Christian Photographers Community

These are a couple of portraits I took of my niece for her senior pictures.  Like I've said before, I'm not a portrait photographer.  I am trying to get better at this aspect of photography so I can do family and friends when we need to.     C/C welcome...

I'm not a portrait photographer by any means, but those do look nice. Good lighting, very nice vignetting on the last one.

She might like a shot or two with a little more context, especially the outdoor photographs. That seems to be very popular with seniors. Maybe try a horizontal orientation or two to show a bit more of the props around her.

Just a suggestion. IMO, all of these should be included in the set you show her. Beautiful, really.

Those are beautiful!  Kathleen, if you're not a portrait photographer, I'd hate to think what category you'd put me into!     But then, we all know I'm really a "picture taker" not a photographer of any kind.   

Quote from: Whistlinsadler on June 18, 2010, 12:27:57 PM
I'm not a portrait photographer by any means, but those do look nice. Good lighting, very nice vignetting on the last one.

She might like a shot or two with a little more context, especially the outdoor photographs. That seems to be very popular with seniors. Maybe try a horizontal orientation or two to show a bit more of the props around her.

Just a suggestion. IMO, all of these should be included in the set you show her. Beautiful, really.

Thanks very much for your C/C!  It is appreciated.  I do actually have some with more context, including horizontals, but these these ones turned out nicer.  The surroundings were still pretty dull at the park in April when I took the pictures.  Sure wish it was all green with flowers.  There was some grass, but not even a bud on a tree anywhere. 

Quote from: Jeanne Lee on June 18, 2010, 02:07:59 PM
Those are beautiful!  Kathleen, if you're not a portrait photographer, I'd hate to think what category you'd put me into!     But then, we all know I'm really a "picture taker" not a photographer of any kind.   

Jeanne, you are very kind!  Thank you.  You just keep enjoying being a "picture taker", there's nothing wrong with that at all.   

 These are nice! I especially like number 2. She seems so vibrant and full of life. Yep, I think #2 is my favorite of the lot. Good job 

This is an area of photography I am about to delve into.  I've been requested to take some senior photos by some friends.  I've been getting ideas, tips & tricks, etc. from different sites/forums.  It's a LOT less hassle than weddings so I feel I can handle it.  All my pro friends would rather have every tooth in their head pulled than to shoot a wedding.  One even went so far as to decline customers wanting wedding photos.  He says the clientèle is not what it used to be, people are rude, arrogant, and just plain nasty.  He should know what he's talking about.  He's been in the business for over 40 years.

What lens did you use for these?  What kind of lighting and diffusion/reflectors?  I think that overall, you did very well.

Gary, judging from what you've shown us of your work, I'm sure your senior pictures will be just great. 

Quote from: jimiam on June 29, 2010, 09:35:09 AM
These are nice! I especially like number 2. She seems so vibrant and full of life. Yep, I think #2 is my favorite of the lot. Good job 

Thank you, very much! 

Quote from: gjtoth on June 29, 2010, 10:12:55 AM
This is an area of photography I am about to delve into.  I've been requested to take some senior photos by some friends.  I've been getting ideas, tips & tricks, etc. from different sites/forums.  It's a LOT less hassle than weddings so I feel I can handle it.  All my pro friends would rather have every tooth in their head pulled than to shoot a wedding.  One even went so far as to decline customers wanting wedding photos.  He says the clientèle is not what it used to be, people are rude, arrogant, and just plain nasty.  He should know what he's talking about.  He's been in the business for over 40 years.

What lens did you use for these?  What kind of lighting and diffusion/reflectors?  I think that overall, you did very well.

I was just asked, at church Sunday, if I would do senior portraits for a girl in our youth group.  I do need to get better.  I won't do weddings, either.  I really prefer to shoot casual, candid shots of people or  landscapes and wildlife.  That way, if they don't turn out well, I've only disappointed myself.  LOL

I used two different lenses for this shoot.  A 28-105mm and a 75-300.  Some were on my tripod and some were hand-held.  The outdoor lighting was difficult as the sun was going in and out of the clouds rather quickly and seemingly constant.  Very frustrating, especially if I set up one shot and by the time I took it, shadows has been cast on the subject by the passing clouds.  I did use my Speedlight flash with a diffuser cap, mounted on my camera.  I'm pretty low-tech on equipment.  In some of my shots, my assistant (my daughter) was holding up my silver windshield shade from the car, for a reflector.  There did come a point where she pooped out on me and went to the car while I finished the shoot.  I wasn't too happy with her.    Guess you get what you pay for, haha.

For the formal shots, I had N. light coming through a large window, my flash again, and the same quality reflector.     If I had it to do over, I may have had her sit by the grand piano to give an overall more musical environment instead of the plain black background, although I love the old chair.  I wouldn't want it to get too cluttered, though, so without seeing it...   

Anyway, have fun doing your senior pictures!  I look forward to seeing how they turn out.

Thanks for the comments and questions.   

These did turn out really nice. Portrait photography or even formal weddings are not for me either. I tried doing some at my niece wedding but I understood it to be shooting with couple others, informally. They could not afford a professional one and I thought why not with the others shooting too. It turned out there was a friend and me doing the wedding and at which I did not do well. I too prefer candids-behind or along side the scene.

Kathleen, these are lovely.  You're not a portrait photographer??  Yeah right lol.  I especially like #'s 3 and 4.  I am just getting into portrait photography; just did a high school senior girl, who was a lot of fun.  I used to only shoot nature/landscapes, b/c "they can't talk back or give you heck like people can" lol.  But now that I live in the mountains, in an area that is just gorgeous, I still enjoy photographing my beautiful surroundings, but also portraits of people in their beautiful surroundings.  People here love to be outdoors, and I'm finding that capturing images of them in the places that are special to them is even more rewarding for me.
For being new at this, you are doing fantastic work. 

I think these are really great shots!  I'm a little partial to #3, but they're all very, very good!