Sharing a recent family session C&C welcome

bellacat · Oct 20, 2007

I would love C&C from a recent family session please

I have been trying really hard to get the PP work done right. I think I'm on the right track but would love to hear your thoughts.

Here are a few to share.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

You can see all my favorites at: http://proofs.wild-rose-portrait-photography.com/Hanson/favorites/

Thanks for taking the time to look :sexywink:

souljourney · Oct 20, 2007

I love the expressions you've caught in #6 & #9! I think that a more shallow depth of field would serve these images well so as to isolate the subjects. = )

bellacat · Oct 20, 2007

I will have to try that next time around. The mom really wanted to capture the fall colors and leaves so I tried not to have the depth of field too shallow but now that you mention it, that would have made some of these POP more.

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.

Allsmiles7282 · Oct 21, 2007

I think that you have good ideas overall and have captured some "child moments" for sure. I love that they included the dog in their family portraits! lol

However, be very careful with your lighting. You should always look for open shade to shoot in when the light is this harsh. When I do outdoor shoots, I always shoot either very early morning or late afternoon evening as to avoid harsh lighting.

If you look at #2,5,6..they all have funky patches of sun in weird places and thats not good. Also, #9 is a great shot but I am distracted by the lighting. Ya know?

You also could benefit from using something to get some light into the kid's eyes, they are very dark. If you used some sort of a reflector, you could get some great catchlights which would really add to the image.

Just my .02.

bellacat · Oct 21, 2007

thank you sooo much allsmiles7282. that is the kind of feedback i was after!! We did start shooting at 9am but I guess it was not early enough. Good to know. Thank you so much for the critique!!!

bellacat · Nov 3, 2007

Allsmiles7282 said:
If you look at #2,5,6..they all have funky patches of sun in weird places and thats not good. Also, #9 is a great shot but I am distracted by the lighting. Ya know?

You also could benefit from using something to get some light into the kid's eyes, they are very dark. If you used some sort of a reflector, you could get some great catchlights which would really add to the image.

Just my .02.

I have been thinking about this post for weeks now and i can totally see what you are talking about now in every shoot i have. I just had to come back and say thanks for this post. While my client was in love with her photos, I am still figuring things out here and there and now i can see how I could have made these better. Allsmiles, you are awesome. thanks for the advice and feedback.

Allsmiles7282 · Nov 3, 2007

Glad I could help!

AprilRamone · Nov 3, 2007

Hi Bellacat,
I just wanted to chime in and say that I completely agree with AllSmiles and I would add that you should work more on composition as well. For example, in #3 there is a lot of extra space around her and she's sort of shoved into the bottom right corner of the frame. In #5, their house doesn't look straight, & in #7 you've chopped off her arm and leg in a weird spot. I would have gone out more to include her whole body for that shot. There is too much extra space in #8 and #10 and in both one of the subjects isn't facing you which also lends to a feeling of it being more of a snapshot. I think you can do shots where your subject isn't facing you, but they need to be more planned out and purposeful imo.
Hope that helps!
April

bellacat · Nov 3, 2007

thanks April....I really appreciate your comments and this is why i post here. I know some might not agree but I know that I can get great advice from seasoned pros here. How else am I going to learn to make my photos better.

In #5 i hadn't even noticed the house was on tilt so i will recrop and straighten.

#7 ya i know I notice that now....No more chopping of the hands and feet. Geeze that is bad.

#10 as you can see the dog was not cooperating but i love her smile. I wonder if this would become a better shop if it was cropped in on just her and not to include her dog.

wildmaven · Nov 3, 2007

I agree with most of the comments, so I won't mirror those. I'd just like to add that I think a bunch of them would've benefitted from you getting down on the same level as the child.

I think my favorite is #4, those colors a just beautiful. #3 scares me, ha ha, because I keep thinking she's going to fall.

Marian

bellacat · Nov 3, 2007

#3 seems to be a popular shot with the dad's lately. I had a session last weekend and again a tiny kid was in a tree. T loved being in the tree though and daddy was there ready to catch her in case she decided to lunge out of the tree.

I really did try to get down to her level but i think the next shoot i will likely be lying on the floor with these little ones. even on my knees it still doesn't seem to be low enough.

wildmaven · Nov 3, 2007

bellacat said:
#3 seems to be a popular shot with the dad's lately. I had a session last weekend and again a tiny kid was in a tree. T loved being in the tree though and daddy was there ready to catch her in case she decided to lunge out of the tree.

Yikes!! I'd have been cringing the entire time!

I really did try to get down to her level but i think the next shoot i will likely be lying on the floor with these little ones. even on my knees it still doesn't seem to be low enough.

Hahahha...I just finished 2 separate portrait shoots today and I have the muddy belly to prove it! :lmao: Maybe we should start a club: "Muddy Belly Photographers."

Marian