Christmas Photo Shoot C&C please

[laurah]

These photos are from a family photo shoot I did on Thursday for Christmas cards. These are the first photos I am posting. Any comments and criticism would be appreciated.

1.

2.

 

[Amber_Cullen]

Not too bad, I think if you had them step away from the tree a little so it was more blurred and the focus would be more on the family, the background kinda draws away from the family, but thats just my opinion

 

[tirediron]

Agree; greater separation between subject and background would have resulted in a softer, more pleasing image, however, the subjects are sharp and well exposed. The only other comment I have is that in #1 you have committed the cardinal portraiture sin of having a tree growing out of the head of your subject.

 

[laurah]

Thanks for the comments about the background. I was so happy to find an evergreen tree in the yard that I didn't think about having them move away from it to soften it up a bit. I totally had not noticed the tree coming out of the head either. I will definitely pay more attention to the background next time.

 

[iriairi]

Great facial expressions on the subjects. I think that helps convey their personality. The only other thing that I would add is that the photos seem a bit cool (blue) to me. I might add a touch of warming in post..

 

[El2]

Cute family. Great job on these. Here is my CC, JMO:

The first picture, looks like the boy is a bit soft or OOF. He was probably moving? Also, it looks a bit on the cool side to me.

The second one is nicely done. A bit too centered for my taste. The sun or light seems to be coming from the left (our right) - you should have had them facing that way to avoid any uneven lighting, or use a reflector or a speedlight.

 

[rubbertree]

I agree with all that was said by the others, also, I think you should have backed off a bit in #1 so that the boy was not chopped off at the armpits.