Senior Portrait

[Lava Lamp]

This isn't really a senior portrait (he was barely 15 when this was taken) but I had that style in mind. Take with a Nikon D200 and Nikon 200mm f/4 Micro lens at ISO 200, f/8 and 1/250 shutter.

I would love to read your comments and suggestions.

[gahspidy]

Lava, the lighting on your subject is excellent. Soft and spread around him evenly. No hard shadows or bright spots.
The composition works for me too. Nicely framed, but might suggest having him stand a bit further away from the gate for some separation there.
The background, way too loud and screaming for the attention. It really cuts into what would be a very nice portrait.

[BlueRob]

Generally when I shoot portraits I try to give a much harder DOF with a wider aperture in other to "conceal" the background which as Gary stated takes some of the attention out of the subject.
I would try to decrease the red´s in the face.

Good pointers,great light, and frame, the subject´s relaxed position is very natural and works OK with the mood I assume you intended.
As for the composition it is nice but for me the gate some how competes with the main subject.... reading what Gary said about it I agree, that will work better.

[Shebang]

Lava, I looked and left and came back. I don't have enough experience to know how to put the analysis of the two previous posts into my own words, but now that I have read (and learned) from them, I would agree. The guy has a great smile and you did well to capture a genuine expression from him -- not an easy task with a lot of teens! One other nitpick I have is his right arm -- I wonder how it would look if he hooked his thumb in his pocket??

[PhilF]

I like it. ... I agree with the bokeh background and the cheek redness.

[draymorton]

I like it, too. Great expression, pose, and sharpness. I agree with the others as to the improvements that can be made: the bg is too busy and too in-focus for a bg that busy. And it is always a good idea to reduce the ruddiness.

As it is, the image might benefit from a vignette to push our gaze toward the subject a little more.