Large(ish) Family Shoot

[crimbfighter]

So this was definitely the most challenging shoot I've done to date. The lighting was difficult to work with, at best. They were like trying to herd cats. And there was more than one atomic meltdown of one of the kiddos. And did I mention there were TEN people? A tad more than I'm used to... I did my best to find shade for even lighting and good expressions, but there were still highlights and hot spots abound, but I did the best I could. I'm glad I borrowed an SB900 to use for fill, cause in many of the situations my SB600 or 700 wouldn't have had the power. I'm only mildly happy with ONE of the large group shots, but several of the small group shots I thought turned out ok. This was also the most challenging from the standpoint of needing to give much more direction than ever before, and they wanted group shots with specific groups within the family, like mom with daughters, all the girls, grandparents with each of the kids, etc. which got confusing after a while. I should have made a checklist. There are a lot more posed portraits in this set than candid shots, which is not what I'm used to doing. Anyway, it's a little pic heavy, but here are my favorite few. As always, C&C welcome if you're willing, including off the full set. The rest can be viewed here:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/54751692@N08/uo7A14/

1.

2.

3.

4. This girl was the star of the day.

5.

6.

7.

8. This little girl had the meltdowns, and is at that age where she hated the camera...

9. This was the best group shot, I think.

 

[LCLimages]

Ok, I'll play.

#1 - would have been better in a portrait orientation where you could see all of the girl and the dad's feet.

#2 - Cute... could use more contrast in the BW conversion

#4 - She looks like she was a ham. Clipped her bottom elbow (I do this too sometimes) and IMO, just my opinion... it isn't that attractive of a facial expression

#5 - Light is flat, WB to me looks a bit cool

#7 - Hair in her face is irritating enough to lose my interest in the shot, which is a shame because otherwise it's cute. The hair might have been out of your control but it bugs me.

#9 - A lot of dappled lighting on faces. Groups are hard, I agree.

#6 and #8 are my picks of the bunch.

 

[Braineack]

need more blacks in #9

 

[crimbfighter]

Ok, I'll play.

#1 - would have been better in a portrait orientation where you could see all of the girl and the dad's feet.

#2 - Cute... could use more contrast in the BW conversion

#4 - She looks like she was a ham. Clipped her bottom elbow (I do this too sometimes) and IMO, just my opinion... it isn't that attractive of a facial expression

#5 - Light is flat, WB to me looks a bit cool

#7 - Hair in her face is irritating enough to lose my interest in the shot, which is a shame because otherwise it's cute. The hair might have been out of your control but it bugs me.

#9 - A lot of dappled lighting on faces. Groups are hard, I agree.

#6 and #8 are my picks of the bunch.

Thanks for the feedback, LCL, much appreciated! I see your point with #1. That was actually a test shot to check lighting, and I really like it when I started editing. But like I said, I definitely see your point.

It took me a minute to figure out what you meant by calling her a ham in #4, but now that I got it, I can't unsee it, haha!

I have another version of #7 where her hair isn't in her face, but I missed focus a tad, which annoyed me.. Its in the full set, but I can't figure out how to post it from my phone..

Anyway, thanks again for the feedback, and I'll take a look at the other things you mentioned when I get time later.

 

[LCLimages]

Ooh it's the worst when you really don't want to toss a shot but you know you missed focus a bit. It's easy to do with moving targets like kids.

LOL what I meant with "ham" is she loved the camera. Loved goofing off & being the center of attention. That's what ham means at least in my neck of the woods!! My bad. Didn't mean she actually looks like a ham, the kind you eat.

 

[crimbfighter]

Ooh it's the worst when you really don't want to toss a shot but you know you missed focus a bit. It's easy to do with moving targets like kids.

LOL what I meant with "ham" is she loved the camera. Loved goofing off & being the center of attention. That's what ham means at least in my neck of the woods!! My bad. Didn't mean she actually looks like a ham, the kind you eat.

Ha, I think we were on two different wave lengths there... I pictured her head literally as a ham. If you look at her face as the cut side and her head as the rest, it totally makes sense! :lmao:

Here's the other one I mentioned.