[anyscreenamewilldo]

[quote name='Pinhole' timestamp='1300414155' post='6921']

Noooo!

Don't start your portrait odyssey by messing around with any of those 'instant portrait' filters/plugins for the computer.

I feel you should start with the basics about lighting first -

[/quote]



hellooo ph,

i hope you are not referring to my magnificent effort in extracting beautiful pictures from these tiny files??



. . . . but yes, agree with everything you say about the shoot and the lighting - a most important attribute, and being nice to the subject, setting the scene et al -



but post has it's place also i hope - and i'm not sure a nice picture has always to be just a photograph . . .



and, fun filters are fun to have a look at too on the journey to the better picture (i'd never thought about straightening faces before) . . . especially when the advertisement is inserted here . . . click . . . click . . .







ps. - to state the obvious - ms sexy teeny/20 something; mr & mrs 30-40yo; character lined old fogey; would all possibly like to see something different in a portrait - and tennis court lighting might not always be the answer -



+ your/my? d40(etc.) with a kit lens might not, at a distance, give the skin texture you might like, even though making a nice smooth picture : -)

[Guest]

[quote name='anyscreenamewilldo' timestamp='1300416377' post='6922']

hellooo ph,

i hope you are not referring to my magnificent effort in extracting beautiful pictures from these tiny files??



. . . . but yes, agree with everything you say about the shoot and the lighting - a most important attribute, and being nice to the subject, setting the scene et al -



but post has it's place also i hope - and i'm not sure a nice picture has always to be just a photograph . . .



and, fun filters are fun to have a look at too on the journey to the better picture (i'd never thought about straightening faces before) . . . especially when the advertisement is inserted here . . . click . . . click . . .

[/quote]



Don't get me wrong, your transformation of the pictures was amazing ... it's just that it probably doesn't help someone become a better photographer. Maybe a better photographic artist, but the stage before that is important too.



Of course, everyone should click on the Ad a few times <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

but I'm a bit old school - I think it's even important what mood the model is in when you take a photo, how I relate to him/her, the make-up, the clothes etc. so far, photoshop hasn't come up with a filter to adjust these parameters. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Guest]

Not an improvement in my opinion, e.g. the skin becomes very unrealistic.

(On the other hand the less than stellar bouquet in the original pictures becomes hidden this way.)

[wojtt]

Well, just keep shooting and find out how and what works for you, I bought some books but what really made me learn was workshops and experimenting while shooting myself.. lighting is crucial indeed as it brings out or cancels features depending on the given setup.. all the rest - postprocessing - is only secondary to having a good take in the first place.. It's also the light and it's colour that brings in the mood.. as much or more than the scenery where you are shooting or the DOF you'd be using.



I like more the darker - left side pic - though i'd go for a rectangular or vertical crop there..



Also I like plugins as they add the final touch, the key there as with any postprocessing is not to get too enthusiastic there <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> ..easy to overcook the image, I did that too many times myself <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Saldo]

For what is worth, I like both shots <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

I am not personally a fan of heavy retouch on portraits, in particular of skin blemish removal and/or skin softening.

However, if you are working for money and the client is looking for a magazine-like kind of feel, often you can't really get away from doing that as 99% of what you see on magazine and newspapers is actually retouched. Sometimes it can be a good idea to present them with a fully retouched and a more taditional version of the same shots, and see what they like better.



One thing that you might want to try though, is to lighten up slightly the background, I found that this often helps making the subject stand out and is not too an obtrusive or cheesy approach.

As a previous poster pointed out, it's easy to overdo postprocessing. Becoming familiar with traditional darkroom tecniques and replicating those is often a good approach to avoid getting lost, at least at the start, I think.



As for improving, I guess there are as many approaches as there are photographers.

I am sure there must be good manuals about portraiture, but I think spending time looking at the work of portrait artists which you like is simply invaluable. Salgado series about children and workers are a good example of outstanding portrait work, but then, that's my taste <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Workers-Archaeology-Industrial-Sebastiao-Salgado/dp/089381525X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309825569&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sebasti%C3%A3o-Salgado-Children-Refugees-Migrants/dp/089381895X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309825543&sr=1-1



There is also a documentary about Salgado work for "workers", which says a lot about his approach to getting to know about his subjects and their lives (and his gear too, if you think that matters in any way and you are into leica rangefinders <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Also, creating occasions of photographing is very useful. For instance, if you have friends who work professionally with models, you could volunteer for assisting with the lights and reflectors, learn a bunch in the process while getting a few shots yourself with an experience model (which is quite different from photographing other kind of subjects).

Volunteering to photograph members of non-profit is another interesting option, as often these people have a sense of purpose about what they do, which you can strive to capture with your photographs.

In general, getting to know a bit more about your subjects, what they think and what they do, helps getting better shots, I found, but then again, I am a Salgado fan <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



If you are looking for a manual, recently I happened to read a very good one about photographing children, which I found quite good for general portrait work too. By the way, offering to photograph your friends and their children can create really good opportunities for meaningful portraits.

If you want to have a look, that's the book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photographing-Children-Develop-Photography-Workshop/dp/0470114320/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309825402&sr=1-1



And a very good one about light in general (very cool, but quite in-depth):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lighting/dp/0240808193/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309825490&sr=1-1



Just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

[Guest]

[quote name='Lony' timestamp='1300359406' post='6897']

Hello all,



As I am just starting out in portrait photography I am still learning, but making progress.

Therefore I would like to have some feedback on my portraits and tips to improve my skills.



I hope to get some feedback, thank you!



Lony

[/quote]

Leaving technical aspects aside, I think the main problem with both shots is that they dont show the model from their best sides. As a portrait photographer, you have to spent all the time and effort you can, to find the best angle which emphasizes a models best features. So my first recommendation is shoot as many frames possible from as many differnt angles as possible to see what looks best. For example a person with a very long face would look best if shot from very slightly above. while a person with a very round face looks better if shot from level. A person with a very big nose might also look better from slightly above. some people look better if photographed a bit from the side , while this would not be recommend for the big- nose candidate.

The difficulty with all this advicce is that you need to keep your model comfortable at all times and provide reassurance that they feel relaxed and self concious in front of the camera.



When you know how to do all this, you can turn to technical aspects. First: light: in your shots you have used difuse /direct front light, which is not a bad choice. In fact, it is ideal for practicing with the model. Next I would be to pay a bit more attention to the background. of course you alredy blurred it, which is a good (though definately not the only) choice. would recommend a bit more however: Make a concious decion if and to what extend you blur the back or foreground and dont foget to compose the background even whenits blurred. If you blur the background, either make it completly uniform or make sure that something which relates to the model is at least identifiable. For example on a hot summer day a nicly blured bridge over a tranquil lake could add a little story to your portrait. If you included just some blurred unidentifible something in the background, there is still some distraction form the model. In particulr I would try to avoid all shades of red in the background since it tends to overpower all other colour (exception being an autmn themed pic, for example, if your model looks autmunm like and has some red on him/her as well).

once you have model and background under control, play with light. Be brave. Even strong contra light from the sinking sun can produce wonderful sumertime protraits.



The last point would approach is post process. Post Process means slight enhancements to the photo which underline the best features of the model and improve the overall picture quality. Refrain from turning your models skin to plastic like sombody else here did. It looks artificial and bad. If you dont know how to professional improve skin tones with photoshop, only retouch pimples, scratches, red blemishes and other very obvious skin irregularities. Adjust white balance to achieve the best look and pleasing skin tones. Pleasing menas just that: pleasing! Forget about technical accuracy . It is absolutly irrelvant whether your white point is "correct" or not, unless the model has aked you to provide an exact sample of their skin colour.



Last: If you wanna be creative Photoshop can help you turn your portrait into something else. But be sure you have a CONCEPT before you try something odd. Merely plastizizing the skin or adding false colour is not gonna make a good shot w. Concept means you plan the look of the image and pre-visualize the final product before you shoot.

Thats it. Bets of luck and keep practicing