Another Family Christmas set for CC

[TreeofLifeStairs]

I took these today so I guess they really aren't Christmas pictures. I opened the window that is just out of the frame to the right to give some rim light, and there is a softlighter as far forward as I could get it with it staying outside the frame, but still to the left.

I couldn't get any pictures that had all 5 of us actually looking at the camera. What can you do, they are 4, 2, and 6 mo. I was more successful than usual because I used a remote with the 2 second delay and got the older kids interested by making a game of watching for the blinking light.

Anyway, let me know what you think. WB, general lighting, composition... 2 and 3 are really more just fun ones.

 

[FITBMX]

That last one is the best, because they are looking at the camera for one! LOL
I have never done a family photo shoot, but it looks like fun, and a pain in the neck!

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

I take the pictures as quickly as possible and I set everything up before hand so that the kids are in front of the camera for as little time as possible.

 

[qleak]

Not bad. Do you have any more takes with them all in the same positions?
You could composite them so that you get a good take with everyone

1 & 2 Your depth of field is a bit shallow. The man (you?) and woman (significant other?) in the back are not fully in focus. The woman is leaning a little farther forward in #3.

My fav is #4 because of the good expressions and looking at the camera. I think the DOF is a little too shallow there too and front focused? The dress and sweater on the youngest are razor sharp but their faces and eyes are slightly blurry.

I love the expression of the boy on the left of the frame in #2. Have you considered cropping in and replacing the background?

Another thing that stuck out to me with these is that the eyes are a little too dark. You may want to bring these out in post process. Just be careful not to make them their own light source.

All in all, not bad! There's much to like here: You have a reasonable backdrop, you got everyone in position pretty well. The lights pretty good.You did as well as anyone can with children who are tricky subjects.

Here's what I'd work on next time:
Stop down the aperture a couple more stops for multilayer portraits. You'll probably want a bit more distance from the background for subject background isolation. If your camera has a multishot delay mode I would recommend using it. Then you can composite a better facial expression/pose for problem subjects. Otherwise maybe pop a few off quick with the remote release before they lose interest.

Thanks for sharing

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

Not bad. Do you have any more takes with them all in the same positions?
You could composite them so that you get a good take with everyone

1 & 2 Your depth of field is a bit shallow. The man (you?) and woman (significant other?) in the back are not fully in focus. The woman is leaning a little farther forward in #3.

My fav is #4 because of the good expressions and looking at the camera. I think the DOF is a little too shallow there too and front focused? The dress and sweater on the youngest are razor sharp but their faces and eyes are slightly blurry.

I love the expression of the boy on the left of the frame in #2. Have you considered cropping in and replacing the background?

Another thing that stuck out to me with these is that the eyes are a little too dark. You may want to bring these out in post process. Just be careful not to make them their own light source.

All in all, not bad! There's much to like here: You have a reasonable backdrop, you got everyone in position pretty well. The lights pretty good.You did as well as anyone can with children who are tricky subjects.

Here's what I'd work on next time:
Stop down the aperture a couple more stops for multilayer portraits. You'll probably want a bit more distance from the background for subject background isolation. If your camera has a multishot delay mode I would recommend using it. Then you can composite a better facial expression/pose for problem subjects. Otherwise maybe pop a few off quick with the remote release before they lose interest.

Thanks for sharing

Man, I saw that we were oof when I uploaded them to the computer. I was hoping it wasn't that noticable. I shot it at f4 and was probably 8' away with my 50mm so there should have been a little over a foot of in focus area to work with. Obviously it was off though. I should listen to my own advise though. I told someone else to shoot at 5.6 for groups just last week. It would have given me another 6" and would have put us in focus. I liked the lighting better at f4 though. Oh well, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

 

[qleak]

Man, I saw that we were oof when I uploaded them to the computer. I was hoping it wasn't that noticable. I shot it at f4 and was probably 8' away with my 50mm so there should have been a little over a foot of in focus area to work with. Obviously it was off though. I should listen to my own advise though. I told someone else to shoot at 5.6 for groups just last week. It would have given me another 6" and would have put us in focus. I liked the lighting better at f4 though. Oh well, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

We've all been there

I just wanted to make sure I shared what I saw. I find it frustrating to get little or no critique.

I'd like to mention face swapping to you again since you seem fixed on the oof comments. I was hesitant to try such things until a friend of mine who is a pro mentioned he routinely makes composites for group portraits. I've even composited all the worst takes together for my own amusement/practice

For example:

and

are both composites. Am I completely happy with these as pictures.. not really but it certainly helped make more reasonable images to share after that family reunion.

 

[pixmedic]

#4 is definitely the winner.
I agree with the DOF being a hair too shallow, but its not terrible.
i dont imagine you had a ton of working room, but getting them further from the tree would have been nice for a little more OOF background.
you can see some heavy shadows in these. a flash or two for some fill light (especially one set camera right) would have really topped things off nicely.

overall, this is a nice set.
#1 is very nice, even with the baby looking down, and #4 has great expressions on everyone.
I think all of these were posed well.

 

[JustJazzie]

First off, You have a BEAUTIFUL family there, and everyone looks so happy!

Babies are HARD. I tried to do something similar when number two was about the same age as your youngest. (Unlike yours, mine had beyond terrible lighting.) anyways, I don't think we got a single shot of him looking at the camera. I think it's hard enough getting them to look when there IS someone behind the camera! IMO, it might be the toughest thing to do.

The lighting in these seems nice. I'm not sure I like the bright spot (rim light?) on your face, it seems to low and forward IMHO.

I love the pattern on the camera right wall! What is it?

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

First off, You have a BEAUTIFUL family there, and everyone looks so happy!

Babies are HARD. I tried to do something similar when number two was about the same age as your youngest. (Unlike yours, mine had beyond terrible lighting.) anyways, I don't think we got a single shot of him looking at the camera. I think it's hard enough getting them to look when there IS someone behind the camera! IMO, it might be the toughest thing to do.

The lighting in these seems nice. I'm not sure I like the bright spot (rim light?) on your face, it seems to low and forward IMHO.

I love the pattern on the camera right wall! What is it?

Thanks Jazzy. That's my curtain. I agree, the "rim light" is a bit far forward for a rim light, but since it was light from the window I couldn't do much to direct it. It was a good test for me since I've never worked with two light sources.

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

Man, I saw that we were oof when I uploaded them to the computer. I was hoping it wasn't that noticable. I shot it at f4 and was probably 8' away with my 50mm so there should have been a little over a foot of in focus area to work with. Obviously it was off though. I should listen to my own advise though. I told someone else to shoot at 5.6 for groups just last week. It would have given me another 6" and would have put us in focus. I liked the lighting better at f4 though. Oh well, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

We've all been there

I just wanted to make sure I shared what I saw. I find it frustrating to get little or no critique.

I'd like to mention face swapping to you again since you seem fixed on the oof comments. I was hesitant to try such things until a friend of mine who is a pro mentioned he routinely makes composites for group portraits. I've even composited all the worst takes together for my own amusement/practice

For example:
View attachment 92372


and

View attachment 92373


are both composites. Am I completely happy with these as pictures.. not really but it certainly helped make more reasonable images to share after that family reunion.

I have done face/body swaps in the past with good success but there were not ANY good shots of the baby.