I've done some higher end photography shoots (and done a lot of photography myself); the very common things in portfolios that turn me off of working with a photographer are:
8
2
142
Conversation
1) flat/unintentional lighting. Flat lighting can work sometimes, but often I see it in photos that would clearly have been better with some dynamism!
2) Easily fixed lighting mistakes; like sun making a weird spot on a chest. Shows lack of attention to detail
1
58
3) Uncreative posing! I know posing is a well worn landscape but there's a set of body stances that are extremely unoriginal and I want to see the photographer able to intelligently coach their client into something even a little more novel.
2
53
4) terrible levels. often I see perfectly good photos ruined by a bad balance of lights and darks in post, usually too-high contrast. makes the photos look myspace. sure I can fix it if I get originals but now I don't trust the photogs aesthetic sense.
1
49
5) sloppy background use. Often I see dramatic photos with posing/outfits that clearly look very intentional, but with the camera orientarion that looks like u just whipped it out last minute -too high, low, bad angle. Background should balance the subject!
Replying to
6) a lack of creativity. It seems like most photographers are trying to replicate photos they (and also i) have seen elsewhere; its pretty rare I see people trying noticeably new things. It really doesn't take much, it's subtle, but u can kinda pick up on how much they experiment
2
52