Two Portraits, and a candid.

[Trooper]

In ten years my wife has allowed me only four portrait sessions with her. Here are two taken in the past four months.

The blue one was intended as a headshot for community theatre, the green one was for me. She is Scottish and Irish, so the green shirt was a lucky coincidence that St. Patty's is soon approaching. I thought I was happy with the blue one, but now it doesn't impress me much. Could I be so lucky to get a fifth portrait session?

I also shot these with with 6x7cm rangefinder using Astia 100F, but it will be a long while before they get developed and scanned; since I don't have a scanner. The lighting for all photos is a large bay window with a two white reflectors.

...and then my daughter wanted to jump in.

 

[FrankS]

Beautiful.

Generally with portraits (not referring to yours), aside from the obvious (expression, head tilt) watch out for background distractions, hair strands, and hand placement/gesture (if present).

 

[Trooper]

Beautiful.

Generally with portraits (not referring to yours), aside from the obvious (expression, head tilt) watch out for background distractions, hair strands, and hand placement/gesture (if present).

Thank you, Frank.

Expressions, head tilt, and posing still baffle me. I've had many beautiful women in front of my camera, and it amazes me how I can usually find the wrong angle. And now that my vision isn't perfect anymore, stray hairs and lint always creep up on me.

 

[FrankS]

Expressions are difficult to "manage". Your wife has a strong/wise look about her.

 

[Keith]

Of the two head shots I prefer the first irrespective of what colour she's wearing ... I just find the expresision more appealing in the first pic.

My favourite pic however is the third ... I like the more candid style of it and your wife's face looks intriguing upside down ... the mirror effect with your daughter is also very nice.

🙂

 

[Trooper]

Thanks, Keith. I think the green is the better photo, but the expression is probably better in the blue version. I really want one of the more formal portraits to be outstanding, but I have to agree the candid version is by far my favorite.

 

[Haigh]

These are great shots- your wife seems to be a kind person as well as lovely looking.

 

[Trooper]

Thank you, Gary.

 

[froyd]

light?

light?

Mind sharing how you lit the portrait?

Nice work, of the formal portraits I prefer #2, but the saturation seems a bit high. Did you switch films between shot one and shot two?

 

[Trooper]

Mind sharing how you lit the portrait?

Nice work, of the formal portraits I prefer #2, but the saturation seems a bit high. Did you switch films between shot one and shot two?

The lighting is a 18-foot long, 6 foot tall, bay window and some white reflectors on the floor. My wife is about 4 feet from the window. Both portraits were taken with the same lighting setup, but the first one was on an overcast day and the second was bright sun. Both days had extensive snow cover outside, which brightens the room considerably.

Both are digital, and the only adjustments to the RAW file were removing blemishes and lint and sharpening. The colors were truly that vibrant, but she added the saturation to her own hair before the session.

 

[ibcrewin]

Wow. You wife is goregeous. You took some fantastic pics. Now this is just my 2 cents. I've done portrait work for kids and I have to say it's insane. Probably the hardest subjects to capture. Adults are waay easier.

Things to consider:

Background: If it's interesting or adds to the story then try to incorporate it. Otherwise go solid, or light your subject so the background is dark.
The first pic, the "running man" in the upper right is distracting.
The second pic is better. But this tells me she's the church librarian.
The third pic is really cute. But the wall sconce is distracting. btw, this shot would have been money had you shot it Dutch. Aka turning the camera 45degrees with a tighter crop.

Stray hairs are a Bi-atch. They are distracting and it's a pita to fix them in PS.

You lit these really well, I think a hair light with a modifier like a grid would have been good for some separation.

A couple of things my Portraiture teacher told me: Sometimes your subject is going to look ridiculous, I think her shoulder should be closer to her chin. Also, sometimes it takes 300 shots and on the 301st shot, the subject will be relaxed enough that you can capture a great shot. That said, talk to her about everything besides the photoshoot. Talk to her about stuff that makes her happy. I think you can see that in your pictures. The second shot she's more relaxed than the first, the third she's just chilling with the kid.

Good work sir.

 

[Trooper]

Wow. You wife is goregeous.

Thank you, Sir. The many comments like this soften her up to allow me to try again next weekend. Your constructive criticism allows me to illustrate the need to try again next weekend. Maybe one day I'll get the 301st shot!

 

[ibcrewin]

That's a great attitude!

btw, google strobist. He's got a lot of info on using off camera lighting.

 

[nikon_sam]

Of the two portraits I prefer the second one...the head angle and direction are better and her hair is straight not curled (that's just me)...I would have liked to see a bit more detail in her face...not saying she needs it but maybe a soft filter instead of washing out the details...
The last one is great but still a little washed out for my taste...
BTW both of the Ladies are beautiful...