Photo Critique

[ash_night]

Hi Guys

Is this photo heading in the right direction? Any suggestions/critiques? I know the quality could be better, I still need to get the settings dialed in. First time trying this today so still learning.

DSC_0099.jpg

TIA Ash

[SpaceBunSarah]

So *you're* not bad looking, but the photo isn’t really putting your best foot forward. Think about if whatever you’re doing is something that would actually be a candid photo. Maybe standing against a wall, but not in that uncomfortable pose. And you just look uncomfortable overall.

So as a trans person, I experience something called gender euphoria that I can best describe as a mix between an orgasm, the feeling of someone holding you and telling you everything is going to be alright, and the “a-ha” moment when you figure out something that’s been bugging you.

So if I get dressed up and I want to take some photos, I am in the fucking zone. That means I take pictures way more easily because I’m just vibing and posing however feels right, and they magically come out cute. I’m so obviously fucking happy that it comes across to other women in every photo I take. I hear that consistently in all the women-only spaces I’m in.

So obviously that’s going to be my advice to you. Pickup would call this subcomms, I think? So before you go out to take photos, get really in touch with your inner man and your masculinity. Cis people don’t get gender euphoria, but you’re going to take way better photos if you’re in a headspace where you LOVE being a man and you want to put that energy out into the world. I can’t tell you what that looks like because I fucking sucked at being a man, but that’s what’s going to give you that unspeakable “it” factor that draws girls in.

From a less philosophical perspective, don’t pair brown shoes with a black jacket. I’d do white shoes with that outfit. And you notice the colors on the wall? I’m guessing you went out to shoot and found it and thought it looked cool. What if you went out beforehand and found a cool spot? Now you can (casually) match the colors in your outfit to the environment you’re shooting in. Look at all that green and yellow! If you found that spot before, you could have worn something with those colors (a statement piece). Shoes and hats for guys are good for that, but you could do your watch too and match the band or earrings if you have them.

And hopefully if you’re putting all this thought in, you can get really excited about how you look and what you’re wearing, and that’s going to play into my first point about mindset. It’s tougher because your options are more limited, but give yourself permission to suck and find looks you really love and are excited about, and then ask someone who knows what they’re doing to make it *actually* look good. I can tell you’re playing it safe on the style and I think you’d be better served by diving in, even if you have a phase where you look worse for awhile while you figure things out.

Edit: Actually, I really love how that light blue pops out in the picture. What if you matched the jacket to that?

https://amzn.to/3RR4hVR

Or the shoes to the yellow? (Like a standard canvas show works too but these are a bit more flashy). Or there’s what I call the swaggy Asian look where you match bright shoes with a bright hat, same color. I think that works here too.

https://amzn.to/3AVJ86O

Or the shirt to the green? (I used to wear these)

https://amzn.to/3aM4t7Z

You also cannot go wrong with olive green chinos, they go with a ton of stuff, or if you want to look like a high schooler you can make your pants a statement piece

https://amzn.to/3PvmwxL

I also bet you’d look super cute in a letterman jacket and the two tones would look more interesting and colorful.

[workhard]

..

[MILFandCookies]

First off I've taken dating profile photos for about 100 clients so far.

It's literally the way I pay my bills.

I'm not the end all though, just sharing my perspective so don't take my word as gospel.

First off, props for taking action. That instantly puts you ahead of the game, so while I do have critiques that may be a bit harsh you're all green in my book since you're doing the right thing by taking action.

Also, I like the lighting on your body. One of the key mistakes I see people make is having harsh direct sunlight which creates bad shadows... you did a solid job finding good lighting here.

So now for my critiques.

In my opinion you look too posed here. It doesn't look like your friend could have just taken the photo.

Here's an example of one my friend took of me, where yes, it's posed but it's also natural and feels more candid.

Casual-Leaning.jpg

This takes practice. To get this, I'd try over and over and specifically ask people on here "How candid does this photo look?"

My second critique is that the framing is off. When you're looking off to one direction, the viewer's eye naturally wants to see more space in that direction. Otherwise it feels unbalanced.

Seth-Passion-Unchained-271 copy.jpg

Here's an example of a photo I took of a client where he's on one side looking towards the other side. See how it feels more natural?

That's because:
a) I worked hard to make it look candid... like a "paparazzi" photo, rather than a magazine model shoot
b) I framed it well. He's looking off to one side, and I made sure there's more room on that side. Naturally we want more room towards the direction where the person is looking.