my first outdoor portrait- zenzi

[EGD]

Well, today was a big step for me, i have been asked quite a few times for doing portrait from friends but never taken any seriously until today.

to be honest, i am pretty glad for whole the process and outcome, and i have to say doing portrait is actually a lot more fun than i thought. i used to be pretty against it as i spent so much time on automotive photography and never believe that i can do other styles of photography.

anyway, i decided to go light on my gears since this was the first time, so i packed the 85 f1.4, 105 f2 dc, both sb900 and sb600 and i started.
big thanks to this guy: james aka my assistant aka my flash bitch :) for helping me sort out the lighting (nothing is better than human voice control remote speedlite and stand)
http://dfimages.net/photos/665815104_hCfUu-L.jpg

so here is the first set - Zenzi, a young talented uni student. just a few pics for now, should have a few more once finish editing.

http://dfimages.net/photos/665815531_2BWtk-L.jpg

http://dfimages.net/photos/665815383_P8w2E-L.jpg

http://dfimages.net/photos/665815468_3KB3m-L.jpg

http://dfimages.net/photos/665843232_bMCkf-L.jpg

http://dfimages.net/photos/665843317_iTwHv-L.jpg

http://dfimages.net/photos/665814970_LWdaQ-L.jpg

http://dfimages.net/photos/665815068_YvrY4-L.jpg
feedbacks are welcome, i would like to hear what you guys think.
thanks

[Airflore]

Except the first picture I find a bit too dark, I really like the position and the expression of your model. The background can be a bit distracting in the image 5. In general I find the lignting good, maybe a bit too soft (not sharp enough), especially in the second shot.

[PureKiwi]

Great images , some nice color in them , the first image of your assistant the reflection of the flash's are abit distracting ( 2 white circles ) i don't mind the darkness works for me

And lastly the 2 last images the spouting is kind of distracting any close might be coming out her head ( sorry i watch alot of videos and read alot of books about wedding and portraits so i have it drummed into me about things coming out of heads and what not )

Nice posing thought over all great images

What camera do you use anyway

[Cory Varcoe]

And lastly the 2 last images the spouting is kind of distracting any close might be coming out her head

Thats a downpipe man ;)
hehehehehehe

David, very nice! Just in the first one i think the flash might have been a bit close as the right side of her face is a bit hot. No pun intended lol.

Really like the idea behind the shot of your assistant, just the wish the BG was a little less distracting. Very cool shot though!

The thing i find hard with portraits/weddings is telling the model how to stand etc eg bossing them around haha

[EGD]

thanks for all your comments guys, will keep them in mind for the next shoot.

purekiwi, yes i was pretty gutted when i noticed the downpipe in post processing, and will definitely look out for little things like this next time.

the assistant shot was more like a 2 seconds thought, as he was holding both speedlites and was testing the remote, so i just told him to point to his head.

and i use nikon d700.

Cory Varcoe, i had the same thought before regarding on gettin model to pose, however, after yesterday's shoot, i gained a lot of confidence just by going through pics with the model after every few shots, that way we both knew/agreed on what worked or not with her body, and wht poses to look for. the first 2 hours were a bit hard, as both zenzi and me were nervous, but at the end of the shoot, everything seemed to be quite easy.

here are a few more shots:
http://dfimages.net/photos/665922770_9wabt-L.jpg

http://dfimages.net/photos/665923001_RfCrn-L.jpg

http://dfimages.net/photos/665923265_uN53s-L.jpg

[PureKiwi]

Lol i knew that :)


more great pictures


Oh one more thing EGD , Do you pay your assistant / model ? just wondering for future referance for my self

[EGD]

assistant, yes, on all my pay job he will get a small cut.

model, no, i wouldn't pay for the model, but i am working on gettin them to pay me :) need more pratise first tho.

[PureKiwi]

How do you work out how much to pay them is it by job or by percentage or on what they do

Sorry for going off topic

[Isaac]

^^ to continue with your off topic :)

Lots of inexperienced models will be happy to work on a "TFP" agreement - eg "time for photos" - they model for free, and in return you provide them with images for free for their portfolio.

Once you start hiring models, it's just whatever the rate is for that model / agency.

They can be as low as $50 an hour, right up to $500 an hour or more.

An average rate might is around $100 an hour.

Good luck to the poster looking to get the models to pay him - that's not going to happen!!! The client though... there's a different story! On commissioned shoots for advertising, etc, the ad agency pays the models, photographers, art directors, make up, hair, etc etc etc.

Sorry to derail the thread!

As far as your images go.....

Less tilt - it's a bit too harsh in many of the shots, and detracts from the image in my opinion.

The main thing to work on is your connection with the model - the lighting is competent, the posing is mostly flattering, but the expressions aren't there! Talk to her, relax her, tell some bad jokes, get her to laugh and the eyes to sparkle :)