Hello MM community.  I am relatively new here and would love to know what you all think of my portfolio.  I am a hobbyist photographer and the model is my patient and beautiful wife.  The photos span over 20 years with the oldest being the one of her sitting on the edge of a tiled tub (it is a scanned B&W) and the newest was taken this past spring and is the one of her in a bathing suit. 

I'd love constructive feedback.  What am I doing right?  What am I doing wrong?  What are some suggestions?  If I want to branch out... do I have a shot of some successful TFP shoots with local models?

I look forward to your comments!

Hi,

I'm no expert, but from my perspective controlling shadows a bit more, and not have them be directly behind her. Your Wife/Model has a very charismatic and captivating presence for the lens. You have definitely captured that through these images. The most recent one with the swimsuit is one and most of your B&W . You have a lot of good images, specially the ones where the editing was scaled back. Would like to see a bit more angles and compositions. Either way you have a beautiful collection of memories in these.

Just stuff you already Know. Better studio(more space to work). Then you can have the model farther from the background and avoid shadows. I'd say time to start adding props and color sometimes. Uh that great model also would  make a perfect assistant. ;-)   But I think the most important thing would be to have just a little more faith in your own judgement. :-)

I would drop this image from your portfolio:


The background is cluttered, and the pose looks awkward (to me it reads like you captured her while she was moving into position, rather than a settled pose).

Overall, I think your portfolio is good, but having just a single model reads as lacking in experience.  I think that you may need to invest in paying for a few models to broaden your portfolio before you are available to regularly attract TFP clients.

I wish that you would put the dates of the photos into the caption field so that we might judge the progress from start to end.

PhotoLambda in my humble estimation your most recent swimwear image is the strongest in you current MM book... Maybe more like this, k?

"What are some suggestions... for  ...successful TFP shoots with local models?"
Start here https://www.wmarochester.com/new-faces/ and work with their "New Faces"
Albeit you'll need a "Real" website or Social Media presence such as IG...

Agency bookers aren't going to be keen on having their "New Faces" talent work with Mayhem Photographers since it is pretty much synonymous with "Soft Porn" within the industry now.

Your recent swimwear image is an excellent starting point...
Here is what your local Model Agency has to offer...
https://www.wmarochester.com/model/erin-s/
Focus on creating imagery that mirrors their visual statement BEFORE you contact them.

PhotoLambda it is a long and arduous journey which you may ultimately abandon since the craft of commercial photography is highly competitive... And competition is fierce...
bty it is a craft (not a profession) in as it does not require academic credentials nor a professional license...

Only the most highly skill and artistically gifted flourish to the point of generating a revenue steam sufficient to support one's self let alone a family...

Please enjoy your pursuit of the aforementioned as an enthusiast and in time you won't have to ask for advice...
You will soon learn which way the wind blows..... Experience is a brutal (but highly effective) teacher...

All the best on your journey....
Cheers! Thomas

Thanks for the feedback

I'm not going to make a comment about your work. Everyone is uniquely different and your imagery is a mark how you think and work. What I suggest is that you look at other photographers and model works (including mine) to see the elements in the photos, what you like and create your own vision. Some photographers just want to take a photo of a pretty girl, others want their model to command attention and illustrate a story. Don't  post a colour and bw of the same photo and ask viewers to choose for you. Make your choice in imagery and take responsibility  for it. While it is great to shoot TF with models, a great way to step up your game, hire a one of the amazing working models that are members here. Usually they come fully prepared and get to work helping you create fantastic imagery. Also, you get to find out market trends and maybe develop networking. The biggest mistake photographer's make is thinking they can advance their artistry and career all by themselves.