generation of women- family portraits

MissB

I really had a lot of fun with this family yesterday... what do you think? CC definatly welcome!

jeffreaux2

Make sure you have "Enabled" external links for the gallery. The photos are a no-show.

MissB

are they still a no show??

Trevlan

I learned today, what a pain in the @55 it is to shoot on grass. It gives a green color cast that's tough to remove. When all else fails, black and white it.

Also, white is tough to shoot, especiall on people of color. To expose properly, you'll have to blow out the whites. We can get away with that on a few parts of the white item (Dress, shirt, etc.) But when it looks like the person is floating (picture1), or bein flattened by a white blanket (picture 4) it doesn't work well.

All in all, these are pretty nice shots. They look natural and confortable with your direction. The processing is rather nice in these. The skin smoothing is excellent.

Miguel Delinquento

MissB, these shots as a whole are very satisfying to view. I get a feeling that there is a lot of love in this family. To me, that is more important than any technical issues (I'll critique those below anyway) because emotion transcends most things.

The first shot is wonderful in feeling. I only wish that the woman in the rear had more of her face revealed, or at least her right eye. But the kid, wow.

No. 2 I like the tone choice and the angle of view. Generally the lighting is good even though the area around her chin and lips is blown.

No. 3 great smile and the red looks fine there. I would have traded the background for more of her whole head. Could you have gone vertical on this shot?

No 4. that little girl is a natural in front of the camera, those eyes and expression are so compelling that I overlook the blown background to the left. Actually you put a lot of art into the shot as she comes out of the light to take over the shot.

No. 5 May be my least favorite as it's a strange shooting angle. The fruit are irrelevant to me but you work with what you've got. I would have preferred to have seen a more direct look and H&S frame. The hat would have worked better too.

No. 6 is an interesting shot, earthy. Nice color too. Might be a candidate for your portfolio, though the family may (or may not) appreciate it.

No. 7 This is the one shot that the technicals really bother me. I like the woman's kind and almost noble expression. I assume you have tried removing the glare without messing up her skin tone? It looks beyond my skills.

Nice work in challenging lighting.

M

MissB

thank you that is some fantastic CC... yes they were a very loving family fantastic to work with. I drove 4 hours to meet them and it was just past the sweet light... so we were stuck with late morning sun...bleh.

bdcolen

MissB wrote:

I really had a lot of fun with this family yesterday... what do you think? CC definatly welcome!

Really lovely! The family will be thrilled - or better me. (But in the one of the girl and fruit, why the fruit as the point of focus, rather than the little girl?)

VayCayMom

Wonderful looking family. something special about these shots, they will be thrilled with these, nice job !!

Elaine

What a beautiful group of ladies. The colors are bright and crisp, the expressions are precious and the subjects fill the frame. I love the tones in #2. (It's helpful to number your shots when posting multiple images.) Thanks for sharing these lovelies!

MissB

bdcolen wrote:

Really lovely! The family will be thrilled - or better me. (But in the one of the girl and fruit, why the fruit as the point of focus, rather than the little girl?)

thank you! I was actually photographing the aunt and she came over to show me the pears she was picking.. so I got it impromptu... just a selfish shot I guess.. but the family really likes it.

MissB

VayCayMom wrote:

Wonderful looking family. something special about these shots, they will be thrilled with these, nice job !!

thank you vaycay mom!

MissB

Trevlan wrote:

I learned today, what a pain in the @55 it is to shoot on grass. It gives a green color cast that's tough to remove. When all else fails, black and white it.

Also, white is tough to shoot, especiall on people of color. To expose properly, you'll have to blow out the whites. We can get away with that on a few parts of the white item (Dress, shirt, etc.) But when it looks like the person is floating (picture1), or bein flattened by a white blanket (picture 4) it doesn't work well.

All in all, these are pretty nice shots. They look natural and confortable with your direction. The processing is rather nice in these. The skin smoothing is excellent.

good point... I was waiting for someone to mention the shirts on #1... this family had especially dark toned skin... so It was tough with the indoor lighting... and with being outdoors it was tough because I really had to smooth out the sweat to keep the highlights from being too bright on the faces... definatly a first for me...a learning expierence but I really enjoyed it!

Trevlan

Trevlan wrote:

I learned today, what a pain in the @55 it is to shoot on grass. It gives a green color cast that's tough to remove. When all else fails, black and white it.

Also, white is tough to shoot, especiall on people of color. To expose properly, you'll have to blow out the whites. We can get away with that on a few parts of the white item (Dress, shirt, etc.) But when it looks like the person is floating (picture1), or bein flattened by a white blanket (picture 4) it doesn't work well.

All in all, these are pretty nice shots. They look natural and confortable with your direction. The processing is rather nice in these. The skin smoothing is excellent.

I figured out how to combat the green cast in the pictures. Your main light has to be stronger than the ambient. You must use flash and set it where it will evenly illuminate the face. If you don't have flash, you'll need a gobo between the grass and the subject. Wish I figured this out two days ago. I'll post some pics in a separate thread soon. Hope this helps.

MissB

Trevlan wrote:

I figured out how to combat the green cast in the pictures. Your main light has to be stronger than the ambient. You must use flash and set it where it will evenly illuminate the face. If you don't have flash, you'll need a gobo between the grass and the subject. Wish I figured this out two days ago. I'll post some pics in a separate thread soon. Hope this helps.

hmm im going to have to play around with that... thank you!