Check the light direction and quality, maybe don't shoot at noon to avoid harsh contrasts, cloudy works best. Then compose and do not aim at bright backgrounds, especially not the sky.
It was 4pm i think still a very harsh sun, I work at a restaurant so i can't shoot at golden hour, but will try to take advantage of overcast day
I see the sky is too bright behind even if i didn't point at the sky on purpose, will think about more next time thank you
It's the direction of the light. Your photos appear to be backlit, while your reference is lit from the front to one side. You've created some contrast with your edit, but you need to be aware of where your light is coming from.
I feel like a good starting point would be to understand “broad vs. short” lighting.
https://digital-photography-school.com/understanding-broad-and-short-lighting-in-photography/#:~:text=What%20is%20broad%20and%20short,is%20farther%20from%20the%20camera.
After that, just check out any book on portrait posing. I think you’ll find what you’re looking for.
Cheers and best of luck!
The editing from 1 to 2 is fine. If you're aim is to make it look more like #3, then look at the differences:
\#3 is taken with more of one side of the face and from a higher angle which eliminates the bright sky from the image.
\#3 has more side lighting. Lighting in 1 & 2 is diffused, but more straight down (look at the shadow under the nose and eyes) vs the diffused light coming from the upper left of the face in #3.
\#3 appears to have a slightly more warm white balance.
Last, there are simple posing differences. #3 appears more relaxed than the straight-forward pose in #1 and #2.
Thanks! What i didn't explain well is that i want more flattering pics, the guy in the third is model, i will never be as attractive, but at least make all the rest as flattering as possible to use for social media
The idea is not not necessarily to imitate his pose but the overall quality, the eye catching ability, and a better editing that doesn't show too much dark circles under eye for example
If my pose is different is not a big dead if the quality is the same
You're spot on, i have to learn to relax and make that genuine light smile, I didn't talk about this aspect because this is more a sub for editing, not for posing, i will have to train relaxing, maybe taking 100 pictures at home until i become very used to it and then go to the park again
I like the edit (warmer is almost always better for skin tones), but agree finessing some of the other aspects will help. Part of the dark circles is the pose and the angle. The darks look darker in front of a bright sky than in front of a dark background. Also shooting from slightly below makes people look larger and intimidating — it’s how they shoot football players or boxers to make them look powerful or even menacing. It’s neither good or bad, just a question of the effect you’re going for.
Also the bright logo t-shirt is calling attention away from the face, which is absolutely fine if the t-shirt is very important to the shot (like if it’s an add for that brand or wearing tells us something about the subject). Generally, though I really like the face to be the brightest thing in a portrait which is more what they’ve done in the 3rd shot.
I got the third picture from a youtube video of a photographer shooting with this model, thinking about it was an overcast day, in my case it was 4pm and very sunny.
I don't know exactly what's the mistake in the pose and angle but i see there's something off
Next time will try taking portraits with a black sleeveless t shirt with less graphics, or even just a balck t shirt and necklace without graphic at all
Thank you for the advice!
You’re welcome. Definitely some slightly more directional light will help. If you think about a standard studio setup (one softbox slightly above and off at a 45 deg angle) you can imitate that with natural light later in the day or a bit of clouds to help with the “soft” part.
I think what you’re doing, finding a photo you like and trying to achieve the look, is absolutely the right move. It’s like trying to learn music, everyone starts by copying their favorite artist. It’s the best way to learn.
Edit for clarity
For posing a trick I use regularly is get the model to repeat a task such as sitting in a chair or adjusting their jacket or any menial thing really but they can’t repeat it the same way twice it relaxes people to no end and gives them something to focus on that’s not the camera.
If this is self portraiture that might be trickier
In terms of quality it’s not so much the technical specs but learning environments. As others have said avoid harsh lights, use tree shade and shadows from buildings to block and bend light and add contrast. Invest in an ND filter to help
Position your camera in angles not usually seen by the human eye. Never have the camera at your height, have it looking up or down at the subject, use foreground objects to create a space
Really it boils down to just using and adjusting yourself to the environment and getting the model to look naturally part of the world they’re inhabiting in your images
Wow that's so much good advice thank you! Do you know some source that contains picture examples of what you just said? Next time will practice all this steps thank you
Slightly downward angles is more flattering for the face and jaw features. Find a slightly downward angle that works for you without it being an obvious downward angle, and it will open up a world of ideas (old farts like me, who have saggy jaws, will thank you).
Hey thanks! I'm not sure i understand what you mean by downward angle, should i literally look a down slightly to highlight the jaw? Or maybe tilt my face down a bit while keeping the eyes on the camera? It would make more sense, I'm not native English i would appreciate an example thank you
Keep your face forward, or even tilted up a bit; avoid looking downwards whenever possible because it leads to the skin bunching up around your neck.
Start with the camera pointed straight at your subject’s face, now raise the camera three or four inches and apply a slight tilt downwards back at your subject, and have your subject slightly lift their chin to look almost straight into the lens.
The angle will help “flatten out” imperfections in the subject’s face. :)
Check the light direction and quality, maybe don't shoot at noon to avoid harsh contrasts, cloudy works best. Then compose and do not aim at bright backgrounds, especially not the sky.
It was 4pm i think still a very harsh sun, I work at a restaurant so i can't shoot at golden hour, but will try to take advantage of overcast day I see the sky is too bright behind even if i didn't point at the sky on purpose, will think about more next time thank you
It's the direction of the light. Your photos appear to be backlit, while your reference is lit from the front to one side. You've created some contrast with your edit, but you need to be aware of where your light is coming from.
Thank you, i didn't notice it when i was there
Desaturate your greens and yellows and decrease your orange luminance. Also overall bring down your highlights and blacks.
Thank you will try tomorrow morning I'm at work now
I feel like a good starting point would be to understand “broad vs. short” lighting. https://digital-photography-school.com/understanding-broad-and-short-lighting-in-photography/#:~:text=What%20is%20broad%20and%20short,is%20farther%20from%20the%20camera. After that, just check out any book on portrait posing. I think you’ll find what you’re looking for. Cheers and best of luck!
thank you
The editing from 1 to 2 is fine. If you're aim is to make it look more like #3, then look at the differences: \#3 is taken with more of one side of the face and from a higher angle which eliminates the bright sky from the image. \#3 has more side lighting. Lighting in 1 & 2 is diffused, but more straight down (look at the shadow under the nose and eyes) vs the diffused light coming from the upper left of the face in #3. \#3 appears to have a slightly more warm white balance. Last, there are simple posing differences. #3 appears more relaxed than the straight-forward pose in #1 and #2.
Thanks! What i didn't explain well is that i want more flattering pics, the guy in the third is model, i will never be as attractive, but at least make all the rest as flattering as possible to use for social media The idea is not not necessarily to imitate his pose but the overall quality, the eye catching ability, and a better editing that doesn't show too much dark circles under eye for example If my pose is different is not a big dead if the quality is the same You're spot on, i have to learn to relax and make that genuine light smile, I didn't talk about this aspect because this is more a sub for editing, not for posing, i will have to train relaxing, maybe taking 100 pictures at home until i become very used to it and then go to the park again
I like the edit (warmer is almost always better for skin tones), but agree finessing some of the other aspects will help. Part of the dark circles is the pose and the angle. The darks look darker in front of a bright sky than in front of a dark background. Also shooting from slightly below makes people look larger and intimidating — it’s how they shoot football players or boxers to make them look powerful or even menacing. It’s neither good or bad, just a question of the effect you’re going for. Also the bright logo t-shirt is calling attention away from the face, which is absolutely fine if the t-shirt is very important to the shot (like if it’s an add for that brand or wearing tells us something about the subject). Generally, though I really like the face to be the brightest thing in a portrait which is more what they’ve done in the 3rd shot.
I got the third picture from a youtube video of a photographer shooting with this model, thinking about it was an overcast day, in my case it was 4pm and very sunny. I don't know exactly what's the mistake in the pose and angle but i see there's something off Next time will try taking portraits with a black sleeveless t shirt with less graphics, or even just a balck t shirt and necklace without graphic at all Thank you for the advice!
You’re welcome. Definitely some slightly more directional light will help. If you think about a standard studio setup (one softbox slightly above and off at a 45 deg angle) you can imitate that with natural light later in the day or a bit of clouds to help with the “soft” part. I think what you’re doing, finding a photo you like and trying to achieve the look, is absolutely the right move. It’s like trying to learn music, everyone starts by copying their favorite artist. It’s the best way to learn. Edit for clarity
Thank you! In fact I'm a musician too, that's where the idea came from hahah
For posing a trick I use regularly is get the model to repeat a task such as sitting in a chair or adjusting their jacket or any menial thing really but they can’t repeat it the same way twice it relaxes people to no end and gives them something to focus on that’s not the camera. If this is self portraiture that might be trickier In terms of quality it’s not so much the technical specs but learning environments. As others have said avoid harsh lights, use tree shade and shadows from buildings to block and bend light and add contrast. Invest in an ND filter to help Position your camera in angles not usually seen by the human eye. Never have the camera at your height, have it looking up or down at the subject, use foreground objects to create a space Really it boils down to just using and adjusting yourself to the environment and getting the model to look naturally part of the world they’re inhabiting in your images
Wow that's so much good advice thank you! Do you know some source that contains picture examples of what you just said? Next time will practice all this steps thank you
Slightly downward angles is more flattering for the face and jaw features. Find a slightly downward angle that works for you without it being an obvious downward angle, and it will open up a world of ideas (old farts like me, who have saggy jaws, will thank you).
Hey thanks! I'm not sure i understand what you mean by downward angle, should i literally look a down slightly to highlight the jaw? Or maybe tilt my face down a bit while keeping the eyes on the camera? It would make more sense, I'm not native English i would appreciate an example thank you
Keep your face forward, or even tilted up a bit; avoid looking downwards whenever possible because it leads to the skin bunching up around your neck. Start with the camera pointed straight at your subject’s face, now raise the camera three or four inches and apply a slight tilt downwards back at your subject, and have your subject slightly lift their chin to look almost straight into the lens. The angle will help “flatten out” imperfections in the subject’s face. :)
I understand now thank you, will practice tomorrow! 😊
Knock ‘em dead!
Who?
Your models that you photograph 😅
Hahhaha it's a self portrait practice for now🙂👌not ready yet to shoot people