Putting together a portfolio...

[Freerider Forever]

Hey everyone, I'm a newb to these forums, but I would really appreciate some constructive criticism on my shots. I am putting together a portfolio for internships this summer. Let me know what you all think. Photos were shot on a Nikon D70S with a 28-70 lens (unless otherwise noted) and an SB800 strobe.

Shutter 1/400 F 3.5 External fill flash


Shutter 1/320 F 2.8 External fill flash


Shutter 1/40 F 2.8 No flash


Shutter 1/6 F 2.8 External flash -2\3 stop


Shutter 1/5 F 2.8 External flash -1/3 stop


50mm macro lens Shutter 1/60 F 2.8 Studio lighting


Shutter 1/60 F 7.1 Studio lighting

[livin4lax09]

toss #2. It really doesn't fit the same quality as the rest of the photos. I'm not a big fan of 4 either. The last one I believe is your strongest, and I do like the lime in soda water, although I do know exactly where the idea came from...

[LensCrazy]

Very nice, I like #5 best, I have to learn how to do that. The man looks almost stopped in time. did you use a tripod for that one? Good macro also.

[Didache]

You've got some good stuff there - especially the lemon/lime. The one suggestion I would make concerns your cropping of the action ones. As a general rule, you should crop so that there is a little space for your action to move into. your pics 1 and 3 are ok - but this is the main problem with 2 - as it is, it looks a little like your biker is about to crash into the side of the photo! Hope that helps.

Cheers
Mike

[mtbbrian]

First off welcome to PR.com!

I'd say the best photo you have here is the lemon. It has a great composition in the lemon.
The shapes and the bubbles lend to the composition.

Of the bike ones, I think #3 is the best of them, it's the most creative.
The other two mtb shots don't have enough to hold my interest. They don't give a good idea of the experience of being on a bike or show more of the environment.

I look forward to seeing more from you.
Brian
Ride On!

[Freerider Forever]

Thanks for the input everyone...it' is exactly what I need. I am with you all on ditching #2, it doesnt do it for me either. To answer LensCrazy's question, I did not use a tripod for #5. I used a technique called "flash blur" where you use your strobe (stopped down 1/3) combined with a slow shutter speed. I also did some experimenting with the rear-curtain sync mode on my camera which can make some really cool effects. But #5 was on the normal sync mode.

[walterick]

Hey Freerider, welcome to the boards.

I think #1 is perfect, magazine quality, couldn't do any better. If put first in your portfolio, it will set a good tone for the rest of your work just as it has here.

I think the rest are decent shots but a few suffer from misplacement and cropping issues. The guy with the swinging ropes is cuttoff on the left. The woman in last is misplaced in the frame. It would be my opinion that if you wanted to reshoot her, try putting the negative space abover her head to lend the sense of weight coming down on her. It may help with the mood. Also, lose the bracelet for a less "proper" feel.

The lemon/lime is a good idea, I think it may be a little underexposed or could use stronger backlighting. Is it also a bit soft?

I see you have a lot of diversity in your work. I feel that in the future you may be better served by breaking your subjects up into different posts. You may get more individualized attention on each one that way. I personally found it hard to look at riding shots, product shots, and portraiture all in the same thread. Each topic is welling deserving of its own thread imo. If you're looking for employment as a photographer I recommend narrowing down your focus to one, or maybe two styles, but the breadth here is too much. Focus on riding shots first, then maybe another topic to show your diversity, like either product shots or people, but not both.

GL to you, I see you have the skills to be a great photographer if you want to be.

Rick

[Freerider Forever]

Thanks for the feeback walterick, you have some great advice. I am currently focused primarily on mountain bike photos, and I hope to do something with that for a career at some point. As for the cropping on the last photo, I actually purposefully cropped that down in photoshop. I suppose its kind of a personal opinion, though now that I look at it again, I think it could benefit with a tad more space above her head.