Alissa your aesthetic is always charming... likely latent within your gender... possibly why the dominance of female makeup artist... enough said.
Food for thought... When having the talent work their hand in close proximity to their face it is generally best to have them avoid making facial skin contact with their fingers... doing so can/will dimple the skin and cause more pronounced shadows...

When shooting beauty narratives I will advise the talent to lightly touch their face then pull the finger(s) back just a tad. This greatly softens the shadows the fingers may case... But don't take my word for this, invest time studying the high end ads in VOGUE, ELLE, BAZAAR etc (reverse engineer these images since they are at the zenith of the current accepted "art" form)

tulle? works well on bridal gowns and women's millinery... best avoided in front of your capture device's optics... like film it is not generally accepted in today's competitive arena... too many far more effective and elegant solutions in post now...

btw, the hue and chroma of the nail and lip decor do not play well together here...
A color wheel is your best friend Alissa... or better yet collaborate with experienced nail techs and accomplished makeup artists.

Final thoughts? Your watermark "branding" adds nothing to this narrative...
and may actually reduce your perceived worth in the eyes of those within the industry...

Best advice? Alissa have you consider the merit/worth of moving on to the Instagram platform?
UHH is not likely going to be a fountain of creative knowledge for you at this juncture...

All the best on your journey...
Thank you for sharing Alissa

Alissa!

Lovely work! Great lighting, poses, and expressions and perfect use of the hands on the second shot.

The use of tulle and otere netting-like fabrics have been some of my favorite diffusion methods for many years. It's amazing how theses fabrics can produce effects that are unlike and oftentimes better than those madeith expensive diffusion filters and specialized lenses.

Black netting of various weaves will give you different degrees of softness without degrading the image. In fact, Tiffen manufactured a series of filters that were made of simple netting sandwiched between the glass. Dark gray and black hosiery material also when stretch over the lens. All of theses methods can cost a bit of contrast so you may want to experiment by using a higher lighting ratio. Another variation is to stretch the fabric across a frame and burn a hole about the size of a dime at the center. Shooting at wider apertures works best.

When the motion picture "Fiddler of the Roof " was in production, the director photography,Oswald Morris, was working with all the major filter manufacturers to come up with a filter that would give the film that old world kinda appearance. None of them could come up with exactly what he envisioned. After some experimentation he ended up finding a certain brownish shade of pantyhose, when stretch over the matte-box of the Panavisoon 70 camera was right on the money. They purchased cases of this hosiery to ensure that the would have enough on hand to finish the production. Oswald won an Oscar for his work on that film.

It's embarrassing, I am always going through the selection of pantyhose at a local variety store- they have the best selection. The manager always has to tell me that "they don't make them in my size"- his sense of humor. Finally he gave me those little swatch things with all the shades so I can send my wife to pick them up.

Keep up the good work and post often!

Update and information!

I am gonna hang in here for as long as I can, however, I would love it if Cliff could join me in managing this section. I would like to have opinions from working professional portraitists, besides myself. Different points of view and alternative techniques make for a better resource.

There is not that much activity here as yet so the is not all that much work to do but the second professional opinion would be valuable.

For Co's and everyone's information: This section is open to everyone who is interested in advanced portraiture, on an amateur or professional basis or anyone who is aspiring to a professional career in the craft. There have been a few posts that technically may not qualify as portraiture but the posts were entertained and critiqued nonetheless. Advanced portrait techniques sometimes overlap with those of fashion, wedding photograph and other genres that concern the photography of people, however there are different criteria.

Anyone who wants to learn, teach and contribute is certainly more than welcome to participate, comment offer a critique or ask questions.

There has been no rude goings on, trolling or bad language in this section simply because, as manager, I will not tolerate any of that monkey business. Rude posts, coarse language or bullying posts will simply be deleted. This rule does not include opposing opinions, lively debate, even whakey points of view! Y'all can speak your minds- just keep it friendly, constructive and "professional".

I really feel strongly that professional photographs should be well represented on this forum- not as some kind of elite group but rather as folks who know what they are doing and can be very helpful and informative. Sadly, there seem to be a core of folks who tend to disparage professionals, show resentment, "sour grapes" and continuously point out, without proof or evidence, that they see a great deal of substandard "professional " work that could be easily outdone by amateurs. Not that this is impossible- every profession or industry has some hacks, charlatans and fakers. Most of the pros that I know and associate with are hard working craftsmen and masters in their field and ethical business people. They always run the extra mile for their clients, serve their communities in many ways, support charitable causes are active in their associations and are all around good guys and gals.

Hey Bk!

You know how it is. Lately I feel like a guest around here that has overstayed my welcome. My reason for joining the forum was to learn and teach. I have learned that there is a kind of resentment for professional photographers and mostly a lack of interest in what we really do. I have always tried to "advocate" for the hard working professional photographer and hope that they are well represented and not simply and foolishly perceived as a bunch of hacks that are just in it for the money. There seems to be little or no interest in wedding photography and when the subject arises in the main section, there are usually the silly and uninformed comments, especially from folks who know nothing about the job. It can be boring and demoralizing at times.

I have seldom participated in a thread that did not turn into a name-calling match- to put it politely. Too many unkind grouchy folks with no social graces.

I certainly don't mind putting in the time to help out if I though there was any constructive results.

I am not leaving abruptly- I want to think about it for a little while and will continue whatever responsibilities I have undertaken. I never leave behind unfinished business.

I will keep you apprised.

Sincerely, Ed

Hi Alissa Beth, your photos that you share on this forum are usually so sensitive, so personal, tender and reflective and even often so vulnerable that they can be very emotionally revealing of both the model and the photographer. I hate to say this, but these, I feel, miss the mark. I’ll just comment on the first one, so let’s start with the crop, look at your models hands, the fingers look swollen and thick, which I’m pretty sure that in real life they’re not, but they distract and should be eliminated by cropping them out. Next, your pose isn’t flattering, like our own and magnificently talented as well as delightfully frank Captain C has often said, shooting over a woman’s bare shoulder will always give the shoulder more dominance in the photo than it should have (he might not have said it exactly like that, but something close to it) there is actually more skin showing in the models shoulder and chest than in her lovely face, so raise the camera, drop the shoulder and bring her wrap up to cover more of her skin, we the viewers, don’t want to be distracted by the skin on her shoulders which is here keeping us from looking at her face. It’s already been mentioned that a hair light would help, but don’t stop there. Add a fill light to lighten the shadows in her face which will help in making her look much more feminine, and a background light to give some much needed separation from your new (and quite beautiful) background. Finally, I have to comment on your model’s makeup, it’s very subtle, but the color difference between her warm shoulder and her face, well, to me, her face color has taken on a slightly blue-ish and chalky look, or it’s a little too shiny or something, that it just doesn’t flatter your model they way it should or could and I must admit that I don’t know if it’s the light or the makeup (or even my own eyes) that’s causing it. One more comment if I may, about her hair. In the poses without a flower on her camera left side, the hair on her camera right right side is beautiful, full and nicely flowing, but the left doesn’t match that beautiful full flow and just comes across as flat. Remember, every journey starts with the first few steps, don’t get discouraged because you’re not “there” yet, you’ve proven that you have tons and tons of talent, and I know that you can do this, too!

Alissa! Thanks for posting- I really like your project- what with the age of the subjects and your approach. In my own studio, many of the clients are not actors, models or young high school seniors- they are regular folks who want a classic portrait with a bit of glamour for sure. So...here's some ideas and tips for you.

Posing: I am kind “old school” when it comes to posing (in classical portraiture) in that I pose folks very precisely with quite a bit of attention to body mechanics, however, the art or trick is to have the final result appear very natural and not stiff or stilted. I always start off with good posture and make sure the subject is sitting with full extension of their spine. Believe it or not- when the posture is correct, people are more comfortable and relaxed and can hold a pose a bit longer without discomfort. Importantly, all the rest of the body structure falls into place- it becomes easier to get a nice diagonal shoulder line and most importantly, especially for the age group we are discussing, fatty tissue and musculature near the chest and shoulder tends NOT to bulge or seem misshapen when the posture is good. With the ladies, I like a CONTRA POSE or so-called feminine pose, where the head and shoulder are posed in opposing directions, but I try NOT to have the shoulders at an extreme angle whereby the subject has to twist her neck too much and cause wrinkling bulging of the skin. I encourage very gentle and easy movements.

HANDS: I like to include hands in some of my portraits- I like the way you have done that. Some folks naturally touch their face with their hands or use the hand expressively- some don't- so I don't force it- I observe their movements and use the ones that come naturally. Thing is, once we include hands and and arms, we kinda become RESPONSIBLE for them in the pose and composition. The side views of the hands are better and more graceful than the back or palm of the hands and oftentimes having the subject gently bend their wrist backward with create a nice curve and better define the fingers. I try NOT to have the arms leave and re enter the frame or seem cut off. Oftentimes a soft vignette works well at the sides or bottom of the composition. Arms and hands should be placed so that they form lines that lead the viewer's eye to the face. In lighting and editing, it is wise to have the hand and arm a touch darker that the face so their skin tome does not compete wit the face.

LOW KEY PORTRAITURE: Sometimes the idea of a very dark or black background is misunderstood. Some of the function of the background is as follows: To isolate the subject on a non-distracting field and to help set the KEY or MOOD of the and to PROVIDE SEPARATION AND DIMENSIONALITY. If the background is jet black or lacks a touch of shadow detail, the image tends to seem a bit like a “cut and paste” job or subjects with darker hair blend in a bit too much. Yet, some of this soft blending is desirable in a painterly kind of way. The thing to do is prove just a touch of TONAL OR COLOR MASS in the background. This give the viewer the illusion that the can enter the image and walk around the subject- thus the
3-D effect. Hair lights are good but can be debatable. It should come in form the same direction of the main light and can be very subtle or very dramatic. Just a touch can glamorize the hair and and the right degree of separation. Sometime, however, I place my hair light directly behind the subjects hair, aimed inward- a create a very strong rim light.

HAIR-STYLING: I hate to retouch hair- loose ends etc.- it's tedious and time consuming. So I make certain the my clients do their hair perfectly or have it professionally styled as per their taste. For EMERGENCY use on the odd flow-away hair- I keep a can of hairspray hand but I NEVER spray it directly on anyone's hair. I spray a dab on the palm of my hand and apply it to the offending hairs- this gets rid of the static and the problem is solved- the hair does not look stiff of matted down.

LIGHTING and OPTICAL DIFFUSION: If you want to DE-emphasize skin texture, create a softer look and minimize the need post-processing retouching there are few lighting and optical strategies you can employ. FEATHERING is a time honored portraitist's method whereby you use the Edge of the beam of light rater that the center part or the so-called hot spot. Aim you main light as you normally wold but slowly rotate it toward the camera position and observe the effect on the subject's face. You will notice a smoother transition between the highlights and the shadows, a nice disposition of the specular highlights and improved skin texture.

Another “old school” but always nice is SOFT FOCUS. I have some specialized soft focus portrait lenses adapted for my medium format and digital equipment. Certain high quality soft focus filter work well in that the do not degrade the image but either create a secondary soft image of the sharp one or gently bleed the highlights into the shadows. The Zeiss SOFTAR is my favorite. Theses lenses and filter work best with a more definite and contrasty lighting in that the soft focus effect somewhat reduces contrast. Canon made a 135mm soft focus lens for its cameras- I am on the lookout for one. If you are into allot of portraiture, some of the specialized gear is a good investment. It enables you to offer specialized and unique style and really cuts down on tedious retouching.

Expression! No doubt, expression is one of the most important element in portraiture. My advice is that once you master you lighting and camera technique where it becomes almost second nature and there is little or no hesitation in making all the necessary adjustments, you then can fully concentrated in communicating with your subject during the session. My experience is that there are no tricks or tips in this area- just be yourself and engage the subject in conversation. If you can do that, most folks will forget about any conscientiousness and react neutrally. Personally, I weave my directions into the conversation.

I hope some of this proves to be useful and contains a few things you may wish to integrate into your work

Thanks again for posting in this section and please come back and post frequently and share your good work and ideas. If you have any questions about what I have written here, please feel free to ask.

Ed