Originally Posted by Mr Fongstarr
I don't know man...there is overexposed that looks good (ie Terry Richardson which I hate) and there is overexposed that looks bad. You say you are a student (unassumingly you don't know things like changing the white balance) but then you say you want them in that way which makes no sense to me. I understand being a perfectionist when something is so new is stupid but don't take good photos cause you're not getting paid.....take good photos cause you want to take good photos for yourself.
And after seeing some in-house studio work, I think I will myself try to create that in my studio with a back drop and some lighting to get some practice. I am so bad at taking portraits.
*edit - because I was on my phone*
+1
His logic is off - If you want something (over exposed) high key - you have to think about all the variables (subj. background - clothing - makeup - etc) ..Over exposing a picture for the heck of it it's not recommended and it's very difficult to be found appealing. .. here's an example of an overexpose picture (high key) that doesn't look that bad - I will do a few others on my next set .. but like I mentioned, over exposing just to do it is notlogical and not a good habit to get into ..
Out of focus pictures work well on some occasions - soft focus work well on some occasion .. however the pictures you posted up do not look right out of focus,IMHO it seems like you just didnt focus right - expecially when a ring is super sharp and the face is soft but the ring was not the subject .. this is badand very distracting to the viewer ..
White Balance is a must when taking pictures in studio/out doors - You might see some pictures have have a slight blue/yellow/red/etc tint that look awsome -you really don't achive that by having the W/B incorrectly set - you do that in PP and with filters .. Another instant when you might not want to mess withthe white balance much is when you have multiple gels with different colors going - even then I still set the white balance correctly because it's just theright thing for peoples eyes to comprehend and enjoy ..
So your logic is if you don't get paid your work doesnt have to be great? If that's your logic, I'm sorry but you are bananas If anything I wouldmake sure my %@!% come out smelling like roses. That will land you quality models and/or paying customers that will take notice in your great work. I honestlythink you didnt get the responce you wanted thus you playing it off like you got exactly what you wanted out of the shoot. Whatever it is, I think you need torethink that statement ..
This is photography and if you are planning on getting paid in Fashion/Portrait you need to put out quality job. You can algo do soft/hard porn but with thatsaid, you still need to apply yourself - When I 1st looked at your pictures I thought damn those are some horrible subj - they didnt have any kind of appealand the way you shoot them was awful. This is just some advice - no matter what you (free/paid) you need to apply yourself - because photography is likeanything else a learning experience and once you have it down pack you need to continue practicing to keep them skills up. If you half !#% your work - you willhalf !#% everything in the future because that's how you been shooting .. If you are going to do free work make sure you do it right - example this girlsyou shoot - I'm 100% certain that if you would of have shot them right made them interesting and so on, better looking girls would of have contact you forpictures if you would repeat then better looking girls would be contacting you until you reach dimes and paying gigs .. I know because I been there ..
Anyways, by the choices you have made and the feelings about it when approach it seems to me that you havent improve a whole lot and you really having taking astep forward to accomplishing what you have set yourself out to do ..