badaniels wrote:
Here's what I think:

1. I suck at lighting
2. All of the shots in my port were shot JPEG. I've since switched to RAW.
3. I have a hard time directing the model (even though she's my daughter)
4. I'm entirely sure what I've done right.

I'm not familiar with the SONY NEX-3N.  Can you get a lens with a focal length longer than 20mm (35mm Film = 30)?

Delete any images that are not tack sharp.

1. Position the model against a dark background and let more light fall on her face.
2. For now, shoot lots of images in JPG and don't waste time converting RAW files.
3. Give her a prop to work with.
4. You go, fellow!!!

Howard Tarragon wrote:
This is the money shot. She's distracted and not thinking about the camera.


This is the teenage death stare.


She is clearly not comfortable in front of the camera. Did you also teach her to drive? How did that go? Directing a daughter? Not easy.

Take pictures of her when she's unaware and comfortable, in good light, like near a window. or a lamp. She will either murder you, leave home or see that she can look good in photos because you will have improved.

Good luck!

I did teach her to drive, and that went about as well as this..lol. She seemed excited to do it at the time. I appreciate your comments.

JT Life Photography wrote:
Lighting is a skill that takes a lot of practice and still surprises. So, try and start simple.

Look up and practice using the rule of thirds. It will help with composition. Then expand onto 'S' curves and 'leading-in' and 'leading-out' of your images. Try out the concept of 'negative space'. All of these can make your images stronger and more pleasing.

Make sure the eyes are razor sharp. We are instinctively drawn towards eyes in an image and if they are not sharp will discount the image.

Try and blur out the background. The classical way is to open up the aperture and therefore reduce the depth of field. This allows the viewer to see what you think was important.

The great thing about photography is that one can constantly learn and improve. Have fun with it!

JT

I appreciate your input. I made a pact with myself to never shoot off manual again. I went yesterday and took a bunch of test shots of just anything I could find. I learned a tremendous amount from that.

Mark Salo wrote:

I'm not familiar with the SONY NEX-3N.  Can you get a lens with a focal length longer than 20mm (35mm Film = 30)?

Delete any images that are not tack sharp.

1. Position the model against a dark background and let more light fall on her face.
2. For now, shoot lots of images in JPG and don't waste time converting RAW files.
3. Give her a prop to work with.
4. You go, fellow!!!

I'm in the process of getting another lens. I've done quite a bit of research and I have decided on one. Now, I just have to pull the trigger.

NEX3N came out a couple years ago, and the lens is a pancake lens. The 20MM lens I'm using gets good reviews. I didn't set out to buy this setup, I came into it by accident. I used to manage a pawn shop and we were clearing some inventory. My boss marked it at $25 and without knowing anything about it I bought it because I couldn't pass the deal up.

David Shinobi  wrote:
I don't like to critique others work as we all started sometime.
All I can say is keep shooting, keep learning and have fun with photography.

Lots of inspiration to be found here and all over the internet.

I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Motordrive Photography wrote:
one of the main things I see is the need to get some light on the subject.
fill flash or reflected, that is control of exposure, not just reaction to it.

kudos for taking steps to improve.
one thing at a time, like the switch to RAW, it can be frustrating, but ultimately
teaches things to do on next shot.

I'm trying to take steps to improve. I bought a five-in-one reflector and I'll be taking that out on some test shots to see what I can do with it. I appreciate your comments.

badaniels wrote:
I'm trying to take steps to improve. I bought a five-in-one reflector and I'll be taking that out on some test shots to see what I can do with it. I appreciate your comments.

Unless I'm inside doing studio shots, I never shoot with reflectors or a flash.  I feel like that just complicates things. The only photo in my portfolio that has any extra light is that polaroid on the bottom left, the flash went off. The light is already THERE, and a model can move 360 degrees in all directions, so it's just a matter of playing with what you have.   I was inspired by the genius work of Kesler Tran (Google him too) who works mostly with ambient light and rarely ever uses a flash or a reflector.   I love just carrying around a lightweight camera and capturing what I see, anything more would become a chore for me.

Eyesso wrote:

Unless I'm inside doing studio shots, I never shoot with reflectors or a flash.  I feel like that just complicates things. The only photo in my portfolio that has any extra light is that polaroid on the bottom left, the flash went off. The light is already THERE, and a model can move 360 degrees in all directions, so it's just a matter of playing with what you have.   I was inspired by the genius work of Kesler Tran (Google him too) who works mostly with ambient light and rarely ever uses a flash or a reflector.   I love just carrying around a lightweight camera and capturing what I see, anything more would become a chore for me.

Thank you so much for the advice. I definitely will take it all in. I'm trying to keep it as uncomplicated as possible as well, so it's good to know there are others out there like me. I love the natural light look, so that is what I gravitate towards. Later on, I'll try to figure out studio lighting if I plan to take my photography to the next step. You know where people actually pay me to photograph them...lol.

Hunter  GWPB wrote:
If you want to lean photoshop, shoot in RAW.  If you want to take good pictures, it doesn't matter if you shoot jpeg.  Good photos are a fulfillment of an interesting subject, lighting that accents your story, good composition for the concept, and technical things like clarity, focus and color.  Some  dude, I forget his name, does these big, all day lectures on photoshop.  I did one.  He says that you can make any adjustment that you need to from a jpeg.  Shooting RAW just means you have to add back in all the adjustments already made in the file by the camera.  Now, mind you, I don; use photoshop yet and may never do so.  What the dude says is not the common advice that you will get in MM.  I am just passing along his statement.

Depending on the subject, color can be off quite a bit from what it was in real life and look fine.  Less so when people are involved. 

Focus, you want the right things to be in focus, which is a mater of camera focus, movement of the subject and selectivity of items in the frame.  Do you select the focus points the camera uses (assuming auto focus) or have them all turned on?  Does your camera allow you to hold the focus by slightly depressing the shutter, or another button, as you compose the picture?  If so, remember to focus on the subject's eyes and then compose.  Use the camera's grid to help with rule of thirds.

Clarity:  For film it was ASA.  Digital it is ISO.  The higher the ISO, as a rule, the more noise or grain that will be in the shot.  I shoot a lot of wildlife.  I set the aperture for a depth of field that should include the bird or animal that I am trying to shoot, at the distance that I expect to shoot.  I set the shutter to stop the action and prevent movement blur.  I let the ISO float on auto because I do not have time to be turning dials when an Accipiter is swooping by or a whatever is doing whatever.   I do keep checking the light as I wait or move to see that I am staying somewhere in the range I want to be.

Some great photographer gave the advice that if you want to take better pictures, stand in front of more interesting things.  If you are photographing people, have them stand in front of more interesting things.  Your daughter in the alley?  Was that about your daughter or the alley?  You kind of split the interest.  If it was about your daughter, you don't need all that background and what you can't get rid of you can lessen with a shorter depth of field.  If it was about the alley, then your model needs to be interacting and be part of the alley.  If it was about your daughter, take a step back and don't cut off her feet.  As a matter of fact, as a rule of thumb, back off a little and crop it later.  It better to get too much than not enough.

If your daughter is interested in helping you improve, both of you would benefit from looking up poses for models on the internet or in books.  Not all poses require interaction with the camera by looking into the lens, but mostly, you either do or don't.  Her eyes should not be closed or appear to be closed.  Head eyes and body direction should not be all the same direction.  You can avoid some blinks by counting down to the blink.  3,2,click,1 blink.  Or 3,2,1, blink, pause, click.

I have a friend that I shoot a lot.  She has grown up looking at glamour magazines and she is always posing for me when the camera is out.  The photos of her that I paint, are the ones were she was thinking, distracted, looking elsewhere, busy picking up sea shells, etc..

Try working with a highly skilled model sometime.  Tell her in advance that you want her to explain why she does some of things she does and thinks about, as you are working.  It will help you a lot when posing non-models.

Lighting: work with natural lights like you are.  You put the bright light behind her and exposed properly.  That is good.  But avoid the high sun and brightest lights if you can.  Working in the shade helps distribute and soften the high sun.  Watch out under trees, the blotches of light and shadow are not the best option.  Windows that are not in line with the sun help soften the light.  Cloudy days are good.  Sunrise and sunset are good times but you may have more yellows, oranges or reds.  Take a gray card with you and shoot it a couple of time during the shoot so you have a color comparison.

Best advice you got so far is to keep taking pictures and keep trying different things.  The rules are guidelines.  Not laws. 

What you have done right:  You decided to get better, learn, and work at it.

Wow, that was seriously in depth. Thank you for taking the time. Like I said previously I'm a big fan of natural lighting, so that is my main target for improvement.

WisconsinArt wrote:
You're doing right in that you can self critique and know where you need to improve. Many come here expecting to be told they're a genius and are quite shocked and defensive when that's not the case and worse, refuse to take good advice.

You have the right attitude and that counts a lot.

Thank you. I know I am quite a way from being genius and I look forward to the advice and learning. I am actually enjoying the process of figuring out the camera settings for each shot.

Eyesso wrote:
Yes, to echo what Hunter said above, RAW isn't really magic.  I tried it, hated it, switched back to JPG.  I know it's "better" for those shadow details or whatever, but...come on....I'm not shooting for Vogue.  RAW is gigantic files, and lots of "from scratch" editing.  Sony has really good JPG processing (as does Fuji), so I save lots of time, disk space, and headaches just working with JPG.  There are very few times I regret not having RAW.....if you learn to shoot well and don't need to rescue a lighting disaster, then you don't need RAW.

I really appreciate your input. Thank you for taking the time.

Rob Photosby wrote:
Your daughter seems rather conscious of the camera.  Perhaps try shooting her with a friend where they can direct their attention more to each other rather than to you.  You will gain more in spontaneity, but co-ordinating two models has its own difficulties, so you will get mixed results but that is all part of the learning.

Eyesso is correct that you do not absolutely have to shoot raw, but I always do because raw is great insurance against losing a well composed photo when I misjudge the light, which I do too often.

You know I really didn't notice how conscious she was of the camera until it was pointed out to me in this thread. I definitely see it now.

I too have a difficult time with lighting. When I shot some test shots this past week I shot RAW and was able to adjust those lighting mistakes. I also see the point in shooting in JPEG because it definitely would make life easier. After I learn what I'm doing with lighting I may go back to JPEG.

I will take all the advice offered and mold it into my own style. Thanks for your input.