Maternity and Family Session

[Aayria]

Hey Guys!

I just came home and started preliminary editing on a belly/family session from tonight. I did a bit more than just the traditional belly shots, because I really wanted to give the mom-to-be a good variety of images that made her feel beautiful. Here are my favorites so far, this family was so sweet and great to work with =)

C&C always welcome, and thanks for viewing!

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

 

[supraman215]

#1 I like it a lot crisp focus, good light
#2 I don't like this one too much, can't see her face at all and the composition seems a little akward.
#3 love it, next time be mindful of the hair
#4 too centered
#5 Love everything about it, I'm a little partial though since I have a 3 year old daughter that I love to photograph lol.

 

[Robin Usagani]

i only LOVE #5, there rest are OK.

 

[burstintoflame81]

Nice shots, I am sure there are more than what you posted, but I don't think any of these really accentuate the fact that she is pregnant. You have the one pic of her touching her stomach, but with the angle and the wierd mesh wrap, you can't even really see if she has a baby bump. I know you were going for something different, but hopefully if it was a maternity shoot, you captured more pictures focused on that.

I really like the last pic by the way. nice angle. The one foot covering the side of the face I think would have been better not touching her face, but otherwise the best of the group I think.

 

[Aayria]

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone =) I wanted to add before turning in for the night, that I have a TON of shots of her belly and such.. These were just the first few of the set that I happened to edit and put up as a preview for her tonight. I'll try and get more up later this week as I go through them!

 

[burstintoflame81]

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone =) I wanted to add before turning in for the night, that I have a TON of shots of her belly and such.. These were just the first few of the set that I happened to edit and put up as a preview for her tonight. I'll try and get more up later this week as I go through them!

I figured you did, but just had to say it to say it just in chase great work though

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

1. Hate how the greens blend, blur and seem to glow. Odd.
2. I don't care for the angle, the crop, cutting the body, the mass of hair, or unbalanced composition.
3. The lighting looks harsh and point and shooty. Hair covering her face. Poorly cropped. The framing is in that awkward netherworld of either being too tight, or not tight enough. I think this is an instance to not apply the rule of thirds and center them up. Centering them would actually put each person on a thirds division, and quite possibly their heads in the thirds intersections.
4. Could be my favorite, cropping so his head isn't dead center.
5. I don't care for this crotch shot at all. The tree blends with her hair and appears to be growing out of her head

 

[Aayria]

1. Hate how the greens blend, blur and seem to glow. Odd.
2. I don't care for the angle, the crop, cutting the body, the mass of hair, or unbalanced composition.
3. The lighting looks harsh and point and shooty. Hair covering her face. Poorly cropped. The framing is in that awkward netherworld of either being too tight, or not tight enough. I think this is an instance to not apply the rule of thirds and center them up. Centering them would actually put each person on a thirds division, and quite possibly their heads in the thirds intersections.
4. Could be my favorite, cropping so his head isn't dead center.
5. I don't care for this crotch shot at all. The tree blends with her hair and appears to be growing out of her head

Thanks for the feedback, bitter! Going to do a few things today and then come back with some re-edits and more comments, but I had to drop by and let you know I didn't miss this =P Back later!

 

[Aayria]

I'm back! Thanks again everyone for commenting

Bitter, I re-edited a few of these, particularly number one. The shirt is no longer glowing =P It was just the result of bumping the green luminance a bit much in LR.

#2) I was trying an idea I had.. we showered rosepetals over her head, while I did as best I could to stand overhead with my wide angle (kit) lens... I think if I re-did this shot, I'd put her hair over the far shoulder, so you could see the nape of her neck and face. Conceptually, I still like the idea and result..but I think it could have been a lot better. What I was most pleased with in this shot was the lighting.. I found a nice area where there was a stream of sunlight surrounded by shadow. I also, would like to have shot it with her more to the right end of the frame instead of center/angled. It was difficult because I'm a very very short person.. Next time I'm bringing a ladder =P

#3 I would have liked to shoot at a wider angle to fit more in.. as well as moving the hair. This couple was a lot of fun to work with, and kept doing cute things I wanted shots of *after* I did the posed shots and set my camera down to re-arrange things LOL. This one was caught as they gave each other a kiss after I had posed them, and I managed to click it just in time. I think that is why iti looks a bit point and shooty as you put it.. But overall I liked the tone balance and sharpness, as well as the "candidness."

#4) You pointed out exactly what I was unhappy with in this shot.. But I just couldn't find a good way to crop it without him being dead center. Any ideas?

#5) lol, I'm actually really suprised. This was my favorite shot of the entire day! It was meant to be playful and taken from a child's perspective. I was laying on my back (in the MUD ), scooting around as this adorable little girl was MOVING so much.. and just got lucky on this one. There were a couple of others where her foot didn't quite intersect her cheek, but the facial expressions/eye contact weren't as good in those.

All in all.. I was really happy with this shoot! I tried a lot of new things, including a few shots with intentional flare, silhouettes against the sunset, and different angles. I need to work on posing my subjects more, but I felt like this shoot was a major step in the right direction.