Family Photo Shoot

[sarahhearn]

There are more pics but here is one of many....

 

[snowbear119 51]

Are you looking for C&C?

 

[tirediron]

Well... understanding that you've not asked for C&C, I think there are some issues with this image that need pointing out. First of all, was this a paid shoot? I hope not.

The good: A nice composition and a good arrangement of the subjects.

The not so good: Does he ever get tired of walking around with that tree growign out of his head? ALWAYS be cognizant of your background details, especially in parks! The overall exposure isn't too bad, but you desparately needed fill light here to reduce the dynamic range and properly illuminate the family. You have bright/blown highlights in the background which are taking the eye away from the subject, and raccoon eyes in both mom and dad. A big reflector or OCF would have taken care of this.

Your WB is off the chart; I'm guessing it's somewhere up around 7000K, that needs to be dropped way down.

Your subjects are soft; I'm not quite sure where the point of focus was, but I don't see one sharp set of eyes. Always check your DoF tables to ensure that your aperture provides sufficient DoF for the situation, and use a shutter-speed high enough to ensure that there is no motion blur. Here, 1/125 would have done.

The small details are important too; notice the way stray hair on her shoulder make it look like she has varicose veins? Always make a last minute check for thise things.

It's a good start... head back and try for round two!

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[sarahhearn]

Yes and no.
I am wanting it but not demanding it... its hard to explain so hopefully this makes sense haha.

 

[sarahhearn]

Nope, wasn't paid due to them being my family.
and for the tree, I honestly didn't notice that.. oops. I was noticing everything else making sure there weren't any cars, other people.. etc.


Thanks for the input

 

[snowbear119 51]

I really can't add anything. I love the triangle/pyramid composition - well done.
The white balance was the first thing I noticed. The highlights look to be pretty well up there, but that may be the WB or maybe the saturation.

Background items, like the tree, take some effort to see when you start out. I think you tend to concentrate on the subject and settings (at least I do) that it's easy to overlook the background and the sides of the frame. Just keep shooting.

 

[Ysarex89 83]

Photos in this kind of light require fill flash. You increased exposure 1/3 stop for the subjects and in fact you could have increased it 2/3 stop for their faces. The top of the man's head however would have benefited from a decrease in exposure of more than a stop. When you're faced with the need to both increase and decrease exposure at the same time you have to alter the lighting = flash.

You're white balance is off; they're orange. There's a tree growing out of the top of the man's head. and at 1/100 sec. you've got camera shake and they're not sharp. With a crop sensor and a lens focal length above 50mm you need to up that shutter speed.

Joe

edit: well I sure type slow! In the time it took me to get this typed tirediron covered it all!

 

[sarahhearn]

Thanks Snowbear, yeah I need to learn re-touching photos. All of the pictures I am posting are after I have edited them...

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p550/Sarah_hearn1/IMG_2166.jpg

 

[sarahhearn]

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p550/Sarah_hearn1/IMG_2200.jpg

 

[snowbear119 51]

Light touches in editing work best.
Would you mind posting an original?

 

[sarahhearn]

I can post original it will take a minute but I will upload it. You will see there is a few touch ups to do because of the lighting. I forgot that I have this Kodak retoucher that helps out a lot

 

[sarahhearn]

This is the original

 

[snowbear119 51]

I hope you don't mind - I did a very quick white balance change in Lightroom. The highlights on his head and in the grass in the background are blown out and really can't be recovered, but I could probably get a bit more detail from the dark areas, like his shirt.

View attachment 21669

 

[sarahhearn]

Thanks this is exactly what the Kodak program I have will do with the image.

(the minor to major things i didnt notice *ashamed face*)

 

[cgipson1]

I hope you don't mind - I did a very quick white balance change in Lightroom. The highlights on his head and in the grass in the background are blown out and really can't be recovered, but I could probably get a bit more detail from the dark areas, like his shirt.

Much improved.... not much you can do about the rest of the stuff...