Casi's Portraits (New to site)

[kseajayne]

I don't normally do portraits, because I normally get a very obnoxious hand coming at high speeds towards my lens. My dad is good about it though, and occasionally a friend will sit still as I take a picture, but mainly I am left with myself. Tell me what you think :] I'm new to this site, and I'm not quite sure how anything works. Does anyone know how the html tags work for this site? If I have to use [IMG] tags or <img src> tags? Anyway, for now i will just post links.

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[daedicurus]

welcome to the site...
i really like #2, great expression and the smoke really adds life to the picture

[Nike]

hi,

Good portraits, I like #2 best, too.

Regarding posting images, you can either upload them here on the site (press Go Advanced and the Manage Attachemnts) or you use [IMG]insertlinktoyourimage[/IMG].

[purplerose]

I like #6 and 7. The highlights could be a bit better in them though.

[Dead Pedal]

Welcome, the shot that hits me the most is #3. What I do like is the quality of reality. If you continue shooting and study portraits, they often fall into either glamour (retouching, airbrushing etc.) or more true portraits.

I’ve seen photos of people that have been so worked over that they no longer look like the subject. I developed a taste for true portraits in college working with black and white film, so I’ve also got a soft spot for black and white.

You have got a good base so here is what I would recommend with this particular shot.

Composition: There is a little to much space above the head. Crop it down a little, you don’t want to crowd the head, but you also don’t want too much dead space above it.

Contrast: The blacks go out to flat black. I would bring them up a step so you get a little impression of the side of the face in shadow. The way it drops off especially around the eye is a little more then I work towards.

The highlight on the forehead goes just a little to hot. If you can bring that down just a touch closer to the level of the skin at the base of the neck.

A very low back or fill light would bring the volume up without disrupting the shadows.

Keep shooting and experiment with lighting and composition. A strong foundation with build up any photo.