Exercise 1: Review

Well I definitely learned some things from this exercise.  The main piece is that I must take more time to plan and pre-meditate, be imaginative and flexible during the shoot and assertive in terms of directing the sitter.  I find myself getting all caught up in firing the camera and I stop interacting with the subject which makes them wonder if they are doing the right thing.  This is all about slowing down and being more confident.

I wanted to approach this as a more formal classic portrait shoot with the subject looking directly at the camera - away from my most common style of candid close-up shots but I could have explored more options and alternatives as well.

Areas for improvement:

• Plan better - visualise the end results
• Be more flexible during the shoot - should have moved the sitter out of the sun
• Try more angles and poses - don't be afraid to change subject's position and be more experimental
• Give the sitter more direction and reassurance
• As my style in portraits is usually very close up, I need to practise with full figure poses to create drama/narrative

I think I am very afraid of coming across like an amateur to the model.  Need to really get over that quickly.  

All in all, I am pleased with some of final images.  The model likes them - says he wishes he was this good looking in real life - and I have had positive feedback from other viewers.