Maternity Shoot - CC Welcome!

jmtonkin

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Today, I shot my first maternity shoot. It was an experience, let me tell you...I think the shots turned out alright, at least the couple liked them! It also gave me a chance to play with my new Sunpak 120J that I received yesterday! (P.S. Love the flash!)

I know they are cliche, but I'd love some CC on these!

1.
8085166581_66b55d4ff7_b.jpg

ISO 100
f/13
1/250 sec.

I feel that this shot turned out quite nicely. I feel, after looking at this one, that I should have ever-so-slightly repositioned his left hand. It looks quite flat. Overall, I love the black/white conversion, and from what my eyes can tell, decently sharp.

2.
8085180015_61342c6f70_b.jpg

ISO 200
f/5.3
1/250 sec.

This shot made me realize how much I want a new lens. It was definitely a pain to get a sufficient depth of field for this shot to work how I wanted to...I had to resort to Photoshop...I'm not 100% sold on the effect, but it looks better than the original...Now that I look, I can't tell if it is my exhausted eyes or what, but the edges of the hands look a little iffy...Suggestions as to what I can do to make this look a little better? I did a gaussian blur and erased the hands and ultra-sound...

Like I said, cliche...BUT!, any CC is welcomed and would be greatly appreciated!
 
In addition to the points you've already raised, I will add that I would have preferred the lighting in #1 to be a bit more diffused, and in #2; both people wearing black shirts???? Really???? You can't tell where one starts and the other ends.
 
I agree about the lighting...I'm getting a soft box this week, so I'm hoping that that will help for next time...

As for the black shirts, I couldn't agree more...I was not pleased with that. The backdrop I have is a very dark blue, so that sucked, hence the outdoor shots...Is there anything I can do next time to help with this problem, aside from making them change???
 
...Is there anything I can do next time to help with this problem, aside from making them change???
Did you not discuss clothing choices at your pre-shoot consult? This is probably one of the most critical points of discussion that you should be involved in! ALWAYS recommend suitable clothing choices to clients beforehand. Granted, they will sometimes ignore you, but at least you've tried. As for this image? I don't think there's much you can do, no.
 
I did mention to them that they should wear lighter colors, but like you said, they don't always listen...To make matters worse, they wanted selective coloring in one of them...Ugh! But yes, I did mention it to them...
 
Not too shabby lighting-wise. I think the black and orange T-shirts are okay...hey...these are YOUNG people!!! Remember all those hippie kids from the 1960's wearing tie-dyed shirts, with their hair in mondo-Afro's, with scruffy beards and goatees??? Their idea of dressing up is to wear their CLEAN jeans, and a T-shirt from the closet, not the floor! lol.

I think the ultrasound pic/couple kissing shot is kinda cute...they might very well have some kind of personal connection to an orange-and-black sports team or something...I dunno...but it looks like the black & orange T's and the jeans are actually a deliberate, conscious decision...so...I don't mind their wardrobe in that context. Good to see that the ancient Sunpak 120J flash unit performed well on its "maiden voyage of the 2010's!"
 
Derrel said:
I think the ultrasound pic/couple kissing shot is kinda cute...they might very well have some kind of personal connection to an orange-and-black sports team or something...I dunno...but it looks like the black & orange T's and the jeans are actually a deliberate, conscious decision...so...I don't mind their wardrobe in that context.

Any suggestions what I could do to deal with this? Is there any better way to light the shot so they look separate? As pointed out, you can't tell where one ends and one begins...

Derrel said:
Good to see that the ancient Sunpak 120J flash unit performed well on its "maiden voyage of the 2010's!"

I was VERY pleased with the results the Sunpak gave! The heart shot was shot with the flash two feet away from them at 1/4 power, and it turned out quite nice. As was pointed out earlier, it would could have been better, but without diffusing it, it appears to have given a fairly even light and was actually much easier to use for this shot than my SB-900 was. I'm not sure, but it seems like that metal "dome" caused a much more directional light and helped a lot with spill...
 
Yeah, a parabolic reflector instead of a flat, Fresnel-lens-equipped speedlight gives a "different kind of output". The 120J was originally designed as a flash for "social photography situations"...I have seen some wonderful work done with similar flashes that use a roughly 5- to 8-inch reflector, like those made for Norman brand flash units...

You could try taking the 120J into a BIG room with dim lights, or going outdoors at night and shooting some test frames against a concrete or stucco-finished building exterior wall, to get a better "feel" for how the light beam spreads on both the 120J and the Nikon speedlight...have a person standing there for a good sense of scale, and try the flash from various distances...do it at NIGHT, so the effect is very obvious. Compare and contrast the 120J's parabolic type reflector against the SB 900!
 
Can you do something in PP about the belly hair? If that we're me, I would appreciate the retouch. :)
 

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