Thanks for the great comments and advice. I've gone back to school for my Masters (tech, not arts) and really have to watch my time and budget. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I will get back into portraits soon.
This is nice, but I like your people shots best. You made some great portraits. I saw you mention somewhere about being able to get a nice natural expressions consistently. You already are able to "connect" with people. You keep your models moving well. But here's a few other things to try if you you aren't doing them now: For non-professional models. Keep shooting constantly, even if what you see in the viewing finder is not what you want. After fifty shots, if you don't think you are getting anywhere. snap, try something else. Keep talking, even if it's just "You look fabulous" snap "Great!" snap "yes, more!" snap, ask them questions "You have a pet?" snap "beautiful!" snap "I love what you are doing with your hands" snap. You get the idea. To stay connected with the model, snap some shots while talking and looking directly at the model (not through the viewfinder). If you don't think it's your style, try it anyway. Keep in mind that some people are never going to loosen up and be at ease with the camera.
Let them do their own makeup, but use pancake from YOUR makeup kit for the base. Tell them this is what they use on movie stars. At the very least always keep lip gloss handy. Just a bit for the men. Wish you could have seen the saleslady's expressions when I put together my first makeup kit. Having your own kit full of professional makeup makes an impression on your models. Even if you only use the lip gloss, they will feel more confident in you.
Use an eyepatch when looking in the viewfinder. Explain that extraneous light in your non-shooting eye is distracting (it is). But just having an eyepatch on is going to get you some different expressions.
I have been assistant to a number of well known (at the time) professional glamour photographers. Most don't expect to get more than one good shot out of a hundred, and that's with professional models!
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