Portraits in my new studio

Hi Fraser. The processing style isn't to my taste, but it feels a little like you're experimenting with different styles which is always fun to do when you're starting out. And preference is going to be different for everyone. I prefer a more natural look. The first shot is a great relaxed looking pose and smile, but the contrast isn't flattering to my eyes.

One tip I got early on was to just look around the edges of the frame when you're shooting (or more commonly in pp). For me, the (camera) right arm in the 1st image needs to either be in the shot or out of it but not half and half. The (camera) left elbow is the same in #4 and the dead space to the right of the frame leaves the image feeling unbalanced to me as it's behind the subject.

Clicking through to Flickr shows the photos coming from an M11. I've found shooting with (film) rangefinders to be an exercise in frustration and critical focus, especially if you're too close, can be very tricky. I found manual focus to be nothing but a hindrance when doing portraits so it's a 'hat's off' from me!

As always, I'm one person with one opinion :)
 
I like the first one, the dark chair and background make the subject stand out quite nicely.
Agree with Ian though, I think it would be nicer if all of the left arm was in shot.
 
For me, yes.
 
Normally being a stickler for colour correction, the tungsten light works well with the mix of natural light.
 
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