I think it's a great portrait! I'm assuming he chose the shirt and the wife is ok with it, so I would leave it.
philo wrote:
I photographed this couple yesterday, and it was the first portrait they had done in 31 years of marriage. They are happy with the shot; however there are things I would like to change.
If you were to redo this shot what would you change?
My main change would be his shirt.
My second change would be to add a prop. i.e. a set of wine glasses.
Looking for suggestions.
I haven't spoken to them yet. We have pouring rain today, and i'm not sure i could do it today or not.
It's a very nice photo of a couple - adding a prop wouldn't add anything to the composition. I might try cropping a bit higher on the legs. His shirt is fine.
Looking at each other, here they look friendly but there’s no emotional connection between them.I don’t like the shirt either because it kind of takes over the image, by the same token, he is who he is. I’d also go for tighter crop — torso and up to fill the frame with them.
I would ask him to wear a different shirt, have them tilt their heads slightly towards each other and also have them holding hands instead of just hanging down to their sides. Also maybe angle their bodies more instead of head on. Does all of that make sense?
Crop in a bit at the top and bottom. I like the hands. Maybe move back for more separation from the trees to blur them out a bit more.
Don’t change the shirt--it’s his statement of who he is. And, props might make the photo look cheesy. If I were to do anything, I’d work on the skin tones a bit, as they seem off.
Personally, I would have framed the couple with less space around them. I guess I’m too traditional when comes to portraiture in that I think you really need to have the point of interest on the face(s). In this shot, there’s too much other “stuff” in the image for the eye to wander around upon.
Stan
I wouldn't call this a portrait, either photograph the faces closer up or back away to show more of the scenery and not crop off the legs. It's like you weren't sure what kind of a shot you wanted.
One other suggestion for a re-do would be to switch positions of the couple. It looks like there is a slight incline where they are standing and it might look more balanced with the husband on the left and wife on the right as you look at the couple.
I am not a portrait photographer but agree with many of the suggestions about controlling details. The body positions cartainly could improve to remove distracting details and enhance the features of each. The arrangement of the man’s shirt is one of those details. As many have noted, keep the shirt if it illustrates something about the man you want to feature. But fix details like button the pocket, fix the fold on the bottom, and adjust his position so he isn’t sticking out his abdomen.
Likewise the bit of white at the bottom of the woman’s sweater.
I’d have to try various crops to see which I like.
IDguy wrote:
I am not a portrait photographer but agree with many of the suggestions about controlling details. The body positions cartainly could improve to remove distracting details and enhance the features of each. The arrangement of the man’s shirt is one of those details. As many have noted, keep the shirt if it illustrates something about the man you want to feature. But fix details like button the pocket, fix the fold on the bottom, and adjust his position so he isn’t sticking out his abdomen.
Likewise the bit of white at the bottom of the woman’s sweater.
I’d have to try various crops to see which I like.
I am not a portrait photographer but agree with ma... (
show quote)
with all of the great suggestion this is what i reprinted.
philo wrote:
with all of the great suggestion this is what i reprinted.
this is the final reprint. they love it. She brought him the shirt
It looks good as is, Philo.
Blurryeyed wrote:
He needs a cowboy hat!
But seriously, your idea of adding a prop is a good one, I am not sure that wine would be the best idea.
I would underexpose the whole scene about a stop, possibly two, then use a strobe with an umbrella or a soft box to add highlights, probably from the left side.
I would also consider changing it to monochrome with maybe some green filtration added.
philo wrote:
this is the final reprint. they love it. She brought him the shirt
Good Job, they love it and that is all that is important.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.