family portrait attempt.......

like2learn · May 8, 2009

this was taken one afternoon as a starting effort at getting some decent portrait images. wondering if this is a good start or if i'm way off? any help, thoughts, ideas are greatly appreciated. and i'm thick-skinned so let it rip.

d70s, 18-70 @ 38, on camera flash @ 1/2 power, iso 400, 1/400 sec, f 4.2.
shot raw and processed in pse 5.0.

wondering how to work out the dof for a blurry background? start with aperture more open, then.........

UPDATED, new attempt at end of thread. what do you think?

rustic · May 8, 2009

If you have a 18-70, I'd say back up a bit and move towards the 70 end of things. 38 is pretty wide for a portrait, and I believe that this should help with your background (though I'm sure someone will correct me if this is wrong).

I might try to find a bit of a different pose as well. I like having the child in the middle, but his arm around her looks kinda forced. Maybe tighten up the crop a bit as well, you could probably eliminate most if not all of the grass, which would help in the background dept.

Hope that's helpful!

Toshido · May 8, 2009

Maybe my head is tilted but it looks like the couple are falling over to the right. All the trees are tilting as well. Might want to straighten.

Longer focal length and wider apertures shorten DOF. You could of course move the couple further from the trees as well.

From my reading here cutting hands in half is a no-no. His right hand is chopped in half.

Personally not a fan of just seeing fingers crawling around her. Either more hand and a little arm, or none would be my preference.
Which brings me to them being very centered. Again seems to be a rule of compositions, rule of thirds.
I like solid colours, not the patterned shirt he is wearing.

I do like the rest though. Colours seem good to me. Good compromise between pale woman and darker man.
Nice job getting them to all look at you. not like a baby that age follows direction. I don't mind the arm on the mommy. My little one does that very naturally, especially when he does not want to be put down or handed off.
Might want to try portrait orientation as well, unless you really wanted to feature the trees on both sides of them.

EXILER · May 9, 2009

i think the shot is also leaning towards the right i tighter crop would make a world of difference.

heatherfeather · May 9, 2009

I actually think this is a good start. Nobody ever got perfection on their first try. Here is what you have done right:

Color- skintones look pretty nice to my eye
Light- no strange shadows - no raccoon eyes
Focus- they are in focus! Which is rather crucial but a lot of beginners somehow miss it. You nailed the focus.

All that to say this- you did pretty well and keep shooting! Take what the other folks said and add it to what you already did well and your photos will get better and better.

Toshido · May 9, 2009

Sorry forgot to say I would be happy with this shot.

I myself am a beginner as well but the past year and a half on Digital grin has helped me to begin developing an eye so I can be critical and just enough knowledge to pass some on to other beginners.

One thing that did help me a little with DOF is playing with the DOF master to get a better understanding of distance, focal length and aperture and how they relate to DOF.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

like2learn · May 9, 2009

thanks everybody.......I need all the advice offered. there was some difficulty built in as this involved me setting the timer, running over and getting in the shot. .......no remote.

and there wasn't much room to work with. the plan was to use the long end of the lens and have more distance from the background. it just didn't work out this time. we'll make the full effort as time allows at a local park or town square. this was just to get this process started and learn what's what. so thanks again for helping.

rustic · May 9, 2009

like2learn wrote:

thanks everybody.......I need all the advice offered. there was some difficulty built in as this involved me setting the timer, running over and getting in the shot. .......no remote.

Heh, not sure about everyone else, but I didn't realize that was you in the shot! That definitely makes it a bit harder!

I like the tighter crop better, and I think the square format works well. I agree with Heather about the color and lighting as well. Also, in regard to Toshido's comment, I like the child's arm on the mommy as well, I think that looks fine, but your arm looks a little bit forced.

sweet caroline · May 9, 2009

Next time, turn your body in towards her more. This is better than most of my attempts at self family portraits! You are definitely on the right track.

whiterice · May 9, 2009

The tighter crop made a world of difference!

clap Very nice.

like2learn · May 10, 2009

....attempts continue. for not? better location. tougher light b/c we arrived a bit later than we should have. & I gotta learn to smile. tried these with the 50mm/1.8 at 2.5, 1/3200 sec, shot in raw, processed and cropped in pse 5.0. what do you guys say?

like2learn · May 13, 2009

anyone?

also, when i tried the on camera flash to fill in our faces some, it blew it out pretty bad. i thought about trying a smaller aperture but thought the dof would have brought the fountain into focus?

JAMoore · May 13, 2009

Very nice DOF. If you could just get a little fill light in there as you mentioned it would be spot on. My only other suggestion is to crop out a little space above your head, even if it's just a little bit down to the top of the fountain.

Overall very good shot.

like2learn wrote:

anyone?

also, when i tried the on camera flash to fill in our faces some, it blew it out pretty bad. i thought about trying a smaller aperture but thought the dof would have brought the fountain into focus?

family portrait attempt.......

Comments