Family Photo

[laynea24]

Tell me what you think. It kind of bothers me that the in bottom corners, the bridge doesn't reach the corner the same. I couldn't get it to! When I would fix that problem, the top corners would be off.

 

[laynea24]

Cropped in.

 

[tirediron]

I prefer the cropped version, but overall, the image seems a bit lacking to me. The poses rather suggest that they just sort of stopped where they were and that no thought was given to how best to stand. Ideally, I would like to have seen them posed with the dog sitting down in front (if that was possible) and a little more connection between the parents, whether holding hands, looking at each or something similar.

The image would have been much stronger had you moved them back a few feet such that they were standing right at the point where the path meets the bridge. That would have allowed the sides of the bridge to form perfect leading lines and guide the viewer's eye right to the subject.

Lastly, it's got a bit of a lean to the right.

Overall, not a bad image at all, just a few thoughts for future improvement.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[janineh]

Like the cropped version better too. I would do some editing on it. Seems a bit dark and dull.

 

[MLeeK]

I much prefer a tighter crop. The family gets upstaged by all of the bridge in the original

 

[laynea24]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! This is my family and I. My remote wouldn't reach that far so I was running back and forth! My puppy was following me so I just picked him up! When we had him sitting in front, my son wouldn't look up. So this just worked better for us! I fixed the lean after I posted the cropped version, but I didn't have time to post it. We didn't hardly get any photos, so we're going back tomorrow. Any suggestions for taking your own family photos?

 

[JFC]

i like the cropped one man, i know how it feel to coordinate, child, pup, and the right pose. but you good man. i think you could use the timer in the camera so you can move backwards. But the use of timer depend a lot with your luck, maybe you got the right shot, maybe you dont.

 

[Robin Usagani]

The bridge looks too dominant on the photo IMO. Wish you shot that with super thin D.O.F. so the trusses do not look as defined.

 

[laynea24]

The bridge looks too dominant on the photo IMO. Wish you shot that with super thin D.O.F. so the trusses do not look as defined.

Good tip for next time! Thanks.

 

[laynea24]

i like the cropped one man, i know how it feel to coordinate, child, pup, and the right pose. but you good man. i think you could use the timer in the camera so you can move backwards. But the use of timer depend a lot with your luck, maybe you got the right shot, maybe you dont.

I was using the timer and barely making it back! Haha. I'm the woman in the photo, but it's okay if you call me man. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be! I'll be more prepared for tomorrow though.

 

[mommy-medic]

Another vote for a more shallow DOF. Enough to make the road/path behind you fade out...

 

[mommy-medic]

Also what are you using to crop? If you have photoshop you should be able to free transform and pull the corners individually so that it lines up how you'd like it to. Just a thought...

 

[Robin Usagani]

Also, look at the background. Dont you think it would look better if you had shot it from a lower angle a little bit so their head is inside the green background (tree) instead of busy lines intersecting their heads? The more defined the background (deep DOF), the more you really need to think about this stuff. If it was blurred, maybe not as critical but still important.

 

[JFC]

i like the cropped one man, i know how it feel to coordinate, child, pup, and the right pose. but you good man. i think you could use the timer in the camera so you can move backwards. But the use of timer depend a lot with your luck, maybe you got the right shot, maybe you dont.

I was using the timer and barely making it back! Haha. I'm the woman in the photo, but it's okay if you call me man. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be! I'll be more prepared for tomorrow though.

ooppsss... lol sorry for confusing. cheers...

 

[laynea24]

Okay, I am going to think about all these things when we go later today! I was shooting with an aperture of 3.2, but since I was so far away it didn't make a difference. I was afraid to go any wider for risk of everyone not being in focus, but I see now that that was silly. Thanks everyone!