Help me Salvage these Portraits!!

[311Photo]

Hi, friends!
I'm shooting some Christmas sessions at a very low price for my neighbors. I've prefaced my offer to include that I am an amateur looking for experience. I got an amazing response and have quite a few sessions lined up. I say this so that no one on here thinks I am generating these types of images at an unfair cost.
I've included the images below from my first three sessions. I'd appreciate constructive criticism on all aspects as I do have several more of these shots at the same location coming up. The lighting in this area really is not ideal. It's either full sun or splotchy shade. Full sun is a bit easier for me to work with at this time, but it, too has its challenges.
So my primary question here is that several of my images turned out like the ones below - with undesirable lens flare - and I need to know if these are salvageable. I don't mind putting in a good deal of time and effort correcting them if it can be corrected. I have access to Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC but very limited knowledge of how to work in either. If anyone has any tutorials they'd recommend or would be willing to work with me on these, I would so greatly appreciate it.
You can see the lens flares in the attached images.
I'd also appreciate tips for eliminating this issue in my next sessions and how else I can improve the images in the next sessions.
I am shooting with a Canon ESO Rebel T2i and switched between Manual 1/250, f/5.0, ISO 200, white balance set to "shade", and AV f/5.0, ISO 200, white balance set to "shade".

Thank you all so much in advance!! I so greatly appreciate your help and respect your advice. And please don't be too tough on me (again, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated). I am still new and learning!!

 

[fmw]

You want to expose for the subjects, not the background. Your images are all underexposed. You should be able to bring up the brightness in the software. Get the faces right and let the rest go wherever it wants to go.

 

[vintagesnaps]

The exposures are way off. It looks like your camera's meter was reading the light coming from the background. I think that's more challenging to try to have a subject in front of a brighter background (and i have yet to figure out where/how people are 'learning' to do that).

Anyway, you need to go learn how to get proper exposures with your camera in various lighting conditions before you can take pictures for other people. Since you already committed to this I guess you'll have to try to fix these the best you can and get out to the next location and at least do some test shots ahead of time.

I think it just ends up likely being unsuccessful for you and something of a disservice to the people who want family pictures for Christmas regardless of pricing being so low. It's going to take a lot more practice and learning - just you and your camera - before doing portraits.

 

[The_Traveler]

If we fix the images, what happens to the fee?

 

[SCraig]

Don't shoot toward the sun to eliminate flare. Learn to use fill flash to help with the exposures.

Don't take on "Shoots" for others until you can produce professional results under any conditions. It is a disservice to them and gives you a bad reputation.

That last shot will likely be difficult to salvage. It is already noisy and bringing up the foreground will just make that worse.

 

[311Photo]

You guys are a tough crowd.
So I posted some photos I took of a newborn session that I did for free for a neighbor a few weeks back and received criticism for not charging. The alternative, best I could tell, was to charge a very small fee for a shoot ($25 for a 45-minute session with all images provided with print release). If this is not the correct way to go about it either, I'm not sure what is. I'm sure the absolute best thing to do would be to shoot friends and family for practice, but I live in a very rural area and honestly do not have close friends or family nearby.
Having said all of that, please understand these are not the only images and not all images turned out like this. By the standards of this forum, I'm sure my other photos are also terrible. But I made it very clear to those who wanted to participate that I was an amateur. If, at the end of the editing process, I am not happy with the images, they will still be provided to the clients, and the checks I was written will be destroyed, and the cash returned. That's how I do business. That's how I will always do business.
However, I do appreciate the constructive feedback (e.g. not shooting into the sun) and on my next round of photos will take that note. I've also ordered a lens hood that, I have read (although, according to this forum, nothing I read is ever accurate), will help reduce lens flare.
I am here to improve. That's why I post photos that I know are not good. I'm asking for help. I am a fair person. The business side of things I have under control. I think people can respect me as a potential one-day professional photographer a lot more if they know that I was fair when I was a beginner. I hope you all can take a moment and remember when you were in the same boat, as no one is born a professional.
Any further helpful insight, especially in regards to how I may be able to eliminate the lens flare that is in the existing photos through post-processing, would be very much appreciated.

 

[311Photo]

The exposures are way off. It looks like your camera's meter was reading the light coming from the background. I think that's more challenging to try to have a subject in front of a brighter background (and i have yet to figure out where/how people are 'learning' to do that).

Do you have any suggestions for having my camera's meter not read the light coming from the background? Or working in this light? As I mentioned in my post, I knew this was not a desirable setting, but the location had limited lighting options. I was hoping I could correct this in post-processing.

 

[311Photo]

You want to expose for the subjects, not the background. Your images are all underexposed. You should be able to bring up the brightness in the software. Get the faces right and let the rest go wherever it wants to go.

Thank you. This is very helpful. Tips for exposing the subjects and not the background?

 

[zombiesniper]

Thank you. This is very helpful. Tips for exposing the subjects and not the background?

There are a couple of ways.
You could use a centre wighted average for metering or take a shot and see that the people are under exposed then adjust as required.

 

[KmH]

Spot meter your subjects to expose them properly.
But then the background will be way over exposed.

To shoot heavily backlit subjects you have to add light from in front to balance the 2 extremes of exposure.
Ideally the subjects would be a little brighter than the background. A visual art truism is that "Light advances, dark recedes".
Using flash gives you more control than using a reflector or reflectors.

Using flash we control the flash exposure with the flash unit power setting and the lens aperture, while controlling the ambient light exposure with the shutter speed. Doing that is known as dragging the shutter.

If the background isn't really bright, to keep enough shutter speed you may need to use Canon's High Speed Sync (HSS) but would need flash units and a Canon DSLR that are HSS capable.

Basically you have the cart in front of the horse in that you don't yet have sufficient technical knowledge and skill to do what you're trying to do.

 

[311Photo]

Basically you have the cart in front of the horse in that you don't yet have sufficient technical knowledge and skill to do what you're trying to do.

I understand. I have committed to several other families at this time, and if I end up doing every one of those sessions in essence for free, I would be fine with that, calling it experience under my belt.
Aside from that, what do you suggest to increase my technical knowledge and skill?

 

[KmH]

Digital Photography Tutorials
Strobist: Lighting 101

Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere
Off-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Photographers
On-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography

Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites (2nd Edition)
Lighting for Digital Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots (Using Flash and Natural Light for Portrait, Still Life, Action, and Product Photography)

Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography
Photographic Lighting Equipment: A Comprehensive Guide for Digital Photographers

 

[Derrel]

Don't shoot toward the sun to eliminate flare. Learn to use fill flash to help with the exposures.

Don't take on "Shoots" for others until you can produce professional results under any conditions. It is a disservice to them and gives you a bad reputation.

That last shot will likely be difficult to salvage. It is already noisy and bringing up the foreground will just make that worse.

Spot meter your subjects to expose them properly.
But then the background will be way over exposed.

To shoot heavily backlit subjects you have to add light from in front to balance the 2 extremes of exposure.
Ideally the subjects would be a little brighter than the background. A visual art truism is that "Light advances, dark recedes".
Using flash gives you more control than using a reflector or reflectors.

Using flash we control the flash exposure with the flash unit power setting and the lens aperture, while controlling the ambient light exposure with the shutter speed. Doing that is known as dragging the shutter.

If the background isn't really bright, to keep enough shutter speed you may need to use Canon's High Speed Sync (HSS) but would need flash units and a Canon DSLR that are HSS capable.

Basically you have the cart in front of the horse in that you don't yet have sufficient technical knowledge and skill to do what you're trying to do.

Lot of great, free, on-the-nose advice there. Some of these look tricky to salvage friom a technical standpoint, but luckily, the subjects in family photos tend to evaluate the shots NOT on tchnical strength, but on expression of loved ones, so even technically-challenged shots are often met with acceptance, especially if loed ones look even halfway nice, friendly, or have good emotion. "Emotion" might be a half-smile from a stern or dout person, or a big laugh from an normally quiet person, etc..

 

[SquarePeg]

Since you have already committed to more families in the immediate future and there is really so much still to learn, I think you would be better served to find a location that is not quite so challenging. That background is going to give you trouble if you are shooting on a sunny day. Look for somewhere that you can be in full but open shade.

 

[311Photo]

Digital Photography Tutorials
Strobist: Lighting 101

Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere
Off-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Photographers
On-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography

Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites (2nd Edition)
Lighting for Digital Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots (Using Flash and Natural Light for Portrait, Still Life, Action, and Product Photography)

Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography
Photographic Lighting Equipment: A Comprehensive Guide for Digital Photographers

Thank you so much. I really appreciate this!!