Critique?

[Dave01]

Im going to link these from photobucket..hope thats ok.
These arent anything that took substantial effort, more just me messing around with the camera, and some things in LR4. Im wanting just your overall thoughts on these. Ive been doing this for a few months now..and Im getting addicted. Ive had a few people notice some of my stuff and ask me to do sessions for their families, but it makes me nervous..not knowing if my work is at least decent. I feel like these are OK..I know more effort could have gone into some of the settings, etc.. just wants thoughts (ill stop rambling now):

 

[ronlane]

Dave, I'm a jeep guy so #1 rocks. #2 looks underexposed a bit to me, or could use some fill. The rest aren't bad, but you will probably hear about cutting the baby's toes off in the last one.

 

[Dave01]

Wooo! another jeep dude!
I build XJs.. But I have a soft spot for TJ Brute's like that one. I had to somewhat crop it because a bunch of fattys were hovering around it and wouldnt move off so I could get the full shot. Oh well..

Let me go back and look at the raw baby image..i may have just cropped it dumb..

As far as the underexposure went I will definitely look into it. These have all been tweaked in LR4..so its a possibility I lowered the exposure that way..

 

[Dave01]

Same Pic.. little extra fill.

 

[ronlane]

^^^^^ That's it right there.

I have a TJ I bought used a little over a year and a half ago. It's my daily and I keep adding stuff to it as I can. Between that, golf and photography, my wife tells me I'm more expensive than the kids. (She's right but she started spoiling me )

 

[Dave01]

Id like to build a TJ.. But im still young, and broke.
Thats a pic of my fiance and our daughter

Between full time school (working on my bachelor's in computer science), full time work (IT Tech), planning a wedding, taking care of baby, building my Jeep, moderating cherokeeforum.com..and now photography.

Im becoming addicted to the photography thing.

 

[Derrel]

I would say watch the backgrounds very carefully, and try to get a clean, simple backdrop. Like on the baby in the back yard...classic pole growing out of head flaw + the bird feeder; indoors on the baby on the floor...the lamp's cord is just one element that's distracting. Mom and baby on the steps...not too bad, but it might have been possible to have her scoot farther over to her left, and thus eliminate the vent and the bottom of the door frame and door. The door and its frame add another depth plane, that steals from the two of them...moving the camera to the right a bit would have given a single-plane background, albeit one of bricks and siding, but still, more-harmonious than the one you got.

Background control is probably the most-critical skill to making good people pics.

 

[Dave01]

I see what your saying. I didnt even recognize the one of the first baby (with the poll coming up behind head)..but I see it as an eyesore now... :/
That pic came from a sparatic moment of her looking at me and staring as I managed to get pictures of her.
I also see what your saying about my daughter and the lamp cord..I wasnt trying to make anything special there...just waiting on her mom to get home and was bored..so I busted out the camera when she started peaking through her moms copy of 50 shades of grey.

The one on the steps is only one I somewhat "staged"..well I told them to sit there while I took the pic. A nicer background would have been cool..but I failed to see how much that electrical outlet would come into play.

I appreciate the comments.

 

[tirediron]

I would say watch the backgrounds very carefully, and try to get a clean, simple backdrop. Like on the baby in the back yard...classic pole growing out of head flaw + the bird feeder; indoors on the baby on the floor...the lamp's cord is just one element that's distracting. Mom and baby on the steps...not too bad, but it might have been possible to have her scoot farther over to her left, and thus eliminate the vent and the bottom of the door frame and door. The door and its frame add another depth plane, that steals from the two of them...moving the camera to the right a bit would have given a single-plane background, albeit one of bricks and siding, but still, more-harmonious than the one you got.

Background control is probably the most-critical skill to making good people pics.

It is impossible to overstate this!

 

[Dave01]

I agree.
Ive noticed I am not the best at paying attention to background stuff.

 

[goodguy]

I love the forth picture of the baby, alsmot looks like it was taken from a magazin, excellent.

Nice jeep but next time please give us a nice shot of an Alfa Romeo, preferably a vintage one :hail:

 

[Dave01]

I love the forth picture of the baby, alsmot looks like it was taken from a magazin, excellent.

Nice jeep but next time please give us a nice shot of an Alfa Romeo, preferably a vintage one :hail:

Thanks dude!

 

[DarkShadow]

I give a thumbs up for the first baby I every seen that's already reading books and has a iPhone.:hail:

 

[Dave01]

I give a thumbs up for the first baby I every seen that's already reading books and has a iPhone.:hail:

Haha.
What's funny is it was 50 shades of grey..the lady had it laying around..lyla decided to flip through it

 

[Dave01]

Thoughts?