I'd like to get your feedback (models and photographer) on our portfolio.

My daughter (Kortney) and I have been working together now for just a little less than 3 years now.  Kortney handles makeup, hair and much of the initial planning planning and scheduling.  I work with her on conceptsa and planning and I handle the studio, setup, photogrpahy and post processing.

Our focuses for the last year have been to:

(1) create a commercial-level portfolio for alcohol, lingerie, swimwear, makeup, accessories (shoes, purses,etc.) and beauty products. Some sample images on our port are: Leilene (evening beach shot), Kortney: Harry Winston ring shot (yes it was intended to be dark), Spritzer (MM's Soshanna), LaPerla and Pucci (the shoes shot.)  The Devilish shot was for a clothing company.

(2) procuding glamour content for magazines (Bonita, Rix, etc.) Some port samples are: Marina, Josephine, Katy w/bubbles, Rabbitt (from MM), Heather Shows and Sara.

As kind of a fun sideline, we also began a series of work to recreate the selected works of Alberto Vargas, with plans for release as a book.  Some samples are:  Dyanamaria (3 images), Jocelyn and Heather (pinup)

The rest of the images were for fun and the learning experience.

Are the images basically run of the mill (a dime-a-dozen)... does it look like we have promise... suggestions for improvement?

I hope the explanations help.  Have at it and thanks in advance.

John
Ephotique

Hey John, are you in the mood for some warm fuzzies today?   You know your work is top notch.  Must be that 1Ds MkII, huh?   How did you light that one titled Purple Shae?

Paul

I'm likin' it

Looks good to me!!

Specially likin the Apple Shot!!

(:-----

Hj

This is collectivelly a great portfolio...I like how every image is completly different from the rest, lots to look at and to think about....LOVE the SKYY Vodka shot, how much of that (if any) was post production??
Becky

Love the work, but I'm not gonna be as nice as the rest, because being nice might be great for the ego, it doesn't tell you what needs to be improved on in order to make you an even better photographer. I think you've got some really interesting product shots, i like the ring and the love the vodka shot. The one with the black girl on the beach however feels wierd. It's almost as if you used a backdrop in a studio, esspecially after looking at the rest of your portfolio that mainly consists of studio work. The problem is in the lighting, it seperates her completely from the background. Seperation is good sometimes, but in this case it disconnects the viewer from the image, and makes it feel less authentic. When using strobes with sunset, buy some CTO gels and warm up the light more to match the color of the sun better. She doesn't have to be orange but just warmer. Maybe even back the light up a bit so it's harder to tell where the light source is coming from. You'ce got some really good maxim style shots, like the devilish girl, and i love the vargas style. I love to shoot on real locations, and so my advice would be to work on lighting more, and do more shoots on location to look natural. Sorry for making u read all this.  Also tell your daughter she does a great job with the hair and makeup.

Paul,
Thanks Paul.  Yep! Its the Mk2 alright! :-)  The Purple Shae shot was lit by 1 small 9"x20" StripDone directly above and in front of Shae and a second light infront and below for some lower fill.

Learyn,
Thanks for looking and leaving a note.

Hugh,
Thanks Hugh.  That was one time where we were trying some dramatic lighting, or lack thereof.  We used a single light with a snoot.

Envisage,
Hi Becky.  Thanks for commenting.  The Skyy Vodka shot has very little post production, limited to cropping, color saturation and sharpening.  The Photoshop centered around the lemon squirt. As much as we tried, we couldn't get a good squirt with Soshanna bitting down on wedge after wedge of lemon (imagine how it tasted to her.)  So, we just had Courtney stand in for Soshanna and squeezed off a few with her fingers.  Here's a behind the scenes shot of the setup.


OneLightFilms,
Thank you for taking the time to comment in detail.  I appreaciate the feedback on the evening beach shoot.  I need more experience shooting on location and you've given me some good tips to remember.  Much appreciated.

Thanks everyone.  Your feedback is very much appreciated.
John