Nina in Deep Ellum - C&C please

[Phanee]

This weekend I did a photoshoot and tried to produce some fashion type of photos.
Please let me know you honest/genuine opinions (on posing, lighting and post processing) .

All the photos taken with one light source (580exii on 24" softbox).

Thank you.

[movingex]

I like the lighting and I think you did a very good job. I don't know if the experts would consider these a fashion but they are well done to me.

[doctahjones]

for the lighting, i think you did a great job in all the shots!

for the model, i'm just not feelin it in the first 3. maybe it's her expression or something...but it just doesn't do it for me. i think you have good seperation with the backgrounds and at least to my novice eye, they're technically sound shots. not really sure what to tell you on how to fix it for next time.

but i do really like the last one. she seemed to 'connect' with the camera.

[dlanter]

I'm certainly not a good person to be advising on portraiture, so this is just my personal preferences. I'm not a big fan of brick walls as backgrounds especially when they are in sharp focus. It just seems to me to compete too much with the model for attention. I like the out of focus part of the blue wall in shot #2, but the sharp in focus brick at her hand just ruins it for me.

[Supermanny]

Hey Phanee. Nice job. I like the colors. Gud pix!

[Phanee]

Jeff, Jim, Dan & Manny -

Thank you very much for taking time to give your inputs.

Other than photography skills, while shooting I was feeling my lack of 'soft skills' to get good expressions & posing from the model.

[Phanee]

Few more from the same shoot..

[micajoy]

I like poses 1 and 3 best. #2 looks unnatural to me and I think #4 makes her look heavy.

[texxter]

I agree with the comment made about the backgrounds. In every image there is a heavily textured background next to the model, competing for attention. I am not sure that the bricks add meaning, emotional content, or visual richness to the images - I think they add color, but at the expense of heavy texture and pattern.

In the second set it seems that the model has been lifted from another frame and pasted onto the brick background. The merge of the two frames seems visible. Also watch the skin postprocessing to avoid plastic looking skin.

My recommendation would be to use simpler, neutral backgrounds, work on more natural poses and watch the postprocessing.

The approach of shooting from below is creative and unusual, and probably more impactful than the rest.

[doctahjones]

yeah i like the 2nd set of 3 better than the first. dunno what exactly it is about them though...

[CallMeAl]

I like #4 best. I think the expression that you captured is very nice and natural looking. The tattoos on her wrists are distracting to me. I'm not against tattoos, but in those instances, it seemed that they were distracting from her face.

[doctahjones]

oh yeah, and on the last one....

might want to photoshop out the fact that it might have been a little cold out :)

[Phanee]

:).. no.. I didn't lift her from a different background.

Levels & saturation is different on the background and the model. Now I see that, I didn't blend them properly. I will fix that tonight.

My idea was that colorful bricks would add some urban look to the pictures. I thought as long as the texture in the background is uniform, it would not distract from the subject. But from the opinions expressed, I think I didn't get the output I was going after.

Totally appreciate the comments. Thank you.

[texxter]

Phaneen, sorry about my confusion - I just noticed the edge of the model being a bit unnatural and assume a copy-and-paste job.

About the urban look, I understand you thinking. For me, the bricks are just so overused, especially with seniors, that they have become cliche. In some exceptional cases the execution is great and it all works, but just putting a wall of bright, saturated bricks behind a woman doesn't say "urban" to me, it says "bricks" - take a look a Tricoast Photography, these guys have some cool senior pics with an urban feel. But a lot of it comes from the lighting and composition and a lot less from just the background:
http://www.tricoastphoto.com

[Phanee]

Paco.. Thanks for the comments. I will definitely look at Tricoast work for inspiration.

I am pretty much a noob, trying to learn things. This forum has been a very useful resource in my learning. I am excitedly looking for next week for Texas School. I hope it would put me two steps ahead of where I am now, as far as photography goes.

I am actually leaning toward attending Tricoast workshop in October. But I am not sure I can afford two costly workshops in the same year. :(