Some people

[wilgk]

You guessed it she's been at Portrait practice again...
















practice..practice...practice

[jiro]

Kay, your #4 image is stunning! Good work.

[Sahil]

1st & 4th are outstanding!!!!

[ScoutR]

Kay, these are all excellent, but #4 is exeptional with #1 not far behind. Colin must be very proud of his star student. Great work, you really have a flair for this

Wendy

[rob marshall]

Well done, Kay. Very creative poses, and I love the lighting, especially in #1. You make it look so easy, but I know it isn't.

[tihsgod]

Kay, really fine photographs!

1. personally I find the lighting at far left a little distracting but overall very nice.
2. and 3. are really good portraits
4. is very nice. Great dof and composition. Colour looks a tad orange?
5. focus looks soft and I think it detracts from the high quality of the other shots. Colour also looks a bit red. composition and lighting are good.
neil

[Charlie155]

Wow, number 4 is fantastic! Great work.

Charlie.

[Donald]

Kay

Super stuff (even if I still can't see your avatar against your name, but against Colin's name!) - Don't worry folks, I'm having a Firefox problem at my end.

How did you light #4?

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Kay,

They are all good, very good (much better than I could do), but as others have mentioned, inconsistent white balance is what's holding you back now.

If you managed to shoot a Whi-Bal card with each subject and apply that to all shots of that person, it may help, but I have a feeling the mixed lighting (that can come in various proportions from shot to shot) is the real problem, although in #2 and #3 above, the problem is with the subject vs background colour temp difference.

Soooo, I think it is time to;
get some extra lights, stands, backgrounds, et al, and/or
occasionally try processing some to monochrome to remove the issue - I have a feeling they might look rather nice

Although #5 doesn't really have any WB problems, I thought I would experiment, I hope you don't mind;

I tried to recover some detail in her lovely hair - she is beautiful and that's a wonderful, assured expression.
I downsized to 700px and sharpened some of it a bit too.

If I have one suggestion on this one; it is a shame her hair is cropped off on the left of frame - I don't mind the top of head being missing so much.

When viewing the thread, I was immediately struck by the pose of #1 (and then #4).

Well done,

[Wirefox]

Kay

These shots are all beautifully executed. They are so natural and relaxed. As many have said No 4 is the real seller but there is a natural sensitivity in number 3 that can only captured by a female photographer....beautiful shots, no candy and and subtly lit. There are probably a hundred and one technical issues that we could find if we looked really hard but these images transcend all that. I am jealous. I want to be able to do this and I want it NOW.

[wilgk]

Thankyou one and all for your kind words and helpful suggestions...

I was having a play with very shallow DOF and sometimes it worked other times not - # 3 and # 5 were outside in the shade with bright sunlight nearby - just reflecting off white walls or whatever was around.
# 1 and # 4 were inside with window light - bright sunny day after a week of rain.

And yes I did forget the grey card why do I do that? grrr

And Dave...what a nice chap you are suggesting I need to go out and spend money!....my husband is getting on a plane right now to have words with you

But to be realistic I think I need to pause now - draw breath and (all evidence to the contrary) not buy any new gear
When I had a play with the work lamps and suddenly saw how a face could be it differently by moving the reflectors etc - I thought wow this is cool....BUT and Dave in another bit of what he said - has hit the nail on the head.

It is the subtle nuances of working with people and poses that I think I need to concentrate on now which can all be done with a reflector and 1 flash (well after I go to the workshop next w/e and learn better how to use that flash )

Yes I have made some improvements as these were not just taken from 100m away and cropped - these were try to get the framing right at the time - but the last one - as well as the 'side hair' a very slight turn of the leading shoulder would to me have made a big difference...big..Huge.

So off I go with my toolbox that I have to hand....this does not mean I will forget about maybe one day taking over 'his shed' and having a wee studio.....but there is much to do before then

Next week I will be going to the get to know how to use your flash better workshop - of course no rocket science ideas that you guys haven't already told me - but instant feedback in person is a great addition to the student (and besides which, Santa gave it to me....maybe he thought that would keep me away from the shed)

Thankyou all again.....off I go now to get the newspaper and see if Fashionista has been offered a place at University.
You will all laugh as she has 2 part time jobs now...the original one at 'subway' and the other at......a Fashion Clothing Store!!
She is happy as a pig in mud

[Dave Humphries]

And Dave...what a nice chap you are suggesting I need to go out and spend money!....my husband is getting on a plane right now to have words with you

still, at least I know who to watch out for (he is #2, isn't he?)

[wilgk]

still, at least I know who to watch out for (he is #2, isn't he?)

tee hee nope no family members were used in the creation of these shots....so keep looking over your shoulder for a gentleman in his 50's who is somewhat 'follicularly' challenged and was long before David Beckham et al decided it was cool

[Dave Humphries]

tee hee nope no family members were used in the creation of these shots....so keep looking over your shoulder for a gentleman in his 50's who is somewhat 'follicularly' challenged and was long before David Beckham et al decided it was cool

I reckon I got one night's sleep left before the plane gets in

[rob marshall]

I reckon I got one night's sleep left before the plane gets in

Don't fret. Just come down to West Wales. he wouldn't dare follow you here. The Romans didn't!

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Kay,

# 4 has it followed by #1. In all the others they are faces in a frame. In 1 and 4 you have used the frame to also create shapes (dare I say triangles) but I look at the whole composition and not just a face. Well done.