Not from a portrait guy

[Otavio]

Hello, dear fellows. Long time no see. I hope you are all doing great...been too busy to shoot in the last months, but trying to get back now.

Many of you might remember I am more a birds and landscape guy but I try to register some family shots, sometimes, and want to improve my portrait shots skills. I just took a couple of images of my younger boy (He is 7 y.o.). Just a casual home Sunday shot, without any preparation. Also, this has almost no PP (besides from doing a monochrome version), as I think it might get more straight feedback on the capture/composition.

These were shot with a Nikon 50mm F/1.8, mounted on a Nikon D7200, using a SB-700 flash.



Monochrome version:


Feel free to leave your critics/comments. They are always welcomed!

PS.: In a couple of weeks I will be on vacation and will, hopefully, be back with some Brazilian landscapes and bird shots!

Kindest regards;

[Manfred M]

Otavio - If you post the "BBcode", instead of the link, your image will displayed on this site, which is preferable to looking at the link:

[Manfred M]

May I also suggest a bit of touchup - direct flash is never particularly attractive lighting and I spent a few minutes dodging and burning to open up the eyes and to tone down some of the hot spots. There are some strange shadows on the neck that are not working all that well. The background is quite bright and competes too much with your subject, so darkening it a little is worth considering too.

The arm and hand are closer to the flash than his face, so those parts are quite bright and need to be burned down a touch as well.






I look forward to the images from your trip. I spent a few weeks in Brazil in 2019; our last big trip before travel stopped completely during COVID.

[Otavio]

Hi, Manfred. Thanks for the reply. I already changed the original link to the BBcode. Thanks, also, for the tip regarding the flash. I will surely consider it for the next shots. Regards,

[rpcrowe]

As Manfred stated - straight on flash is never a good idea for portraits. I prefer using off camera flash but, sometimes this is inconvenient.

When I need to use on camera flash - I usually modify the flash with a Joe Demb Flip It (type) diffuser reflector. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...fuser_Pro.html



This unit is inexpensive, easy to use and provides nice lighting for on camera flash; even when the camera is in a vertical position.

This shows how I use the demb diffuser in both horizontal and vertical camera positions.



I use the Demb Diffuser indoors or outdoors and have been using one for years.

[Otavio]

Hello, Richard. Thanks for the feedback. I have one of these Demb diffusers and will give more attention to its usage. I will try it next time and share the results here. You shared a nice portrait, by the way. Regards.

[rpcrowe]

Octavio...

Thanks re: the portrait comment. The best way to get a nice looking portrait is to begin with a good looking subject!