easy edit that doesnt change the real content.

Dead space. Got me! What I get for posting my hot wash edits. I used to work in ecommerce so got used to seeing dead space for marketing. Something I have to unlearn.

The lighting. The solo/box was set high and almost at a 90 angle from her.
The speedlight spent most of the time directly behind her for color fill and using the reflector to fill shadows.

Other issue not quite as obvious in these.
Shutter/flash lag became an issue but mostly worked through it. **Didnt think about enabling the autofocus assist light as I had the model light on.

Background story.
Her dad is another shooter but does not have any studio gear. He does model shoots and is aware of releases. We were were both in agreement regarding the scope and intent of the session and thought a release while a good cya was not really required as these were not shot for commercial gain.
This was a portfolio, experience builder for all involved.
Your concerns are appreciated and noted.

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

Great response! I'm gonna send you a link to a series of classical lessons by my favorite mentor and teacher. Joe Zeltzman passed away some years ago- he was the grand master of contemporary classic portraiture. It's kinda "old school" having been from the film era, however it is the most comprehensive series of lessons that is available outside of an intensive classroom course of study. The link is in my tablet so I'll post in in the next spot. All of the aesthetics are fully applicable to modern digital gear.

Read into it and tell me what you think.


I fully understand the "space" thing. Nowadays I do mostly commercial work often have to leave space for the copy.

I'll also post an article I recently wrote on the eyeglasses question.

I have a few simple but effective ideas for your existing equipmet setup. After you scan through the Zeltzman lessons and the eyeglasses thing, I'll run the lighting scheme past you.

Here's the link.

http://blog.kitfphoto.com/Zeltsman/

Uaana

Thank you E.L.
Didnt want you to think I'd blown you off or forgotten this.

Great read.
*Note, I think Joe Edelman went to the same school as he mentions reading older textbooks with images that were 20+ years old.
Think I'm committed to getting a mannequin or beauty head to really practice getting the base lighting and depth of field elements down.

Thank you again!