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Sun's out, Lens out! (Outdoor portraits)

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doni

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This seems to be the sweet spot in time to take outdoor portraits. Towards the end of spring and just before summer - not too hot yet, and no longer cold. I find myself taking more outdoor shots lately. Being outdoors and enjoying the "greens" is amazing.

Do you find yourselves shooting more outside this time of year too? If not, try it out! It is refreshing!

Here are some of my most recent shots from a local park in the Los Angeles area. As usual any constructive CC is appreciated.













--
...in matters of grave importance, style not sincerity is the vital thing - Oscar Wilde
 

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Nice shots, but where im from it passes spring completely, its already 106 degrees for the second week. lol
 
Really nice even lighting. What did you use for fill?
 
Nice job, pretty girl. Nice even light. I assume (from gear list) the 80-200mm f2.8. Handheld?

Thanks for sharing.
 
ScubaSteve92 said:
Nice shots, but where im from it passes spring completely, its already 106 degrees for the second week. lol
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WOW! Doesn't get that hot here until about July/August. This reminds me of when I lived in south east asia. There were two seasons - Hot and Rainy, and Hotter.

Good luck with the 106 degrees!

-doni
 
Island Golfer said:
Really nice even lighting. What did you use for fill?

--
truview
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Thank you! For fill, I had a silver reflector underneath the client (and right below the key) to light the eyes / chins. I also used a speedlight across the key slightly feathered (just enough to get separation, but not too much to erase the shadows). For the key light, I used a Godox AD600/Xplor 600 on a double diffused 38" Glow Parapop.

-doni

--
...in matters of grave importance, style not sincerity is the vital thing - Oscar Wilde
 
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doni

Very nice job with the portraits!

Like very much the job you have done with the eyes . . . stunning . . . beautiful model and enough depth of field so that both eyes are in focus . . . which I generally prefer in portraits.

Not sure about the cropping or positioning of the model in the last image sitting in the grass tho . . . IMHO too much grass in front of the model . . . I think it would be better if cropped about 2/3 of the way up the grass and then that amount of space added above her and blended in with the darkness background behind her . . . and cropped to the 4:5 aspect ratio . . . would bring her closer . . . emphasize her more . . . and de-emphasize the grass.

Very nicely done!

Best,

V G
 
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Good start with this first one - the lights are a bit bright on her face and her skin is starting to look a bit plastic.
Nice bright expression and I like the movement in her hair, but strange comp and the studio light effect is overly strong for my taste in outdoor portraits.
Shoulders are a bit too square on for me and her camera smile is becoming repetitive
I agree that the grass is too much, but I'm more concerned that she doesn't look like she wants to be there. Very square on again, and an awkward tangle of arm and legs looking like they have no other purpose than to hide her undies. You could have posed her like this then moved around her to find a better angle, perhaps some body twist. The studio lighting is toned down, I prefer this light.
--
Wedding and fine art photographer based in the Lake District, UK
 
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Van Griff said:
doni

Very nice job with the portraits!

Like very much the job you have done with the eyes . . . stunning . . . beautiful model and enough depth of field so that both eyes are in focus . . . which I generally prefer in portraits.
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Thank you. I usually prefer to shoot wide open, but shooting at 3.5 has allowed more DOF without sacrificing the bokeh.
Van Griff said:
Not sure about the cropping or positioning of the model in the last image sitting in the grass tho . . . IMHO too much grass in front of the model . . . I think it would be better if cropped about 2/3 of the way up the grass and then that amount of space added above her and blended in with the darkness background behind her . . . and cropped to the 4:5 aspect ratio . . . would bring her closer . . . emphasize her more . . . and de-emphasize the grass.
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Thank you. This was an off the cuff shot that we wanted to try out. I agree about too much grass. Below is another shot with less foreground. Unfortunately, the clouds did not play nice and blocked the sun. It felt weird firing the rim light without a "natural" source, so we chose to do with 1 light on this shot.





Van Griff said:
Very nicely done!

Best,

V G
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Thank you!

-doni

--
...in matters of grave importance, style not sincerity is the vital thing - Oscar Wilde
 

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Member said:
jkjond wrote:Good start with this first one - the lights are a bit bright on her face and her skin is starting to look a bit plastic.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I agree on closer look the skin is a bit too processed. Will work on this prior to print and find the right balance.
Member said:
Nice bright expression and I like the movement in her hair, but strange comp and the studio light effect is overly strong for my taste in outdoor portraits.
Click to expand...
Points taken and noted.
Member said:
Shoulders are a bit too square on for me and her camera smile is becoming repetitive
Click to expand...
Good points. I did have some other shots with a different smile/smirk. This was her "go to" winning smile though.
Member said:
I agree that the grass is too much, but I'm more concerned that she doesn't look like she wants to be there. Very square on again, and an awkward tangle of arm and legs looking like they have no other purpose than to hide her undies. You could have posed her like this then moved around her to find a better angle, perhaps some body twist. The studio lighting is toned down, I prefer this light.
Click to expand...
Thank you. The posing was my bad. My only direction was "DRAMA!" and "think about your most dramatic role" Points noted.



Thank you for the feedback!

-doni
Member said:
--
Wedding and fine art photographer based in the Lake District, UK
Click to expand...


--
...in matters of grave importance, style not sincerity is the vital thing - Oscar Wilde
 
You need more headroom in the first two shots.

TEdolph
 
Nice look, lovely subject. Keep her chin up unless you are sure you can get good fill in. The first two are fine but the last couple have dark eyes because her face is down a bit. Also watch your framing, the first set could use more space and the last one needs the bottom chopped off.
 
you've done a wonderful job with this very lovely model!
 
doni said:
doni said:
jkjond wrote:Good start with this first one - the lights are a bit bright on her face and her skin is starting to look a bit plastic.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I agree on closer look the skin is a bit too processed. Will work on this prior to print and find the right balance.
doni said:
Nice bright expression and I like the movement in her hair, but strange comp and the studio light effect is overly strong for my taste in outdoor portraits.
Click to expand...
Points taken and noted.
doni said:
Shoulders are a bit too square on for me and her camera smile is becoming repetitive
Click to expand...
Good points. I did have some other shots with a different smile/smirk. This was her "go to" winning smile though.
doni said:
I agree that the grass is too much, but I'm more concerned that she doesn't look like she wants to be there. Very square on again, and an awkward tangle of arm and legs looking like they have no other purpose than to hide her undies. You could have posed her like this then moved around her to find a better angle, perhaps some body twist. The studio lighting is toned down, I prefer this light.
Click to expand...
Thank you. The posing was my bad. My only direction was "DRAMA!" and "think about your most dramatic role" Points noted.

Thank you for the feedback!

-doni
doni said:
--
Wedding and fine art photographer based in the Lake District, UK
Click to expand...
--
...in matters of grave importance, style not sincerity is the vital thing - Oscar Wilde
Click to expand...
so thats the reason for the 'unhappy face'

shouting drama at someone doesn't really mean much
 
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