Need some advise on how to improve these portraits please

willy

willy

willy

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Not sure if i can start a thread like this but I'm practising on how to do some flash photography and need some comments to improve it in the future, thanks :)

Just as well my other half and my daughter quite patient even though we were all covered with some midgies bites!!!

1. I think i could tone down the flash a notch as not quite soft?

DSC_0905 by willykatie, on Flickr

2.

DSC_0916 by willykatie, on Flickr

3. No Flash

DSC_0913 by willykatie, on Flickr

4.

DSC_0918 by willykatie, on Flickr

5. Could do with reflectors on the right i think

DSC_0920 by willykatie, on Flickr

6. Had to crop this one as she moved and her legs got cut off :thumbsdow

DSC_0923 by willykatie, on Flickr

7. She was fed up so that was the last picture :hiya:

DSC_0919 by willykatie, on Flickr

Thanks
 
Composition is the main area you could improve first. The majority of your shots have the face bang in the middle and then a fair old bit of negative space around it. Read up on the Rule of Thirds and how to position eye lines.

With the flash, its best if you can get it away from the camera and make it a softer light. Not sure what time of day it was, but in some of them the background appears very dark. This could be a result of too much flash and the wrong shutter speed.
 
A different approach to composition would work. You are also shooting in what looks like not bad daylight, but are firing a direct flash? Firing a flash straight on will mostly produce unflattering portraits.

For better results with flash photography the light needs to come from a direction other than full on.
 
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Your flash (I am guessing speedlight) is ballpark correct exposure, it would however benefit from gelling as its rather cool and softening. Try bouncing into a brolly or adding a soft box. Remember (bigger the light source the softer the light)
As others have said the composition needs work, for me a central subject is personal choice and doesn't offend me but the surplus of negative space above the heads is a bit annoying. The rule of thirds is all well and good but remember rules are there to be broken :D
 
Composition, composition and composition the head on flash isn't great and could certainly be improved but nothing will make a bigger difference than the composition in these shots, get you subject out of the centre and loose the negative space just for starters! As your not going for candid shots read up on posing getting you subject sitting right and looking in the right directions etc will make a huge difference. Once thats right then I'd start thinking about alternatives to the flash.
 
As gary stated get a reflector which is only a few quid and have a play around with it. Getting in close does tend to put your family and friends off a little - however it is the way forward unless you can get interesting background which complements the portrait.
 
An Exception said:
Bare flash is the devil. Ditch it.
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I used to agree with that. For something to do at work I have been watching through the snap factory digital 1 on 1 photography school. My god some of the portraits Mark Wallace takes even with on camera flash I wish I was as good at balancing flash and ambient on the fly like that :D

OP I quite like this little video on shooting using natural light and adding or diffusing light using a 5 in 1 reflector...

http://blog.snapfactory.com/?p=1710
 
Pretty much everything I shoot is flash, even if only to provide fill. Flash is evil only until you learn to control it, direct, bare or otherwise.
 
The reflector ones look ok/good, but then who wants to hire an assistant to hold a reflector while you are out and about with you're girlfriend. In bright sun it hurts peoples eyes and it's just not practical. The lack of practicality means the pictures are going to look awkward unless you are dealing with a pro model who has trained herself to fake well in front of the camera, but with anyone else you are not going to be able to get into any kind of 'flow' and produce pictures with genuine expression.
The fill flash examples suck compared with the natural light. Hard shadows, shine and ugly catchlights add to the 'fake' feel. It's also similar to using a reflector, nothing reminds the subject more that they are being photographed than a flash popping in their face.

People have mentioned composition, but good light is the starting point of any picture. Find good light, then try out some different compositions, just ditching the centre focus point will help this.

Example of Natural Light (at good time of day/evening)
Natural-Light-1.jpg


@ Op
2. is probably the best portrait everything considered. Body language/posture is good. Flash ruins it. Could easily crop to rule of thirds to improve composition, but better done in camera. Consider using out focus points, or doing the focus recompose dance.

3. Not perfect, but the best light out of the lot.

4. Had the best 'potential' compositionally due to the background.

5. Had the best potential for capturing emotion/expression.
 
Thank you all for the advise.

I'm going to to take some pictures again tomorrow and I had a read about the rule of third in portraits and going to read some more again today :) I still have a lot to learn on how to do portrait and also been watching some videos online by joe mcnally, zack arias how they handle flash and good and balance the flash with ambient light etc.

At the moment only doing off camera I-ttl flash as not sure on how to do manual as only have the flash for couple of days :p

Had the same camera about 3 years ago and had to sell it a year after because of some circumstances and to be honest that was the hardest thing for me to sell :( but since then I keep reading about photography and always my main interest especially in portrait/people. I do take some other pictures but want to improve it more in portrait.

Umbrella, tripod bracket and 5 in 1 reflectors is the next thing on my list as I have cheap hama tripod from years ago and need decent tripod now so I thought I could just use the tripod as the light stand.

I know that soft box more directional than umbrella but is it more practical when out and about? Any recommendations on which soft box to get?

Thanks again and this is why I keep coming back to this forum as people are always helpful :)
 
In terms of getting your family to pose, I'd offer a few more tips as well because its difficult with people who aren't professional models who know what to do.

Number 5 is more natural because they aren't trying as hard to pose for the camera and as a result coming off awkward. So what you want to do is try and catch them off guard and take your shot. One of the best ways of doing this is to get them to laugh, say something really stupid or funny to get a reaction, then capture that moment.
 
An Exception said:
If you plan to family stuff it's probably a waste of money tbh.
It doesn't matter how good the lighting or composition is if they look like this.
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Lol :D. Yeah she was fed up with the midgies bites an was tired as well.

Nexus said:
In terms of getting your family to pose, I'd offer a few more tips as well because its difficult with people who aren't professional models who know what to do.

Number 5 is more natural because they aren't trying as hard to pose for the camera and as a result coming off awkward. So what you want to do is try and catch them off guard and take your shot. One of the best ways of doing this is to get them to laugh, say something really stupid or funny to get a reaction, then capture that moment.
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Thanks. I know is kinda hard when they're not feeling up to it and I still want to take some pictures lol.

My plan is practise and more practise and more practise with family first and then hopefully I could take picture of friends and some other people in the future.

Thanks
 
ETTL is a good feature to have but if you really understand how exposure works, manual mode can be easier in a lot of situations and particularly while you're learning. I used to practice on a football on an upturned bucket in the garden.
 
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