Garry k wrote:
I prefer the second shot- except for that nasty looking stairwell

The Model deserves better than that

Uhh... okay, I think that was kind of uncalled for, but whatever.  Battery Chester is an abandoned military installment and is quite dilapidated.

J-PhotoArt wrote:
To me the issue I see with your images / portfolio is an inconsistency in lighting, tone and contrast overall.  The image of Nymph is very flat looking and lacks any kind of contrast to me.  I think this image from your port is far better executed:

https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/35723992

You mention "I just regret not using flash on those older shoots."  The issue is not using or using Flash / Artificial lighting, but getting the proper ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed to get the look that you want.  I very rarely, like almost never, use a Flash when shooting outdoors.  I personally do not find it necessary to achieve the look that I want.  Plus I am old and lazy and do not want to carry any additional unneeded equipment with me.

My advice to you is keep studying images that have the look and feel that you like and want to achieve and keep practicing!  Continued success to you!

Yeah, well, the low contrast look on that image was deliberate on my part.  It was part of the post processing.  I actually like that look.  That's kind of subjective though.

Where I was shooting it was fairly dark, as the sun was close to going down, and there was a great deal of shade from the trees. 

Also I realize my portfolio is inconsistent; my older work is not as good.  I probably need to trim a lot of out of it though.

edit: Come to think of it, it really doesn't appear especially flat to me.  I'm kind of confused over this, to be honest.  What it looks like to me, as was intended, is a bit desaturated.

Sennia Kyle wrote:
I actually second the comment about the image being a bit flat. Mostly what stands out to me is that the new photo is underexposed, so there's a loss of detail in the shadows and the highlights don't stand out much if at all. And yes of course tastes differ, but taken as a whole that's how it reads to me anyway.

Personally I think that a lot (not all) of your older work is technically "better" as far as exposure and lighting goes, but the newer photo(s) are better in terms of sharpness and focus.

I'm fully expecting you won't like my "critique" such as it is but let's face it, when you ask the internet a personal question, you may not always like the answers. Good luck.

I think I can improve my lighting, though.  I had trouble in that woodland, with Nymph because of the shade.  The images with Andrea Rosu, and Anastasia Arteyeva were taken with a different camera than my much older images from 2012/2013.  Everything from late 2013 is with my Nikon D5200.  Before I was using a Canon T2i and it was much noisier.

I just get frustrated because it seems no matter what I do my work is never good enough...

Tony Lawrence wrote:
I see marked improvement in your work.   The shots of Tiana aren't very good.   The lighting is harsh and nudes and heels aren't may favorite.   The nudes of Nymph are outstanding though beautifully executed.   I dig the lighting and wouldn't change a thing.   They have a wonderful moody quality to them as does the hotel glamour nudes.   We haven't spoken in a while but good job.

Thanks Tony.  My only point I was trying to make to both Nelia and Sennia is that what they are saying is quite subjective in nature. 

Hey wait! You don't like nudes and heels?!

aspergianLens wrote:
Recently I did a nature nude shoot with Nymph (Gwendolyn Jane) and the results came out much better than I ever expected.  I just wanted to get other's opinions on this -- is this work that much improved over my older work?  If so, largely I would credit the improvement to learning how to use flash properly.  Actually, until recently I wasn't even using flash.

Here is my favorite from that shoot, so far:

18+ https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/38567056

And here is an older example, without flash:

18+ https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/29396031


I just regret not using flash on those older shoots.  Really all I am using is a Yongnuo YN-560-IV and a YN-560-TX to trigger it off camera, on a tripod mount.

I have used speedlights and like them a lot. I like an older image in your portfolio of Mauvais, which struck me as real art nude and it had filmic quality, and her pose an angle to the branch she was grasping was intriguing. In terms of how you feel, is it that you're frustrated that you're not pulling off your vision? I now draw shoot plans in photoshop using stickish figures, and if you did such a thing you could put in technical notes, direction of light, tonality you're going for. For a stylist I did such a thing, putting in the colour of the clothes desired, etc.