Meagan and family Holiday Shot

[paigew]

They all look great! They will love it

The only thing is, it sort of looks like the mom is floating...what is she sitting on?

 

[Buckster]

They all look great! They will love it

The only thing is, it sort of looks like the mom is floating...what is she sitting on?

Thank you kindly. She's sitting on a simple posing stool.

 

[jake337]

The only thing I'm not sure about is the Dad's head tiltin towards the high shoulder. But then I try to imagine the exposure with his head tilted the other way and I not sure how it would look. I think any feminine attributes this gives off are lost because of how his arms/hands incompass his entire family, bringing back the masculinity.

Sorry to nitpick, just been trying to read up on portraiture posing alot lately, so take it with half a grain of salt!

No worries! Nitpick away! I do it to myself all the time when looking at my final finished products. It's all good. That's how we learn and grow in our abilities.

There's not a photo I've ever produced that I don't look at and wish I'd done something a little different, gotten a little more light or a little more shadow here or there, managed the pose a little better, coordinated the color or background or composition as a whole better, managed DOF better, etc. I see little things others will probably never ever notice, and I think, "DOH!"

In the end, I just accept that I'm not perfect, the world's not perfect, and maybe the little imperfections make it all just a little more natural, a little more human, a little more believable. In this case, maybe it says something about who he is, personality-wise, something the family knows instinctively and will connect with when they look at it.

After thinking about I like his head position as is. If he were to have a more masculine head tilt it may have given to manly of an impression, "my family! GRrrr!" In the position it is currently in combined with his arms it gives a more passionate and friendly "daddy" feeling or "love my family" feeling.

 

[Buckster]

Well, seems like you've covered the background, but I have a few questions about the posing.

Why square to the camera for mom and dad?

They're turned just slightly to camera left at my direction, but perhaps I should have been more pronounced in that aspect of their poses. I usually do rotate the subject more, but didn't this time because I thought that as a family group shot it would work well to make mom the recognizable center of the family, as an anchor for the shot, and I thought that too much rotation of the members would detract from that theme. That may not have been the best decision, but I can live with it, and I know they're good with it.

Looks like Mom is hunched over a bit,

I prefer that relaxed position, especially while holding the baby, rather than a stiff-backed pose. Without the baby, I would definitely have straightened her up, but to me, this looks more family-intimate.

Dad's right arm look akward

To me, it looks quite natural and paternal as he embraces and "protects" his family, visually bringing the individuals very much together as a family.

and both Mom and Dad have double chins.

It's true, they do. Perhaps a clamshell arrangement on the key wasn't the best choice for this, or I should have gotten their heads forward and pointed down somewhat, but the client and I are all okay with the result, so I'm not going to sweat it. It's a good thing to keep in mind for future shoots though, and I appreciate you pointing it out.

what was your camera height?

The height of mom's face - I'll guess 3.5 to 4 feet off the ground.

I'm thinking I would have had Mom 'sit tall' and had dad bring his right foot back a bit and place most of his weight on his rear foot. Maybe even have used a posing stool for Dad, too, since he is so much taller.

That would certainly be up to you if you were shooting it. Taking that into consideration, I still like this arrangment, but it's certainly something to think about for future shoots.

I don't know, for me, the posing just seems a bit akward for the parents.

Thanks for your thoughts on that. It's good to get a range of opinions and ideas for future shoots.

I think maybe you were concentrating on the kids(which you did a great job on),

Thank you kindly. I was definitely concentrating on the kids and working to keep them on board with what I was trying to achieve.

and lost track of the parents.

Could be, but as I recall, I was working with them and giving them direction as well - maybe just not doing a good enough job of it. In any case, since all parties are pretty happy with the end result, I can live with it.

 

[Kerbouchard]

Didn't mean any offense. Just wanted to give you some feedback as per your signature.

 

[Buckster]

Didn't mean any offense. Just wanted to give you some feedback as per your signature.

None taken! I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to have a close look and share your thoughts on it! :thumbup: