Beginner Toni

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Name
Ben
Edit My Images
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A friend who is staying with us asked for a few photos when I got my new camera, so we had a quick go. I know they're not brilliant, but would love advice on ways to improve for the future.

Toni (3) by Ben Gray, on Flickr
Toni (2) by Ben Gray, on Flickr
Toni (1) by Ben Gray, on Flickr
Toni by Ben Gray, on Flickr

I only have the pop-up flash at the moment, I tried to use it to do some shadow fills, but it just totally over exposed and I am not sure what I did wrong, so that is something I will have to practice. It was a bit impromptu, so the choice of backgrounds was severely limited.
 
would love advice on ways to improve for the future.
I'll try, Ben…
  • only the first has a somewhat adequate BG. The
    others are waaaaay too busy.

  • all the pictures were taken in a too harsh sunlight
    that create strong shadows and is not comfortable
    for the model. If you have only a pop-up flash, put
    the Sun behind the model and get closer so to gi-
    ve the tiny flash a chance
  • suggest the model to "express" more contact with his
    instrument like shooting while he's playing and singing
I hope that will help!
 
Last edited:
I'll try, Ben…
  • only the first has a somewhat adequate BG. The
    others are waaaaay too busy.

  • all the pictures were taken in a too harsh sunlight
    that create strong shadows and is not comfortable
    for the model. If you have only a pop-up flash, put
    the Sun behind the model and get closer so to gi-
    ve the tiny flash a chance
  • suggest the model to express more contact with his
    instrument like shooting while he's playing and singing
I hope that will help!
Thank you kodiak, much appreciated tips.
 
I do not see a problem exposure wise and any clipped highlights are certainly recoverable in photoshop if taken in raw.
However in all the shots the poor chaps is half squinting.
Far better to take the shots backlit or side lit, and preferably not in the middle of the day.
Just holding the guitar like a piece of wood adds nothing to the shot.
Sitting down and concentrating playing it would be far better.
In the last shot the Shadow and mid tone density curve has gone astray, and everything is reproduced as a rather muddy grey.
 
The shadows across the face aren't doing him any favours. A good starting point in bright sun is to arrange for the face to be completely in shadow or completely lit.

I like the first one & don't find the highlights especially problematic.
 
Generally for portraits it's important to control the quality, direction and quantity of light on the face especially, though elsehwhere on the body too if that's in view. Outside in harsh sunlight this is very difficult to do without bouncing light back or filling in with flash. As said already, use shade where you can, or put the sun behind them so their face & body is in shadow so that you can control how the light falls across the face. It's also worth getting tips on posing - there used to be a bunch of free e-books on Amazon offering posing tips, how to place feet, hands etc. Worth a read.

The first pic isn't bad. Does he like it?
 
Thank you everyone for the advice about using shade or back lighting to even the light. He's happy with the photos and his mum likes them, so that's what matters. The advice is purely for myself to improve next time someone asks or I decide to shoot someone. I'm not very confident using the flash yet so I will concentrate on making people move more and directing poses, I let him choose the poses this time because he wanted to (he is a bit of a poser), otherwise I would have had him looking down the lens, or at least playing the guitar.
 
i look at eyes first...then background, then pose...hands knees boomsadaisy
crop close...
if you know the person well..you will get the persona...otherwise you might get some set pose results
i dont think there is a real set range but the eyes need to be the focal point...and lighting of course
not too many shadows on the face...rembrandt got away with the nose idea...so we dont need to copy it all the time
certain facial items can be cloned to help the impression...
cheers
geof
 
Personally I would have come in closer, with perhaps a darker background with the light shirt, but what do I know I'm more of noob than you :) Practice practice and shoot some more,
 
It's mostly been covered above Ben but I would just like to suggest you give a reflector a go.
Relatively inexpensive in comparison to a flash but gives great results in return.
 
It's mostly been covered above Ben but I would just like to suggest you give a reflector a go.
Relatively inexpensive in comparison to a flash but gives great results in return.
Thank you, I will try that. I will have a go at using the pop-up flash for fill in, I have a diffuser for it to soften it a bit. I'll grab a reflector to try too.
 
I like the first and second. I know the background is busy in the second, but if you imagine a mono version of it, I reckon it will make a good image with the focus on the subject. I like wide shots anyway. The first one may work in mono too, the shed/fence behind him will make a decent backdrop in mono.
 
I like the first and second. I know the background is busy in the second, but if you imagine a mono version of it, I reckon it will make a good image with the focus on the subject. I like wide shots anyway. The first one may work in mono too, the shed/fence behind him will make a decent backdrop in mono.
I'll have a look at that when I go home and see how they work.
 
Seeing as you asked for crit: you have harsh light (it's midday, more or less - rarely good), a white shirt and bad backgrounds, except for the first which has a potentially good background but still the light is harsh and shading his eyes. The shading in the eyes are an issue in all of them, a reflector might help but more appropriate lighting conditions would be better.

On the positive side the framing is pretty decent and you've chopped the body at good places :)

But. background and light, background and light (repeat ad infinitum). Sooooo critical.
 
Seeing as you asked for crit: you have harsh light (it's midday, more or less - rarely good), a white shirt and bad backgrounds, except for the first which has a potentially good background but still the light is harsh and shading his eyes. The shading in the eyes are an issue in all of them, a reflector might help but more appropriate lighting conditions would be better.

On the positive side the framing is pretty decent and you've chopped the body at good places :)

But. background and light, background and light (repeat ad infinitum). Sooooo critical.
Thank you for the advice, the impromptu nature of the situation was against me with the light, but making these mistakes has brought the advice.
 
I like the first and second. I know the background is busy in the second, but if you imagine a mono version of it, I reckon it will make a good image with the focus on the subject. I like wide shots anyway. The first one may work in mono too, the shed/fence behind him will make a decent backdrop in mono.
For some reason I have deleted the RAW files for all but this one, so I had a go at B&W processing. I'll have a go at it with the jpegs on the others.
toni BW by Ben Gray, on Flickr
 
The first one seems underexposed on the face, in both colour and mono versions. The last one works much better in mono, takes away slightly from the busy background. If it wasn't for the houses in the background, it would have worked better, but still, the final one in mono works best for me.
 
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