A couple recent shots

[Big Mike]

I just posted these in another thread as an example but I thought I might as well post them here. I comment on plenty of other people's photos, I figure they should have the opportunity to get back at me :greenpbl:

#1

#2

 

[Lyncca]

I love the lighting in these but I'm not crazy about the pose in the first one. It is like they are just standing there. Maybe having mom behind dad, or vise versa? Also, the light catches my eye immediately on the right side of his head. Possibly you have a lot more of these in various other poses, so maybe as a set I would like it more.

The second one is adorable, but I would maybe crop it lower (around the waist?). It almost looks like he is headless Maybe it is just a taste thing...

Posing is what I struggle with most, so just ignore me if I am completely in left field

*edit... Wait, is that you?

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks for the comments.

I didn't spend much effort on posing, I probably should have. When kids are involved, a lot of other things get pushed to the back burner.

Now that I've stepped back a little, I do notice the bright spot on his head...I should have fixed that. Thanks for catching it.

I would have cropped the 2nd one lower but I was sticking to the 2:3 (4x6) ratio and it's already tight on the sides.

No, that's not me.

 

[Lyncca]

When kids are involved, a lot of other things get pushed to the back burner.

Man do I know that I'm alright with just kids, but when there are kids and parents, I find it is really hard to get the PARENTS to pay attention cause they are more concerned about the kid, so when I get the kids finally, the parents are off in la-la land

I would have cropped the 2nd one lower but I was sticking to the 2:3 (4x6) ratio and it's already tight on the sides.
No, that's not me.

Gotcha I really like it anyway. That little girl is just precious.

 

[THORHAMMER]

Did you reverse the position of the 2 lights for the second shot ?

 

[Big Mike]

Did you reverse the position of the 2 lights for the second shot ?

No, but I did turn up the power of the fill light, which was just to camera left (main light to camera right).

 

[THORHAMMER]

ahhhh..

seriously cool lighting ratio, nothing besides whats been said about the head spot, sometimes people sweat a lot , its a good idea to always have some powder on hand for peoples faces especially if its warm.

maybe if they were a few feet further from the background you'd eliminate all shadows behind them, thats all i can think of, overall cool shots though..

 

[Big Mike]

its a good idea to always have some powder on hand for peoples faces especially if its warm.

I was thinking that...but there would have been no way this guy would have put powder on...(or most guys for that matter). I should have just fixed it. If they order prints from me, I'll get it.

 

[Lyncca]

I was thinking that...but there would have been no way this guy would have put powder on...(or most guys for that matter). I should have just fixed it. If they order prints from me, I'll get it.

Not any I have shot! I'm lucky to get them to even show up.

 

[pixeldawg]

I like the 2nd shot more than the first, Mike. For family shots, it's nice if you can have them sitting or something else (I prefer outdoors...). The one nit that I have with these is more in the post work than anything else. I'd suggest using the pen tool and making a selection of those background areas that have artifacting in them. Even on shot 2, I'd take it all out. I like high key images to have a really clean background- just looks so much more polished to me. I also really like the lighting on the little girl. I think that lowering the ratio was a really smart move here. Nice work!

 

[THORHAMMER]

keep in mind your not applying like womens level foundation or anything
Just dabbing their problem areas with an absorbent it's not
Actually that big a deal. Just letting you in on a secret from
A really busy pro I've assisted for. Sometimes you must do it because it's
Not your lights but their gland issue LOL

That's just how it's done..

If your not in the position to explain and dabb them for 10 seconds then your
Not assertive enough to direct them, remember your the guy.. They will listen to you.

Or you can spend time"fixing it In post" which is a time suck and It never
Looks the same.

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks for the further comments.

I do like a nice clean background...and these have had some work in that area. But I'm also weary of going too far and making it look like they are cut out and stuck onto a blank page. They looked pretty clean to me, back home on my calibrated monitor...but most LCD monitors are way too bright so now I can see some problem areas.

As for the powder...yes, I know it helps and that a lot of pros use it. I've used it for weddings once or twice...where there might be several hundred shots of the people in question and editing it out would be a big chore. I cut this set down to 27 keepers, so it wasn't a whole lot of work to do.

To tell you the truth, I pretty much skimmed over him and concentrated my efforts on her. That is something that I think is more appreciated by the clients, even if they don't realize it.

 

[Craddie]

Nicely lit and exposed.

#1 - Tough to pose with young ones for sure, but careful cropping off at the joints

#2 - Even if you lose some of Dad's leg, I think a tight crop would be stronger. You could end up with a strange "crotch shot" though, so it may be best as is. I'd try it though...