Family Session · Never my favorite type of shoot

Clawed · Apr 16, 2011

I had a family shoot this past week, and I thought I would share a few from the session.

And, hey, while you're here, feel free to give a guy like me (and others wanting / dreading larger group sessions) a few tips for shooting groups larger than 3. I would certainly appreciate it. I'll start by sharing a tip from the great David Ziser that I acquired the morning before the shoot. He said he always has his families get in for a big group hug after every pose. Works much better than anticipated :thumbup:

What else you got?

1

2

3

Untitled by Clawed1, on Flickr

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

KAikens318 · Apr 17, 2011

I really like the last one. The other ones are good too! Maybe a tad overexposed on number 2 but the eyes are crystal clear. I think you did a good job for not liking these types of shoots (I am not a fan in the least of these kinds either!)

Robin Usagani · Apr 17, 2011

#1 I personally wouldnt soften dad's face
Are you sure they want all of these textures? To me most of these are way over processed.

twocolor · Apr 17, 2011

I think they are all fantastic. The texture on that last one is great, it's not likely that they are going to choose it as their 20x24 print, so I say have fun with it! That first one is my favorite!!!

Clawed · Apr 17, 2011

Haha, I actually do not like the last one, and it surprised me when my client wanted enlargements of it. I am rarely able to predict which shots my client will love, even if I know their style. Thanks for the compliment though. I don't really like these types of sessions because the large family shots always seem too rigid for me, and it's daunting trying to make sure every individual looks their best at the same time.

Every client that books me knows what they are getting in terms of photographic art. In fact, almost everyone hires me because of the special attention I give to each image. My website accurately conveys my style. This particular client wanted textures, and his print choice clearly indicates that preference. In fact, I almost always have the conservatively edited image along with a choice of a more edgy type. I would say that 90% of the time, the latter is chosen over the former, otherwise, I would not waste my time in the editing process.

The first image was edited by my wife, and she knows she went a bit overboard with the surface blur. It works okay, but I see and agree with your point (though it might actually look a bit odd with only 1/6 having any facial skin texture).

Thanks Twocolor! Again, even after I took that last image, I was immediately discouraged with it in camera and moved on to something else. That's why it's important to not delete out of hand, because if I was going to delete any pics from that day, that shot would have been it

Thanks for stopping by guys ~

Derrel · Apr 17, 2011

I like the double inverted triangle head arrangement on the group shot #1, and I also like the silhouette to end the set. To me the skin softening in the group shot #1 looks excessive. The two boys framed horizontally in shots 5 and 6 make absolutely no sense to me whatsoever, as contrasted with #4, where the horizontal framing is justified by the presence of something actually INTERESTING in the frame--the gnarly tree's outstretched branches--and of course, the lightning bolt effect. Overall, some nice photographs. I think shots #1 and #10 are the nicest ones.

Clawed · Apr 17, 2011

Thank you for taking the time to check these out Derrel.

I love the comment about images 5 and 6 because it's so honest. It's a great point, and it's always something that has intrigued me as a photographer. Many photogs like to shoot portraits in the portrait orientation, and it's almost as if it is frowned upon to shoot a portrait in landscape orientation, or at least one such as these where the subject is the only real point of interest. It makes perfect sense, but for some reason I like the feel of these types of compositions. Being offset to roughly a thirds position just makes it more dynamic than a shot taken in portrait that is much more balanced. I think there is merit in each, but maybe I should try a vert. crop just to see which is more visually appealing.

RauschPhotography · Apr 17, 2011

Schwettylens said:
#1 I personally wouldnt soften dad's face
Are you sure they want all of these textures? To me most of these are way over processed.

The first thing that popped out to me was the overuse of textures. I think that there are better ways of achieving a creative flair to a picture instead of using poor textures. Other than that, this set was well done. Congrats.

Clawed · Apr 17, 2011

Hi RauschPhotography. Yes, I do tend to use textures for some of my pics, and I used them on 3/10 here (4,6,10 - 8 looks like it, but I just processed it differently). This is actually a higher percentage of the time than I normally would, or at least these textures are a little more overt in nature. I did so at the client's request- he really loved one shot from my website, and wanted to see some of that same style with his images.

Thank you!