Portrait Shoot for friend on Coogee Beach

[Geoff]

Hello all, here are some portrait shots I took a few weeks back on Coogee beach for a good friend, critique and constructive criticism welcomed. All images taken with either the kit lens, 50mm 1.4 and 70-300G.

[JordanP]

Nice work my friend. I particularly like the last one - great smiles on their faces. very

[PlatinumWeaver]

I like candid snaps, so number 2 and 4 I like..

Number 1;
The similarity in colour between the hair and the sand at the background is a little too close for my liking. The fact that the shore was at the hairline is unfortunate and highlights the similarity, but other than that no probs..

Number 3;
Could be the angle, or the hard shadows under the eyes and chin but I don't find this to very flattering at all, in all honestly I think it makes the youngin look quite sickly. I did a little lightening work, just using the Lighten/Darken brush in Paint Shop Pro to show you what I mean..


3 points ( 5 really ) Under each eye, under the chin a little, and a small amount on the eye itself.

Also, speaking as someone with a large head.. I would have maybe come from a different angle as I think that's a lot of forehead in the front of the shot.


You asked for a critique.. hope I haven't offended..

[Geoff]

Yeah..thanx Platinum...I appreciate it and think your comments are very valid...I love learning and I LOVE this forum..thanx for your input! Cheers,


Geoff!

[Greg B]

Good shots Geoff, probably helped by the good looking kids.

My initial thought was that I really like #3, then I read the other remarks. Funny how opinions can differ! I like it because it is an interesting interpretation, the BW is effective, the face shows youthful character. Maybe it isn't the most flattering of the shots, but IMHO, it is the most interesting.

cheers

[Raydar]

Great stuff Geoff
I like the second one mate, nice & natural

Cheers
Ray

[gstark]

Geoff,

2 & 4 for me.

But this was, you say, at Coogee Beach? Where's the arrest record? Where are the bare breasted booby birds?

[W00DY]

Woudl the 4th one look better cropped a bit?

[Glen]

Geoff, number 4 is great

[Kristine]

Geoff

I agree with most of the other members - number 4 is my favourite.

Good work.

Cheers
Kristine

[Onyx]

I liked #3, perhaps you could play with that perspective even more by using a wide angle to get that face sticking towards the lens and use shallow DOF to blur out the somewhat prominant shirt.

[phillipb]

I like #4 as well, just straighten the horizon a bit.

[mudder]

G'day,
#4's a great shot... Split that into layers, blur the foreground and background, sharpen the kids and that's a print in a frame...

Great happy shot...

Cheers,
Mudder