I took my speed lights off camera, outdoors and heres what happened.

[JustJazzie]

Kids are the worst; especially 5 and below. I 100% understand your difficulty; the whole family poses top the list. I take all our family pics because I’d be embarrassed for someone else to do it.


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Yes! Kids are HARD! I don't think I could ever shoot family portraits with little kids professionally. Having kids myself- Im in the camp "lets get ONE good photo and the the poor kids go play" I am sure this isn't a profitable business model. :Giggle: One photo is all you ever hang on the wall anyways. So with my own kiddos, we get one-to-three shots in and maybe 1 or 2 good family options to choose from and I call it a wrap.

Having the toddler and a dog running wild through the frame wasn't something I was really prepared for, and I really should have been more organized and in control of the shoot. Ive never been very assertive, which I think is my downfall here. I should have at the least asked for the dog to be put in the house, and maybe asked them to take the little one inside while I shot the individuals. Then I could have focused more on the finer details-Like hair. I don't preform well in chaotic situations, which is why I stopped at 2 kids! :giggle:

I am well aware that all of what I have said in the above two posts is nothing but excuses. I don't think about the excuses in a way that I am "excusing" myself from the faults of the photos, but merely identifying exactly why the flaws are there in the first place, so that I can (hopefully) adjust my shooting in the future when presented with the same circumstances. Shoot and learn, after all.

 

[adamhiram]

Beautiful shots, and the lighting worked out really well, providing nice even fill while still looking natural. I peaked at the metadata on your Flickr account, and it looks like these were shot at 150mm - I'm curious how far back you needed to stand from the subjects, particularly for the group shots, and how much open space was behind them to get that nice blurred background? I've been experimenting with similar shots in my yard, and apparently 80' from camera to background doesn't seem like quite enough room!

 

[JustJazzie]

Beautiful shots, and the lighting worked out really well, providing nice even fill while still looking natural. I peaked at the metadata on your Flickr account, and it looks like these were shot at 150mm - I'm curious how far back you needed to stand from the subjects, particularly for the group shots, and how much open space was behind them to get that nice blurred background? I've been experimenting with similar shots in my yard, and apparently 80' from camera to background doesn't seem like quite enough room!

Thank you!

150mm is SUPER long for portraits. Ive never measured, but I will guess that I am 10-15 feet back? Maybe further. This family lives on 2ish acres or so.....so I am guessing there is around an acre or so behind them. I had to shoot slightly above to avoid the road in the background- which you can see entered the frame when I shot the family shot straight on.

Edit to add: I only needed that much space behind the family in the group shots. To do 1 or 2 subjects, I would guess half an acre or less?

I am lucky to live in the mountains and most places around have plenty of space in the background.

I'm looking forward to getting an 85mm 1.4 so that I can maybe be a little closer to my subjects and still get some nice lens compression. I see some beautiful shots with it, and has a similar look to this 150 (IMO) And a lighter/shorter lens sure would make things a little easier on me.

Hope this helps!

 

[Raj_55555]

Wow.. I learned something new today, got to try this setup now. Amazing results!!

A noob question - if you're shooting with two flashes at 1/2 - wouldn't it be identical to shooting one flash at full power?

 

[adamhiram]

Hope this helps!

It does, thanks! I'm using an 85mm f/1.8 on a crop sensor body, which puts me close to the distances you're using for your shots. My dilemma is I that don't have a lot of space to work with, and my go-to backdrop of beautiful mature trees in the distance were all cut down in the past year, leaving me with a perfect view of other houses and colorful patio furniture. I liked the composition at 50mm before I had to shoot around those distractions, and the narrower field of view at 200mm allows me to crop out any distractions, except for the distances needed. Looks like I'll be scouting out a few local parks for more space!

 

[JustJazzie]

Wow.. I learned something new today, got to try this setup now. Amazing results!!

A noob question - if you're shooting with two flashes at 1/2 - wouldn't it be identical to shooting one flash at full power?

Yes, but you get twice as fast recycling time on the flashes, which is essential for shooting kiddos!

 

[Braineack]

What if she needed both at 1/1...

 

[JustJazzie]

Hope this helps!

It does, thanks! I'm using an 85mm f/1.8 on a crop sensor body, which puts me close to the distances you're using for your shots. My dilemma is I that don't have a lot of space to work with, and my go-to backdrop of beautiful mature trees in the distance were all cut down in the past year, leaving me with a perfect view of other houses and colorful patio furniture. I liked the composition at 50mm before I had to shoot around those distractions, and the narrower field of view at 200mm allows me to crop out any distractions, except for the distances needed. Looks like I'll be scouting out a few local parks for more space!

I am terribly saddened to hear that your go to background has been defiled. That is so not cool. Good luck with your location scouting! Ill admit, the landscape around here has made me pretty lazy. Im sure there are backgrounds 10 times better, but I miss out because the backyard is so dang convenient!

Cheers to discovering new and amazing places!