Camera Labs

Hello all I'm taking a photography course and last Saturday we had a local pro model to learn more about Portraits here are some shots from the course! C & C are always welcome!



Chantal by Omar Bongailas, on Flickr


Chantal by Omar Bongailas, on Flickr


Chantal by Omar Bongailas, on Flickr


Chantal by Omar Bongailas, on Flickr

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Olympus E-5 Olympus E-520
50mm f2.0 Macro 14-54mm f2.8/3.5 II
50-200mm f2.8/3.5 SWD 70-300mm f4/5.6
Hoya Filters CPL, UV, IR, ND8
Olympus FL-50 Digital Flash, x2 Vivitar 285HV x2 Yongnuo YN560
Manfrotto 055XPROB & Lowepro Mini Trekker AW
My fotostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/omarbongailas

Hi Zazu, I'll take a crack at some C&C.

#1 - the light is too flat (looks on-axis/on-camera) and therefore isn't flattering to her face. Her expression looks like it's between poses, and the framing could do to go a bit lower... watch the fingers getting cropped out. You could have probably brought the top of the frame down to about mid-forehead to make room for her hands, or you could have come closer to her to remove the hands altogether and maintain a good composition.

#2 - I'm not sure if you had control of the lighting on this shot or not, but very well done! I love the pose, I love the framing, and the light on her face/body is very good! My only complaint, and this is just nitpicking, is that I would have loved to see the exposure on her as it is while having the background a tad bit darker. Be it from an umbrella/softbox/snooted flash from above (in the direction the light is coming from) it would make her stand out a bit more. But as I said, it's a very strong photo without anything else

#3 - Good light on her face and her eyes are bright... The space at the top of the frame bugs me a bit though as it doesn't add a lot to the photo. The shapes in the background are a bit distracting, so I would have come down a bit lower with the top of the frame. Cleavage is a bit distracting, I would have likely tried to use her hand or that step to leave a bit to the imagination.

#4 - I don't like where her head is within the frame... I think it should be more towards the top. It looks like you're on the steps still here so I'm not sure if you could have maintained the same angle while moving around but you could always crop if necessary. I'm not sure about the pose, but it isn't bad. A smaller, more-shallow depth of field could possibly help eliminate some of the shapes in the background as well because the black "blob" in the top-right of the frame is a bit distracting - it's in focus just enough to notice something is there.

#2 and #3 are definitely the best, with #2 being my favourite

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr

Many Thanks Plymer you really gave me a more clearer ideas! 1st photo is one of my favourites I have to say! But when someone like yourself let you notice such small things I'm looking a bit different now to this photo! 2nd photo unfortunatley we did not had any light stands this one was taken using only natural light! I understad your point of view when told me that it would make her stand out a bit more but as I said no external lights were used! 3rd photo this one was very difficult for me to take it as she was cast on the stairs an facing up and I was kneed on one stair facing down and I was not the only photographer there I needed to take the best shot and let another photographer take my place as we were more than 15 photographers! 4th photo that big black blob is nothing else than another phtographer's camera bag now that I can see it at 300% I should have seen it from the viewfinder or tell someone to take it off! This photo was also taken on the stairs! Thanks again for taking your time to comment on my photos

_________________
Olympus E-5 Olympus E-520
50mm f2.0 Macro 14-54mm f2.8/3.5 II
50-200mm f2.8/3.5 SWD 70-300mm f4/5.6
Hoya Filters CPL, UV, IR, ND8
Olympus FL-50 Digital Flash, x2 Vivitar 285HV x2 Yongnuo YN560
Manfrotto 055XPROB & Lowepro Mini Trekker AW
My fotostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/omarbongailas