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How to remedy a failed shoot?
Hello all! I am very new to portrait photography. I have been shooting people for a little over 2 months now. I have done nature and other types of photography for about a year. I have been trying to build my portfolio on here and I feel that I am improving with each shoot as I go along. However, I did recently have a shoot that didn't go as well as I had hoped. It was shot in a forest, as the model did want a nature type of setting. I did try to pose her with the best light, but looking at the raw images, most of the pictures had way too many shadows from the trees, despite how much I tried to turn her to get the best lighting. I have seen some patches of trees that resemble forests, and now I wish that I had shot there instead of an actual forest to avoid the tree shadows on her face. The model was great and I feel that this was my fault. I could try to fix it with Photoshop, but part of me just wants to redo it entirely in a different location so that I can give her some pictures that she is proud of. How do you go about contacting a model about this? It was a tf shoot. Should I just try to fix any issues in post processing? I feel like she deserves better for her portfolio, though. Have you had to redo a tf shoot and how do you contact a model about this? Thank you for any advice. Mar 05 18 11:46 pm Link Part of the job of photographer is to suck it up and ask to redo the shoot. I usually won't show the pictures that didn't come out because she won't be able to unsee the images once she sees it. Good luck. Mar 06 18 12:58 am Link I use a flash to light the shadows. Mar 06 18 03:14 am Link Nothing you can do about the past shoot except to learn from it. Before pulling the trigger on the camera, hold the camera down to your side, and LOOK and think about what your seeing. Is the model placed like you want posture wise? Is the models clothing and hair like you want? It the model placed correctly relative to background info that's in the shot? Is the lighting like you want? If there are shadows that your seeing , not what you want, how will you correct that? Is there any distracting background info in the shot? Are you shooting at the focal distance you want, to achieve your desired effect? If all of the above is YES, then take an image or two, then move on. If not, correct any of those items that aren't, and re-evaluate. Slow down. Think. Look. Think some more. Make adjustments. Look. Think. Shoot. Garbage in / Garbage out. Don't use your Photoshop to salvage poor photography. Shoot it right in camera, and your golden. Man up, tell the model you screwed the pooch, and would like a do over. Simple stuff Mar 06 18 05:00 am Link Hi Erin, You have a very nice diverse port. I can see that "natural light photography" is being its "ole self" in some of your images already. Its a pain we all go through! Learning to see not only just the subject in the viewfinder... but also to " SEE the L I G H T " Separately on the subject will take you a long way to better managing. Turning your subject into the diffused light, shooting at the edge of the shadowy area instead of inside of it, learning to fudge the light meter so the number it gives you is not just for the highlights alone...but for the middle tones in your image as well... are all things that can help. Your problem here is what initially helped me become more of a master student of "off camera remote flash" techniques... which is now almost my "Preferred Style" of making visual art. The Pain of Growing: The pain of all this is to teach and motivate you how to never have this happen to you again! This pain is part of a photographers journey toward competency, mastery, craftsmanship and artistry. Its a long journey... with a lot of art and science to pick up along the way. Each shoot teaches you something you wish you knew better. Every shoot is a magical blend of success and failure chosen to motivate you on-ward in your craft and artistry. How to avoid face shadows...and how to manage model relationships... yes... that's two things to be better at. Go learn what this lesson means... and how to fix this early lesson... you are well on your way to becoming a master craftsman and artist by getting help here in the forums. Photographer = Lifetime Learner. Don't Fret. There are "Other Models" in your future that you will do much better with... if you don't despair... and Grow and Develop with this one-time, early, awkward incident. Its all OK. We are all new and developing at something!! The model will forgive you... be humble and admit your learner status. We all make these mistakes a few times. Mar 06 18 05:06 am Link Yeah forest shoots can be tricky. I recommend using reflectors and bumping up your ISO to avoid that amateur looking 'snapshottie' on camera flash appearance. Here's a complete folder of 'mountain forest' images...  https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/2 … l#/A338941 Mar 06 18 06:00 am Link Select Models wrote: My flash communicates with the camera and balances the natural light with the flash. Mar 06 18 08:38 am Link It's not really a failed shoot. It's an opportunity to learn from what happened. Shoot it over and make use of the new knowledge. Mar 06 18 09:05 am Link Cheating Light wrote: This sums it up. Mar 06 18 09:52 am Link E Jay Photography wrote: Not being privy to the photos makes it difficult to say whether anything is salvageable or not (notwithstanding the fact that "salvageable" is subjective). That being said, sometimes you can embrace the shadows and shift the entire tone of at least some of the images you already have. It may even lead you to deliberately explore such style in the future (particularly since natural light is so mercurial and on the day of the shoot you have to work with what you have). Mar 06 18 10:58 am Link Thank you to everyone that replied! Yes, I will ask if she would like to do a re-shoot. This was a learning experience and I felt bad that they didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. I will take all of the advice given here with me to the next shoot. Mar 06 18 11:18 am Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: I made no direct reference to your post. The 'appearance' that on camera flash provides makes no difference on whether or not the flash is commuicating with the camera. A correct balance between strobe and natural light can be accomplished without said communication. Mar 06 18 11:23 am Link Select Models wrote: You are right but it is easier if the camera and flash communicate. Mar 06 18 01:18 pm Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: Maybe for a newb. Yes, but there is nothing better than off camera flash. Mar 06 18 01:58 pm Link PhillipM wrote: I've shot outdoors for years and it works well. Mar 06 18 02:22 pm Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: In your opinion, for others, with a different aesthetic, maybe not so much. Mar 06 18 03:40 pm Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: It seems to help that you aren't easily embarrassed. Mar 06 18 04:12 pm Link E Thompson Photography wrote: BINGO!... Mar 06 18 04:37 pm Link E Jay Photography wrote: Try posing the model at the edge of the forest so that the ambient light from behind you acts as a large softbox. Mar 06 18 05:39 pm Link E Thompson Photography wrote: I detect condescension. Mar 06 18 07:06 pm Link #1 Sounds like you failed to use a light meter and a flash of some kind.? Next time that you go into the woods.Take them both with you. Match the day light and set the flash to the same f/stop. Take one with the flash and another with out the flash. PRACTICE Good luck Mar 06 18 08:49 pm Link PhillipM wrote: two kinds of photographers, those that have had a shoot go sour, and Mar 06 18 09:33 pm Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: Just a different aesthetic. Mar 06 18 10:54 pm Link Going to disagree with a member about NOT showing the images. That's not fair. Show them and explain that you'd like a do-over and why. Going forward a few tips. If your camera does not support Wi-Fi and you don't use Eye-Fi or wireless SD in your camera bring a laptop. A cheap Windows laptop can be found on Ebay for $60.00. Its great if you can tether to your camera but even if you can't its good to see a large view of your images. Something like this is cool: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude- … Sw0ZJajzxc but you can buy one even cheaper. Place the SD in the reader and you can not only transfer the image to the hard drive but you can review the image. This may help avoid problems. Plus if you somehow damage the card, etc. the images are on the drive. Being able to review images as you shoot helps you and the model. Some locations just don't work and its hard to always know without seeing the images on a computer screen. I really like one of your models and I encourage you to shoot her as much as possible. She's your avatar. I would look for some cool African themed outfits. If you have any questions about how to tether or buying a cheap laptop hit me up and good shots. Mar 06 18 11:35 pm Link Just be honest. Tell her you didn't get the results you were proud of and would like to re-do the shoot. If she's understanding and has the time she'll give you another chance. If she isn't or doesn't have the time then take it as a learning experience and don't repeat the same mistakes. Fixing it in Photoshop would probably take a Photoshop expert and many hours. I think re-doing it is a better learning experience than learning you can fix problems in Photoshop. Afterthought..... if she won't re-shoot THEN try the Photoshop repair. Mar 07 18 07:50 am Link Wow! I didn't expect to get so many responses! I did find a few that were pretty good, and a couple that I thought were salvageable. I did 5 edits, but I usually give between 10-20 edited images. I thanked the model and showed her the ones that I thought were good and very politely asked to do a reshoot, if she was willing. She was very nice about it and said that she did like the pictures that I sent her, but would do another shoot if I wanted to. I think the biggest thing that I was worried about is that the model would feel like she didn't do a good job, when it was in fact my fault. I'm glad that she didn't seem to take it that way. Thanks for all the tips and encouragement for future shoots! martin b wrote: Thanks for the tip on not showing bad images. I made the mistake of showing a model all of the unedited images except for test shots on the first shoot I did so she could pick the ones that she wanted me to edit. It was unintentional, but I think it made her be a little more critical of herself. Now I only share photos that are flattering to the model. Jerry Nemeth wrote: Select Models wrote: Thanks for these tips! Mar 07 18 08:13 am Link PhillipM wrote: Thank you for the advice. I know sometimes I try to think of everything, then I view the image and realize that the dress was laying funny or I cutoff a finger in the shot. I know that when film was used photographers didn't have the luxury of seeing the image until after it was developed, so they had to get it right the first time. I will definitely remember to ask myself these questions on the next shoot. TMA Photo and Training wrote: Thank you for your encouraging words. I will take it as a learning experience and thank you for the tips on lighting Cheating Light wrote: Yes, I agree. I probably should have used a different word, but each shoot is a learning experience. Wandering Eyebubble wrote: Thank you for the tips. I actually did end up playing with the shadows a little for one of the images after seeing this and it did work with one of them, so thank you! Mar 07 18 08:22 am Link Mark Salo wrote: This is an excellent tip, thank you! I will definitely check that book out. I am always wanting to learn new things. TerrysPhotocountry wrote: You know I didn't really think to use a flash for an outdoor shoot. I might give it a try and see how I like the results. Right now I work mostly with natural light until I can afford more equipment. I'm currently a student in math and statistics, so I do this as a hobby so I have some relief from sitting at a desk and computer all day. I do have a flash that I have not utilized much. Maybe I can find some creative ways to use it when natural light is not ideal. Thank you! Tony Lawrence wrote: This is actually a great tip! Sometimes I see an image on the viewfinder and it looks perfect, but when I pull it up on my laptop, I see issues with it that take some creative editing to fix. If I pull it up on the laptop at the shoot, at least I can go through and decide if I need to take more and what I need to focus on to get the images that I was going for. Thank you. Vector One Photography wrote: Thank you for the advice Mar 07 18 08:36 am Link E Jay Photography wrote: Mar 07 18 09:51 am Link I'm late, but if you can't fight the shadows, embrace them. Making them more prominent could make them be more of a creative tool than a mistake. Mar 08 18 12:12 am Link |
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