Hi.
How can I make this photography better?
I took a lot of caption today but even with a good lightning, it was so complicated for me to deal with the shadows.
I know this topic is not active much, but well
thanks

The concept was black and white but I really fell in love with this caption. (upstair)

Here is my biggest problem. My camera is EOS REBEL T3i 18-55
(im not rich, im 18 yo trying to make something)
and yeah
voilà





This post was edited by chatone on Mar 22 2017 05:21pm

The rebel t3i is nothing to scoff at. I use an EOS rebel t5 myself. It's mostly about your technique and improvisation.

First photo:
Would be better if the primary lighting came from the back of her head, with a softer light from the left, IMO. Would help add some texture to her hair, instead of making it a solid blob of black. It's tempting to have highlights coming straight on from the model's face, but it's not always what's most visually interesting. I also would have had the model turn her body (just her body) slightly more toward the camera, so that her head had a bit more of a solid/wide base. Also would have helped to have her hair appear more like it does in the second photo - draped in front, not obscuring the profile of the back of her head.

Second photo:
Not much to say about this one, I generally like it. Not a fan of the loss of detail vs stark detail in the two sides of her face. I like the light/dark aspect, but maybe move the light a bit further back so it isn't so blown out. Or you can try editing levels (or RAW?) if possible to get some of the detail back. Pose looks a bit forced. Buttons are good, contrast of the left leg being in the shadow vs the bright hand is good (but again, the texture is a bit blown out).

New sensors are quite good. The t3i is good. The only downside is it's APS-C, which means a smaller sensor... shallow depth of field can be tough to achieve with an APS-C sensor and kit lens. ISO is also something that you have less room to play with, but that's actually not a huge deal (some stuff like wildlife photography can really benefit from better ISO performance).

I like the second shot. The first shot I think could've been taken a couple feet back. The black of what you're wearing makes your right shoulder blend in with the rest of your body... adds bulk to your perceived profile, that isn't actually there. The lighting in the first shot is fairly boring. The second shot's lighting is nice (perhaps a tad bit harsh coming from the left side, the contrast between the two sides of your face could be lessened I think just a touch). But still, second shot is quite nice.

You would be surprised how much you can do with a kit lens and a t3i (or similar APS-C budget, 2015-onward camera like a Nikon D5200... Nikon D3200... or anything newer.)

For portraiture especially, lighting is key. It's #1. You get a good lighting setup, and you could use an iPhone and get amazing results (assuming you have some manual control over the iPhone to avoid any drastic in-camera processing). In all forms of photography, lighting is key... but portraiture is where you paint the light onto the subject (or a combination of finding good light depending on the kind of portraiture). In other forms of photography, you find good lighting, plan for good lighting, etc...

I am a huge fan of landscape + portraiture put together. Planned stuff like starscape, or long exposure of many different kinds, with planned inclusion of a person or people.

I don't do a lot of portraiture, but one great tip I have is play with the eyes in lightroom. Don't go overboard, but doing a few different layers of painting of clarity, exposure, sharpness, color, etc changes to the eyes can really enhance a portrait. Don't be afraid to sharpen around edges just a bit too (selectively choosing some softer-looking edges around a subject that could use some sharpening with a brush).

edit - Oh ya I'd say for photo #2, you could have an even bigger impact with a series (3 photos, for example) done exactly the same, but with different poses. It's really easy for a stand-alone photo to just convey... stock imagery. A stand-alone image that doesn't speak to the viewer is just asking to be inserted into some other bigger body of work, and used. But if you added in a couple other photos beside it, it could convey more... something about you. You'd still be demonstrating your work, and technical efforts, but you would be incorporating a story. Each photo in a series can play with the other, providing context that amplifies your work.

This post was edited by Canadian_Man on Mar 24 2017 06:36pm

I must say the black and white version looking much better. And in case of shadow I would say to apply some post processing technique here so that you can make the shot better.

Agreed with both of these.