Hello everyone,
I started shooting not long ago ( 9 months), that's a very short time compared to a photographer's years of experience, but what really got me into photography is seeing world class work of photography and how photos tell more than someone would see.
I have a very basic starter gear (nikon D3400 equipped with 50mm 1.8) not much into technical stuff honestly but I can handle the camera well. My post processing skills are not bad ( or so i believe).
I have taken these portraits outdoor, using camera handheld with only ambient light, I also did heavy retouching on the skin. I haven't made any cropping (using a dx sensor wont allow it anyway).
Lastly I'm not a person who is so precious about his work, I like to see my photos being criticized that is the key to improvement.
I would like to know how I can improve my work in terms of quality, any advice from you will be very appreciated.
Thank you,
Maen Rabai.
I like the composition and eye contact in the first photograph. However, I can tell you shot wide open at 1.8. As a viewer I go to the subject's face, particularly the eye closest to the camera, but the camera actually focused on the subject's shoulder. Detail is sharpest there. You'll lose some bokeh but you can widen the depth of field to include the "tip of the nose to the back of the ears" to fix this.
Thanks for the advise, it was indeed wide open. I tend to do that a lot when I want to isolate the subject but you are right when I looked again tip of nose and ears are out of focus. Can you give opinions on the other photo.
Much appreciated.
Another portrait shot wide open. Distance from the subject kept him in focus while isolating him from the background. The subject has a casual pose and good eye contact. You retained a sense of environment but so much is in the frame he comes lost.
However, I do like the photo because you gave yourself leeway for framing and layout. If you can crop in and maintain image quality then one large photograph is useful for different purposes. With crops I play with midlines and the rule of thirds - framing the face with the eyes at or above the top horizontal line.
Thanks again charles