Kate - a trial in portraits

I'll be adding up some more portrait attempts in the next day or so. My oldest daughter Kate just eats up being the center of the attention, so why not!?! Some will be edgy and over processed and then I'll go the opposite side and try the softer side. I've got a ton to learn, but it's a start. Now if I can only convince her to smile instead of that serious contemplating look she loves to use. LoL.

First one is the winner. Unusual composition makes it great.

Like them all. Boy you can do allot with those backgrounds. Only thing I would do is pull them away from the background to concentrate the DOF on her. And a little cropping.

beautiful smile in the last one

Thank you, guys. My eye has always been drawn to distinct and bold architectural elements and abstract colors. It's definitely carried over into what I see through the camera. I need to work on making sure I don't let the surroundings take too much away from the main subject.

Figuring out how to capture soft images is going to be a personal challenge. Something I'm going to have to study and practice.

Some advice:

There's a lot of textures and patterns going on in these photos. You have to pick one or the other, because they don't work together. If you're going for a busy/urban background, your subject has to be wearing solid colors, or near solid. Conversely, wild and bold patterns on clothes tend to look better in plain settings.

Excellent advice. Thank you! I certainly agree that the outfit was not the best choice for the photos. Should have had her change before running errands and then stopping off for a quick shoot on the way home. I need to think in more "finished photo" terms before ever heading out with the camera in hand; at least for any staged portrait shots. Honestly, I wasn't certain the location was where we found it. I'll make note of the clothing suggestions, for sure.

Here's one I did in B&W from the same day.

Nice shot but it's overexposed. Little detail on the skin.

FastGlass said:

Nice shot but it's overexposed. Little detail on the skin.

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Thanks! I need to post up from the Mac when the little one gets to sleep. So hard to see detail when posting via mobile. I appreciate the heads up!!

This one any better?(also from my iphone)


Ugh. Now she looks dirty. Back to the Mac to sort this out.

LOL. I hate to say this again, but somewhere between these two pics would be the ideal, IMO.

Woodyg3 said:

LOL. I hate to say this again, but somewhere between these two pics would be the ideal, IMO.

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No worries! It's what I get for trying to email myself a couple pics, edit them on pse, then post from my iPhone. The misses has the Mac doing a report, so I tried an alternative ... And it wasn't worth trying. Nothing like learning the hard way. LoL!

Let's see if I finally got this one right..

Looks better. And you're right, she does look a little soap deficient. Not to keep finding things wrong but I think the image would look better with her shoes off. When I see the image I think of a poor girl in Europe in a village. Nothing wrong with that, It's a nice shot but having her with no shoes would add a little more.

FastGlass said:

Looks better. And you're right, she does look a little soap deficient. Not to keep finding things wrong but I think the image would look better with her shoes off. When I see the image I think of a poor girl in Europe in a village. Nothing wrong with that, It's a nice shot but having her with no shoes would add a little more.

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No problem with constructive criticism at all. Not sure if your soap comment was for this image or the previous one. The latest; I don't find her appearance dirty at all.

Now, the shoe comment I'm just confused by. It's not like they're wooden shoes from holland or something. I think seeing a poor Eastern European girl in this shot might be a stretch of the imagination a bit. Tha said, no shoes could have made another statement overall.

I'm glad you're looking into these as close as you are! The more feedback I see; the more I can process into my learning curve.

Here's one taken just before we left for recital. Plan to get out for another shoot on stage later on.

Nice shot. Cute girl.

Thanks, FG.

#3 from OP looks awesome.