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Well...I survived the photoshoot from Sunday with 3 models and my new camera. Unfortunately it was fun but the photos aren't so good. All 3 of the models had never posed before and kept feeling "silly" the whole time when I would ask them to make an expression...Poor Tuls had to hear about it for hours last night when I got home. I shot almost 600 shots and I'll be surprised if I get 5 decent ones from it (they just seriously killed my ratio). We also had a lot of handicaps aside from the girls expressions, like poor lighting or direct sunlight in 110 degrees and small confined spaces (yup I need a wide angle lense). A lot of my shots are blurry or grainy. Everytime I would look away the girl I was shooting would make the perfect face but then couldn't do it as soon as the camera pointed at her. I tried really hard not to offend them but still tell them they needed to bring it or the shots wouldn't be good. I think they'll be happy with any of them...but I'm not...I'm not a photographer of "anything" unless it's good. Garrrrrr
The girls were super nice but just couldn't bring it to the table. I'm so frustraited right now, I really wanted to have some good shots of someone other than myself...maybe I should stick to bugs and cars :P
Here are my first 2 shots. more to come when I have time to process
pretty cool. At least you got some girls that were willing to do the shoot.
good luck with everything.
Finding girls has never been a problem, they come to me all the time. I have numerous shots I've NEVER shown because most girls want to look like supermodels but don't understand how to do it when the camera is on, nor do they know the difference between sex appeal and skanky.
I know I'm a strong photographer but I'm not a magician...same reason I don't do hair anymore...people want what they can't have. They should just revamp the 80's glamour shot studios and call it a day. (some times I fear this would be a very porpular business again)
Finding girls has never been a problem, they come to me all the time. I have numerous shots I've NEVER shown because most girls want to look like supermodels but don't understand how to do it when the camera is on, nor do they know the difference between sex appeal and skanky.
I know I'm a strong photographer but I'm not a magician...same reason I don't do hair anymore...people want what they can't have. They should just revamp the 80's glamour shot studios and call it a day. (some times I fear this would be a very porpular business again)
well I guess it is either that, or pay big bucks for a professional?
LOL@ magician!!!
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I've heard of split-personalities, but that is taking it to the extreme! Which one of them is the "evil twin"?
I like the pics. I've always been interested in photography and have tried portrait/glamour photography without success. I just don't have the eye for photographing people. I do much better with scenery and still-life photos. I applaud your abilities.
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nor do they know the difference between sex appeal and skanky.
I think this girl does.
She looks fantastic in this pic!
Excellent job in front and behind the camera!
(do you think anyone will notice I keep posting this pic?)
Emily, all I can say is, you did your 1st shoot, with your new camera. It gets easier and more comfortable from there. My first model shoot was horrific. 10 shots of 200 were "usable". The more I shoot the better the shots become. My last shoot I had 490 pics and 396 were usable, and the model and her mother were so excited with them, and we are shooting again. Take it with a grain of salt.
We (NAM) put a lot of pressure on you, as well as I am sure you did as well. You are an awesome photographer, this IS the truth, so put your 1st shoot behind you and go from there. You will get it, and based upon the shots you have shown, you ALREADY have it. You may not think they are the greatest but plenty of people can see how awesome they are!
The shots you posted are great, stop kicking yourself, get back on the horse, errrr MINI, and go take some more.
Some days are better than others. And your opinion isnt always unbiased. Last week I did a shoot with a 1 year old and 8 month old. I though the shots were horrible, but after further review, and the Mother's looking them over I had about 100 GREAT shots, out of 190 pics taken. Hang in there, you are AWESOME, and keep this in mind. Half the time I og onto NAM is solely to see what you and Juan may have posted... You have a following, and you havent let us down yet!
Going against the grain here . . . I really like that first pic.
I mean, the composition is right on, her pose is great, and the backlighting on her hair is kinda cool as is the lighting on her legs.
You might consider using a reflector or fill-lighting. Also keep an eye on the background, she seems to have a "tail" growing.
Hey Stoopidgirl... lighten' up!
I regularly shot fashion photos for ten years in a small market. The most obvious lesson is that many of the "models" aren't models-- Sure, they have their comp cards but they're inexperienced wannabes whose parents paid for a few modeling lessons offered by a local talent agency, bundled with a couple afternoons of posing with "a real fashion photographer."
There are some photographers who can coach newbie talent and make pretty good images. I prefer not to do that. I have patience with puppies, kittens, children, bunnies... but not 19-year olds w/attitude if and when their attitude doesn't work.
And Stoopidgirl... these models are ruining your odds of producing good images? Nonsense, be thankful you are not dropping $300 on film/processing each time you want to test. Just press Reformat!
And sometimes, the "model" only has one look, (printed in three variations on their comp card).
I think the weirdest modeling situation I've encountered was when an agency actually sent me a model who was four months pregnant... (g-rated lingerie shoot for a metro newspaper) I felt so sorry for her. Was her agent smoking crack?
So, if this is your first model shoot, don't let the quantitiy of outakes concern you. Keep at it.
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ITs-I've shot girls before and they are not shots I post becasue it's hard to explain to someone how to act natural or let themselves show in front of a camera. Half the time I don't think they know what that is. I appreciate the words. I know the client will be happy so I did my job but to me it's not all that matters. I knew going into it that some of the girls wouldn't do well but had that small ounce of hope I could make it work...I should have just bought the beer and cranked up the stereo...it works quite well.
Juan-I agree about the shot totally. I fixed a lot of the background already. Besides her green cotton tail she had a hand sticking out of her crotch and palm trees going somewhere that looked (ahem) bad. I took out what I could but I think if I keep going it will compromise the shot, plus it's too dark to truly salvage so I stopped while I was ahead. Chris says I'm putting the same lack of passion the girls had into my processing...I'm sure hes right. I'm just not feeling it.
I know the shots are good, they're just not up to par for what I want to do. But there's always another day. And I'm sure you guys don't mind suffering through more of my self portraits when the mood strikes me.
anyway, here's a couple more I got to processing tonight. Once again tell me what you think.
This was my first time shooting someone with dark skin tones but this shot cam out very pretty. I had to smooth out her skin a lot because it had a lot of unwanted texturing.
Here's another of the little pixie girl. A little better lighting on the face but still to dark.
Emily, your shots are STILL 10,000 times better than most we see on the internet and in print. But, you are right, if you arent happy with them, it doesnt really matter. I am sure you will push yourself even harder next time. The shots you posted are great, the dark skin tone one looks very well composed, lighting is great, and you caught a great expression. The color is fantastic as well!
). We also had a lot of handicaps aside from the girls expressions, like poor lighting or direct sunlight in 110 degrees and small confined spaces (yup I need a wide angle lense). A lot of my shots are blurry or grainy. Everytime I would look away the girl I was shooting would make the perfect face but then couldn't do it as soon as the camera pointed at her. I tried really hard not to offend them but still tell them they needed to bring it or the shots wouldn't be good. I think they'll be happy with any of them...but I'm not...I'm not a photographer of "anything" unless it's good. Garrrrrr
