Hi Dave,

These are both very good images and you have certainly got the lighting sussed. I think that out of the two the second image is the better as I feel that the pose is more natural. I like the fact that you have strong eye contact in these images too, that's a vital aspect in them IMHO.

Also on the second image there are a couple of small marks on the floor (in front of the foot) which is slightly off putting. That aside I like them both, cheers for sharing.

Andrew

Dave,

I like the tone of the portraits. I like the way you lit your subjects, too. However, it seems different for each - the light on the gal seems to be from a place lower to the floor. The light on the guy seems to be a bit higher than that. Is that correct? If so, why did you make those decisions?

How do you choose camera position/height? I've always try to take 'em right at eye level or just a tad above. It seems that you were a tad below eye level - is that right? Also, the image of the gal seems have more contrast than the image of the guy - how did you decide to process it that way? You mentioned you choose f/4.5 - why? Did you try f/1.4 or f/2?

These aren't critiques as much as they are questions to try to understand your intent and your decisions?

firstly thanks for the comments ,every bit helps me to improve(you never stop learning).
Camera angle was pretty close to eye height but ill keep that in mind next time, F4.5 to get decent dof as ive been caught out with shallow focus before with the Hellios lens i have been using so still getting used t the dof on the 50mm F1.4 Minolta . the lights are a home made light box with three 140watt globes and i use a single tube through an umbrella as a fill.
Again thanks for the input

Dave