New to this site, and photography looking for some C&C :)

[Ryan L]

I'll jump in. Ok when I picture babies and rusty metal and I imagine......homelessness, poverty, despair, welfare, drugs, grafiti. Throw in toxic waste though and my mind goes right to a green one eyed cyclops baby.

 

[BNHPhotography]

Thanks everyone for the input The barrel she's sitting next to is a feed barrel for cattle, not a toxic waste barrel, but i could see now, thinking outside of my box, it does look like one! haha I guess, what we were trying to go with was more of a i live on this cow farm, here i am taking a break from milking? Really, i didn't have a vision going into this shoot, and i know now that it should be more ME and not just what the client wants. Whenever i find out exactly who I AM in photography then i will smear me all over my pictures! haha I have a shoot this evening at an old mill in the area, i'll try to convey more of me: happy, smiley to my pictures, but also remember that i'm taking pictures of a little 1 year old! I'll post some pictures this afternoon of that, and keep everything that everyone has said playing in my mind as i shoot Hopefully the end result will look better, and be more appropriate! ALSO, i googled, and found the skin softening brush on lightroom, so if i hadn't all ready given these pictures to the client, i could've done a better smoothing job on her leg, and arm etc. Thanks everyone, my mind is filled with ideas, and i think i have more of an idea going in now, what i really need to do than i did before!

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Thanks everyone for the input The barrel she's sitting next to is a feed barrel for cattle, not a toxic waste barrel, but i could see now, thinking outside of my box, it does look like one! haha I guess, what we were trying to go with was more of a i live on this cow farm, here i am taking a break from milking?

I knew it wasn't a toxic waste barrel, but my point is, the imagery gives no indication of the story you are thinking of. I think your story is good, but you need the imagery to convey that. That's where my suggestion of making lists comes in.

Good luck on your shoot today!

 

[BNHPhotography]

Thanks I look forward to sharing some of my pictures for c&c, it's fun hearing what everyone has to say! Hopefully one day, with everyones help, i can post a few helpful hints, too!

 

[BNHPhotography]

Just thinking about, 'how to make this work, correctly' i could've showed her walking thru some grass bare foot towards the barn, with a milking pale in one hand. Is that more of 'the right way' to convey this, and the little story i came up with? Smelling the pretty flower can't be every picture. If you were doing something like this, how would you do the barn shots, or inside the barn? Just looking for suggestions

 

[vtf]

My thoughts are "keep you picture simple". The subject with as simple a background as possible. Nail the basics first then add "out of box" ideas to this. Be sure your subject is in focus and is the focus of the shot. It may be cliche' but maternity shots such as your first one shown don't speak maternity, close up of the mother and her baby bump are needed with something to speak "baby" such as her holding her bump.
Rustic could mean an old rock fence, or log cabin background, even a wood floor with her lying on it. Keep it simple.
It's a pleasant change to see some one take C&C, welcome to the forum.:thumbup:

 

[BNHPhotography]

Thanks I came here for C&C and i'm glad everyone is giving it! I knew that my pictures needed work, and i was so tired of hearing everyone tell me how wonderful they were. That isn't the way to learn!--again this is like the just saying yes in an earlier feed, i can't just say thank you, haha!
Thank you for the input, i'll try to pick a happier, pretty/ugly rustic place for my next maternity shoot!

 

[Kerbouchard]

Thanks for posting, I'm looking forward to your next thread on how you should deal with an unsatisfied customer who is just being unreasonable. Also, looking forward to the thread where you ask what you should do since you are being sued when somebody trips and falls at one of your 'pretty/ugly rustic' shoots. Also, looking forward to the thread when you want advice about what you should do because one of the photographers in your area reported you to the IRS and State for not paying your taxes. Oh, and the really fun one, when you are being sued by a client whose expectations you didn't meet and you have to explain to a judge how you don't actually have a business, but were just doing it under the table to earn some extra money...that should be fun.

Oh, I guess I forgot to mention, since you don't have a business, don't have insurance, don't have the required skills, and you're not paying taxes, you legally, and morally, shouldn't be charging people for your 'services' in the first place, but good luck with that.

 

[vtf]

Thanks I came here for C&C and i'm glad everyone is giving it! I knew that my pictures needed work, and i was so tired of hearing everyone tell me how wonderful they were. That isn't the way to learn!--again this is like the just saying yes in an earlier feed, i can't just say thank you, haha!
Thank you for the input, i'll try to pick a happier, pretty/ugly rustic place for my next maternity shoot!

I hope you don't mind but it's simplier for me just to show what I mean, here's a simple edit, crop and cloning to show what I was refering to by eliminating the distractions and keeping it simple. The image is pretty small and prevents me from making many lighting changes.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Just thinking about, 'how to make this work, correctly' i could've showed her walking thru some grass bare foot towards the barn, with a milking pale in one hand. Is that more of 'the right way' to convey this, and the little story i came up with? Smelling the pretty flower can't be every picture. If you were doing something like this, how would you do the barn shots, or inside the barn? Just looking for suggestions

Now that tells a story!

I know I am judging by one image, and sometimes a series is needed to tell a story. Farms grow new life and cultivate it. It's a great tie in with maternity.
No, smelling the flower shouldn't be every image. Besides it is too basic. Your bolded idea is more complex. Work on that. That's something that can set you apart!

How would I do barn shots? That's really hard to say, sitting here behind a screen, and not being able to take in everything about the barn.

 

[BNHPhotography]

Thanks, i really appreciate the help, and visual aide!
And to Kerbouchard, Everyone has to start somewhere. I don't put my clients in harms way, i'm not fussing, and i'm not saying you aren't right, but if i have an unsatisfied customer, i will make it up to them. It isn't like i'm making a couple grand doing weddings, if it comes to that i will have all the neccesary paperwork, and insurance.

 

[Kerbouchard]

Thanks, i really appreciate the help, and visual aide!
And to Kerbouchard, Everyone has to start somewhere. I don't put my clients in harms way, i'm not fussing, and i'm not saying you aren't right, but if i have an unsatisfied customer, i will make it up to them. It isn't like i'm making a couple grand doing weddings, if it comes to that i will have all the neccesary paperwork, and insurance.

I understand that everybody starts somewhere...

The responsible ones start with learning their gear, learning how to get white balance right, learning composition, learning lighting, realizing that with everything they know, they can probably market themselves, coming up with a business plan, creating a business, getting a tax ID, and getting clients...

And then there are people like you.

In my opinion, it's the difference between a pharmacist and a drug dealer. About the only thing they have in common is that they both sell drugs.

 

[BNHPhotography]

I did do that, i started out taking pictures of my family and friends, then they refered me to more family and friends, then to more friends, etc. If i'm going to do 3 to 6 sessions a weekend, i would like to have some sort of compensation for work. I know the pictures i posted aren't my best. That's kind of why i posted them, you can't draw a conclusion about me, just from the 3 pictures that i posted, and the information you drew from questions i was asked. There's millions of people out there that take pictures for people for a modest fee, that don't have license, or insurance. I live in a rural area where people work until their bodies can't handle it anymore, to keep the roof over their heads, and food on the table, those people can't afford to pay 150 to 300 dollars for birthday pictures of their children, or 3 to 4 thousand dollars for pictures at their weddings, that's where the people like me, i guess, step up and say, 'you know what my pictures look like, they aren't proffessional, and this is what we can do'. I'm no idiot, i know the trouble that i can get into, but it isn't like it's just me and the guy down the street doing it.
And right now, i feel like i'm the pharmacy intern, no drug dealer. I'm doing my best to learn what i can, and putting the money into the things i need, and the information to attain the goal i want to reach. They're compensated for the work that they do, and the information they can provide. They don't make a pharmacist salary, but they're still learning.

 

[Kerbouchard]

I won't argue with you. As far as your attitude goes, you are head and shoulders above most of the people who come on this forum in similar situations. You aren't defensive and you're willing to learn. Hopefully, you can turn your side money into a profitable business. Best of luck to you.

 

[vtf]

I won't argue with you. As far as your attitude goes, you are head and shoulders above most of the people who come on this forum in similar situations. You aren't defensive and you're willing to learn. Hopefully, you can turn your side money into a profitable business. Best of luck to you.

Exactly, she could be pulling her pictures, her text and calling everyone a stalker.