Monkey said

Hi Mike,
I like pictures 2 and 4.
On picture 2 the tree trunk it's a bit distracting. But not over powering. This could easily be fix with a simple crop..Your eyes get drawn to model easily. She's very beautiful and looks like she's enjoying herself. Her pose is simple but elegant.
Picture 4, the pose again is simple and natural. I like it. I would have tried to blur the background a bit, there is not much about the steps that you can use. But they still make a good backdrop. The portrait frame is a good choice for this picture. All and all very well done.

Did you use any type of lighting? flash with diffuser? or is it all natural light?

Love, Monkey

Thanks for your perspective, I do need to pay more attention to what is around and behind my subjects.

This is all natural light, I'm still trying to learn flash...well trying to learn everything actually lol.

Mike...
Monkey is right... I should have kept this off your post.
Sorry.

Mandrake said

Monkey said

Love, Monkey

Is this an inside joke, Monkey?

Hi Mandrake,
What's a joke? The nickname Monkey? Or the signature "Love, Monkey"?
Well,let me explain.. The nickname is more based on my personality I'm very inquisitive or should I say " curious like monkey" and the signature is sort of my equivalent of "Best regards, Monkey =Love, Monkey" . And besides, I got love for everyone so Monkey loves you...

My apologies to MHP Mike for high jacking your post.. But Mandrake needed some clarifying.

Love, Monkey

Monkey said

Love, Monkey

Is this an inside joke, Monkey?

Did you use any type of lighting? flash with diffuser? or is it all natural light?

Love, Monkey

Mandrake said

She seems to be having fun in the last.
Perhaps sharing an inside joke with the photographer.
Or... perhaps because she is flat on her back on the cold cement.
That, to me, makes it the most appealing.

The positioning of her right foot in the second bothers me a bit.
I would have asked her to rest her foot level so that it would be flat.
Because of the angle of her leg, it would have been more flattering.

Bruno... Beautiful women don't bite.
But, if they do, all the better.
IMHO, lol

Mandrake

Good eye, there is something that bugs me about that too that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

The positioning of her right foot in the second bothers me a bit.
I would have asked her to rest her foot level so that it would be flat.
Because of the angle of her leg, it would have been more flattering.

Bruno... Beautiful women don't bite.
But, if they do, all the better.
IMHO, lol

Mandrake

MHP Mike said

I got to do some senior photos last year and completely forgot about them until last week or so. This was my second time ever shooting a person and I was pretty nervous so I didn't get to creative with these. I'm still pretty green to shooting people and find if I let my nerves catch up it's easy to let my brain freeze up and "panic" and you can't think of a good pose and you panic more thinking you are making the situation awkward lol. (Maybe that's just me heh.)

I would have been nervous a bit in the presence of such a gorgeous woman myself. It's good to have a plan, 3 to 4 shots that you can create in your head or on paper in advance, and when you have them, then you can start relaxing and experimenting and trying out stuff, knowing that the shoot is already in the can.

I actually like the first one best, she looks confident, her head high, looking into the futur, even if the world around her seems chaotic and uncertain.

The second one I like a lot, except for one thing: she is leaning too much on her left arm. She is young and fit, so the bulge that forms on the upper forearm is not that big, but it is there. I usually instruct my models not to lean on their arms, or push their hands on their body, to try to control the bulges and finger marks, and general crampiness in their limbs.