What a handsome guy and what a genuine smile you captured. I would definitely move him out of this shadow next time and have him facing the window he is sitting below because the picture looks muddy. If he is facing the window, he would have nice catch lights to liven up his eyes and also depending on what angle he is facing the window and some interesting contour shadows. On a posing note, I read somewhere to bend anything that bends so his arms could be relaxed a little more by bending them. I would also not shoot straight on next time. Have him turn a little. Also, I’d move him away from the backdrop (the wall he is leaning against) so that you get some depth of field and not just one flat plane.. I love the little tilt in his head. Adds a bit of mischievousness to the personality of this photo..

What a handsome man! I love the genuine smile you captured. I agree with the PP, I would turn him toward the light source and bend his arms. He looks a little stiff. Other than that, he looks so relaxed, which sometimes is the hardest thing about capturing a good photo.

Very handsome gentleman with a great smile. I would have lightened his face a bit more with natural light (or used a photo editing software) and had his arms a bit more relaxed. Over all I think it is wonderful pose, background, and subject! (:

What an awesome smile!!! I agree with the two PP. I recently had almost this exact same thing happen (being a newbie is hard sometimes, escpecially with a busy 6 year old boy who needed a place to sit in order to sit still :)) so what I did was went to Target and bought a car windshield reflector, you know the ones that people put on their dashboards. Then I set it up near where he was and I could move that around to get the light that I wanted from the window, without having to move my subject (or in my case over tired maniac child who I was trying to make look calm and sweet) too much so I could catch the light in his eyes. I also agree with Christina about not shooting him straight on. I love the colors of the background with the contrast of the blue shirt couple of little tweaks and this is a great image. :)

He definitely is a great looking man! The farmers tan is very attractive too! It shows he is a hard worker, but I’d really like to see his hands. Maybe place them on his lap next time. Butterfly lighting is when the light comes from above and causes a shadow under the eyes and nose that makes him look a little tired. It is easy to fix by moving the light source or using reflectors. His smile is genuine and I actually like him leaning on the wall. Great job capturing his personality!

Love the relaxed pose. I agree that facing the light would have brightened up his face and eyes. I would have lowered the ISO to brighten him up more. Love the look of love!

You must be good at making your subject feel comfortable in front of the camera because his smile and posture are totally natural. Next time I would pull back so his whole head is in the frame. I’d also check the white balance in post-processing and maybe brighten up the picture a little. Great shot and well done capturing just the right moment :)

Good job! The subject looks happy & relaxed! I know I always have trouble with portrait shots like this. It looks like maybe it was take under a window? Did you use a reflector? I think that could help. Maybe also zoom in a little. I like that it’s soft light though! :) Nice job!

What a great natural looking guy! He looks super comfortable and I really like this shot. Kudos for getting 1/20 shutter speed and a sharp shot too! To improve the shot, it looks a little cool to me, if you’re shooting RAW I’d play with WB to get it looking a bit warmer. I’d pull him further back from the wall a bit to give it some separation (and probably a little blur for the background). I love the pose, but the arm chop bothers me a little. You could have him bring his arms up (crossed maybe?) or if possible, step further back from the shot and get all of his arms/legs in the shot (he could sit cross legged, or bring his knees to chest too). I really like the lighting in this shot, maybe a reflector (Even a big poster sized white sheet of paper!) could bring a little more light to his face/eyes.

Love the model & his enthusiasm. Love also that top light. Exposure looks OK. Photo would be better without that drab yellow background and a less posed pose. Finally, head should not be @ very top of frame.

hello handsome! congrats on your engagement :). another idea to try is to up your ISO so you could increase your shutter speed and capture a higher exposure all in one fell swoop. higher ss (min 1/125) will decrease your chance of motion blur. it appears the focus may have fallen on his pants instead of his face? choosing the focal point in camera is always helpful. i know i still struggle to nail focus- it’s the top skill i’m always trying to work on :). great natural expression from your subject, too :).

What a great subject to shoot! Very handsome and the camera seems to really like him :) Next time, I’d pull back a bit so that you’re not chopping off his hands and to take his head away from the top of the frame. It also seems like there is some good light coming in from the window above him, so maybe you could have him change position so the light highlights his face. In this position, I would have bumped up my ISO to be able to get a faster SS (unless you were using a tripod?). Great job!

I love how you captured the moment! I know that sometimes it is so hard to get a genuine smile (at least, this is the case with my brother :). I think it would be a little more “moving” if it was in black and white and maybe in you shot it vertically. Handsome fella and great job!

I love how you captured his true nature and how relaxed he is in front of the lens (trust me that is half the battle). I would have bumped up the ISO to at least 800 to bring more light into your lens to capture more even lighting but again I love the rawness of his emotion! Kiddos for that!!!!

I like the pose and that he looks natural and relaxed. I’d have bumped up the ISO a little bit to brighten the image as well as to use a faster ss if you needed it. I’d also suggest using rule of thirds a bit more. You might have to zoom in a bit to avoid chopping limbs and to put his face on the right or left 1/3 or you would have to back up significantly to keep his whole torso in the picture and still move him over in the frame. Nice use of color as well.

Listing the mode would be beneficial to the critique. I would increase the ISO so the shutter speed would be a little faster. Using a reflector to bounce some light into his face would be great as his face looks a little underexposed. Maybe even facing him towards the light would help lighten his face some. And I would move him towards the right so he falls on the rule of thirds.
Would love to see other critiques

What a handsome fellow! I don’t really have anything new to add to everyone else’s list. Would love to see his eyes better by moving him towards the light, not under it. Using a reflector would also greatly enhance his features. Again, I think most of the others have said it all. Love subjects who are willing to give genuine smiles!!

I am fairly new at photography, growing everyday, so I am not an expert by any means :) I would say more exposure. Just needs to be a bit brighter or lighter! He is relaxed and looks to be having a good time and that makes for awesome photos!

I love the way you’ve captured the confidence and charisma of your subject. What a great smile, and the fact that he is so relaxed shows how well you put him at ease as you took his picture. A few suggestions: 1) bump up the ISO–the 2.5 aperture indicates that the lens is fairly fast, so noise would be minimal and the picture would be brighter 400 or 800 would be a good start; 2) it looks like the light is to the subjects right–I’d try turning him towards the light–with him facing the light you would get catchlight that would enhance the twinkle in his eyes 3) bring him out from the wall about 2 or 3 feet to separate him from the background; 4) there seems to be just a hint of a blue cast–color correct in post…. Thanks so much for sharing–he looks like somebody you’d want to know more about based on your portrait.

I like the pose. I would have liked to see his hands and some light on his face although I do like the light coming from above so maybe a reflector? The personality/feeling of the picture is captured nicely!