Photos Cheap's first Shoot with models

So here nearly two months after buying my first SLR I somehow managed to leech on some person from college and ended up in this dirty car shop that was used as a "studio" for the day. I was a bit confused and had not much time to learn, but tried to do as much as I can while not getting in the way of the photographer who's place this was. Here are few I liked, though only had time to run them through Lightroom, if I have some time in next few days will work on them more carefully in photoshop. Tell me what you think, and teach me a bit about studio photography etc.

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Never photod in a studio so I can´t help you there I judt had to say that I really like nr4. really nice image.

 

#4 is really cool! Love it!

 

I agree with OleJ, #4 is fantastic! It's really interesting.

 

Well, since you asked....

Close your aperture. I know everyone here is DOF crazy, but on my screen various parts of the models look out of focus. One of the reasons you have mega wattage in a studio is so that you can stop it down and get everything nice and crisp. Like #6. #7 is an obvious use of DOF, where as 1,3, and 5 have bits that look just barely out of focus, which IMO is worse then just plain out of focus ( look at his sunglasses in #5, her lips look sharp but his glasses and eye look slightly blurry). f/8-f/11 is the range most used in the studio, usually mixed with 1/100th or 1/125 to shut down the ambient. Obviously this is not a hard and fast rule.

#6 rocks. I wish you had played with this more. The use of light and shadow here is good, although the highlight in the upper right needs to go. Either by moving the light up, or over to the right. Or move the camera. Light moves in a straight line, work with angles of incidence and reflection. But the way the light falls off plays nice to the left. The model has the right facial structure to make this lighting scheme work.

Take some time and look at people. #1 and 2 are good examples of stiff and unnatural poses. This is the hardest part of working with models. Getting them to do what you want, naturally. I did my wife's portrait for her corporate use, and even then I had the hardest time getting her to relax-even after knowing her 15 years. I like to shoot dancers for this very reason. They know how to move, and make it look graceful and natural. Communication is key. Most of the time you need to have a constant running conversation with the model, even if you are just re-assuring them. The worst thing is the dead silence the tells them nothing. I have a funny feeling in #2 you weren't talking to him. His body is at an awkward and unnatural position. the lighting there is cool too, so it kind of wastes the opportunity to use the lights to the left their full potential. You can see what I mean on his leg, arm, and torso. it has this cool effect on his muscles. I would have made use of that more. I think that moving the ladder to the left and letting him drape an arm over the top in a natural "joe cool" look would have worked better. If need be, put down the camera and show them what you mean.

Ok I'm done. Just remember, 20/20 hindsight. I'm sitting in a coffee shop in South Africa, so I have the luxury of being critical. But keep at it. Lights are 100 times more fun then ambient light is, but harder to master (I certainly haven't) so keep at it. The more you do it, the less it scares you and the more you can focus on details. I would try and do a series that work with the idea in #6 though. Different faces, backgrounds, colors....you get the idea.

 

Thanks JJ for the reply, I'm definitely getting what you're saying, I was just really overwhelmed with everything there, so I just failed to notice most things I usually try to pay attention to. I'll try to slow down next time. Also I'm gonna attend some kind of learning/practice workshop in few days and then have a shoot next Saturday. I'm very excited especially since I just got Canon 50mm 1.8 which is awesome.

Here are few more photos from the previous shout: http://www.nimajus.com/photography/shoot/index.html

 

Those are the ugliest models I have ever seen.

 

#4 and #6 are awesome, and both really show your abilities as a photographer. Most people wouldn't think outside the box like that - to me, the traditional model shots from the rest of them are exactly as JJ says - stiff and unattractive. They're good ideas, but the models look like dolls.

In the meantime, both 4 and 6 show off your incredibly creative side...and both are shots to be proud of. There's improvements to be made on both, but each of those images elicits an actual emotion in me - which is exactly what I would want in a picture. I'm actually rather envious of both of those shots - you did a great job with them.

I totally agree with JJ that you should try conversing with your subjects. After all, think of how you'd feel if you were just ordered around, told to stand here and there this way and that, half clothed and fairly cold. I'm not saying let's go cry models a river, just that turning that environment into one of friendly chatter would make it a lot easier for them to let their guard down.

 

I was also going to say that I love #4, but it appears other people got there first. Either way, good job

 

qft.

 

ehh... a model is just a person posing. Like a model I had few years ago in an art class..:



Model does not have anything to do with beauty. It should have more to do with being interesting. Which is why a lot of the comments here were really good about photographers communication with models. I'll try to do that more. I could not really do that this time since I was kinda just standing around the main photographer and just tried to get few good shots. And only got few minutes alone with the models.

Thanks for the posts, especially the constructive ones JJ and DD =)

Here a few I just had a minute to tinker with