huge shoulders!!

[Steveinlondon]

Wow,

Thank you everyone who has responded. I'm blown away with the thoughtfulness and detail of your replies. You've all given me much to go away and digest.

I've got twelve sheets loaded up, and we've got a couple of free weekends, so I'll get cracking.

Again, thank you all.

Steve

[Peter De Smidt]

Bob wrote: "Use a longer lens. What you are seeing is foreshortening. Things closer to the lens reproduce larger then things further from the lens. To minimize this with the 240mm light the shoulder so it is in more shadow, cover the shoulder/arm, change the arm angle, shoot further back, etc." (My emphasis.)

The text in bold is a really important point for portraiture. Using a longer lens will lessen the foreshortening, but different posing can often be more effective. For example, if you place her face such that it is the closest element to the camera, then her body and arms will be de-emphasized. One way to do that would be to shoot from a higher angle, but there are of course other ways to achieve this.

Lighting can also have a big impact. Placing more light on one element rather than others, as Bob alludes to, will emphasize that element. Light falls of on the inverse square rule, so if you place a light close to the element you want to emphasize, the other elements will receive less illumination. Naturally, shadows can be very useful.

[Steveinlondon]

thanks Peter,

Steve

[jp]

Good suggestions so far. Even if you did want to show off the ink, a plain non-patterned shirt would be better. Her hair blends into the background too, which could be improved and would focus attention on her face/head. I'd suggest picking a shade of gray for the background (or white and don't light it as brightly as the face and it will be gray). If you want to see what choice of clothing in terms of tone/texture does, check out https://www.flickr.com/photos/jay_defehr/

Here is one I did of my daughter recently; it not awesome, but it provides some options.. https://www.flickr.com/photos/13759696@N02/14658300981/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/13759696@N02/14659264054/ The shirt was closer in tone to her skin. Depth of field was thin. I had her sit only to keep her in the thin plane of focus. I'd try standing with an adult. The background was white, but made gray by comparatively less light. If your wife stands, have her lean toward you a little bit to emphasise her face.

Get Mortensen's "the model" and "pictorial lighting" for simple lighting and posing options.

[Lenny Eiger]

Obviously, the main issue is foreshortening, as others have already addressed. In addition, I'd say increase the depth of field. You present the tattoo in the foreground, right up there for us to see, and then its blurry. Makes my eyes hurt. Why would a photographer bring my eye there only to show me something out of focus? Use the shift, and possibly some swing to bring things into focus, increase the amount of light in the room considerably and close the lens down.

Something like f45....

Just my opinion,

Lenny

[Alan Gales]

I'd shoot her standing with her shoulders more squared up so one arm isn't sticking out so much. I'd also use a longer lens or step back a little further. Wearing long sleeves as suggested would be more slimming but of course she couldn't show off her tattoo art.

I recommend getting out your digital camera and practicing with it until you get the results she is pleased with. I'm married and my wife is particular about her photographs too!

[rdenney]

The turned head helps with the chin, but another trick emerges from something Bob said. Try a higher camera position, looking down, while she is looking up at the camera, and leaning forward. The leaning forward with move her face closer to the camera with respect to her arms, and they will recede. Right now, her right arm is closer to the camera than her face, which makes it look bigger. Pose her so that her face is closest to the camera. Looking up to the camera will stretch the chin, too, and even make her eyes bigger.

Rick "but don't use a shorter lens" Denney

[Struan Gray]

I think we should start a thread in the image sharing sub-forum for pictures of 'The Wife Look'. That indulgent expression with which indulgent spouses greet portrait sessions, lens and development tests, and general camera fondling, and which has a thought bubble over her head saying "Oh Lord, he's got his camera out again, but I suppose it's better than him being down the pub with his mates".

Congratulations on capturing the look on your first attempt. Some people take years to get to this stage.

To me, your wife looks kind, and intelligent, and a little bemused. She also looks like an individual person and not a type or an object. That may not conform to the dictates of celebrity publicity stills or the painted swagger portrait, but it still makes for an interesting image. One to live with.

Most of the suggestions here are good, and are backed up by centuries of best practice in portraiture, but they will all work to remove the individuality from your image and make it more conventional. Be careful what you wish for.

[Steveinlondon]

JP, Alan, Rick,
Thank you all for your advice, it will all be considered, played with, and used. Mastery of the details is something I will work on and everyone has been very generous with their help.

Struan
made me smile - too true. I took advantage of her being ill and not able to move off the sofa - which accounts for some of the posing "issues" noted by the respondents above.

Your final point is also noted. It's a question of style - I'm drawn to the informal, intimate style. Some of the portraiture on this forum is amazing, but not what I want to do. On the other hand, I'm still learning - it's my hobby not my profession - and I have neither the time nor the money to do my "10000 frames" before I become proficient. I'll take all the advice I can get to help me find my voice.

Also on your final point - I have had women friends show me the results of their portrait sittings from other photographers - I'm sure you know the kind of stuff - soft focus, roses, romantic smiles. I'm looking at them and thinking the same things as you, but my friends were absolutely thrilled with the results - I mean REALLY THRILLED. I've shown them the work of people like Juergen Teller, and they've been mortified. These are the times when I feel like a weirdo. Thanks for letting me know I'm not.

[john borrelli]

For this image, how about cropping. Crop the shoulder in the foreground until the big flower part of the tattoo and then crop a bit from the far shoulder. You could then try a nice mat(maybe a big all black one) frame it and put it on the wall in your home.