Portrait test run

It's been ten days since the last time my dearest readers had a chance to bask in the fresh glow of my amazing posts, and as this weekend is mostly free, save compulsory events such as Nightwish concert, I have decided to spam around a little. ;-)

Precisely two weeks ago, with one of the people I know here, a Tibetan student of international law, we have decided to try and shoot a few outdoor portraits. My longer lens seems to be very nicely up to this job, although I am still a far cry from achieving perfection with it. On the lighter note, I learn something new every time I take it out for a shoot.
The bokeh of this lens is worth dying for. Wonderful, dreamy, unmatched by anything except better prime lenses. (Bokeh is basically what the out-of-focus area looks like, it helps you isolate the subject from the background.)
Even wide open, at impressive f/2.8, the sharpness is quite decent. Along with image stabilisation, it helps to avoid ruined shots in less-than-perfect light on the long end of the lens. Body with this lens is rather heavy, and at 320 mm equiv. focal length it takes some time getting used to, in order to avoid blurring your shots. A tripod would go a long way to help.
Sharpness, exposure, and other setting of the images vary, because I've been experimenting with them on purpose. Which of the photos you think looks the best in technical terms?

While running after Tsatan with the long lens, I managed to pull of a coupe of snapshots that I kinda like. :-)
It is said that the longer the distance from the subject, the more flattering the photo looks. This is especially true for people who are conscious about the size of their noses. ;-)
Before you get to the park, a nice friendly warning like this strikes you. Something tells me that this wouldn't be the right place for our favourite wine-sessions. :-)
I didn't particularly like the weather on that day. The light was too soft, and some of the photos seem to lack on crisp colours. Oh well. There is obviously more to professional portraits than click and shoot. I'm making this a rather important task on my photography to-do list. I might even get a wise book or two on this topic, because this is the kind of photography I am rather fond of.

In case anyone back home is interested, I would be delighted to take them out for a portrait shoot such as this one. It can never hurt to have a few more decent pictures of yourself, without them looking completely unnatural with studio lights and plenty of make-up.