If I had a chance to plan...

adbsgicom

Out today with some friends. I had my 5D2 with the 24-105 f/4L and 580ex flash. Nothing else with me and we ended up by a nice creek rushing with water (which is a very welcome sight after last year's drought). Anyway the impromptu family portrait ensued since it was very nice there. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how things turned out, but trying to learn a bit were this a planned shot....

If I were to have an option to have shot this with some forethought (instead of rushedly hoping the youngest didn't lose what little patience she had for the endeavor), I think what I would need is, slightly deeper DOF-- eyes were a little soft -- (shot f/7.1 1/640s so I had margin to go f/8 or better, just didn't get the moments to think and I still require thinking) and the flash was set to fill at -2/3 EV. The overall exposure was a little dark and I ended up bumping about 2/3EV in post, which is not what I want, so a little more ambient in the main as well -- perhaps f/8 and 1/320). Also a slightly higher position so they could look up just a bit more, and possibly a better time of day or a diffuser to help even out the sun which I did some of in post as well). For clothing, mom was fine, the rest of family needed non-printed shirts and perhaps a little coordination. Would have been nice to not have black on mom. Probably should have gel'ed the flash for shade, but correction in post worked out okay here. And hair needed better control. I had to PS out hair moving into the mouths of mom and elder daughter...

Is there anything else I would want to do differently has this been planned?



Edited for harsh light:


Thanks.

Betz

Personally I love it. Planning shots is a great thing but I'm a personal fan of the impromptu shots like this one that depict a family just as they are.

kidzmom

I think this looks great Andrew! I understand about the planning thing. Some friends of our were passing through town a few days ago and I did a mini-shoot for them. We had not planned it (outfits etc), but sometimes the spur of the moment captures the energy and essence of the family better! Nice shot!

adbsgicom

Don't get me wrong. I like how it turned out overall, and mom likes it as well. I get the value of the candid portrait (we can't go toting along with us umbrellas and softboxes all the time). I'm just trying to analyze this one in terms of what I should have done were this a "we want a family portait out by Onion Creek. Let's all meet out there at 5pm and then get some BBQ at the Salt Lick".

JohnEBongo

Andrew, you have already pointed out some of the issues with something spontaneous like this. One thing that caught my eye though, was the posing of the subjects. Mom and dad appear to have their arms around each other and dad has his left arm around the older girl. The younger girl, however, has no physical connection with the rest of the family. Almost as if she just ran into the frame and stood there. If mom had her hand on the shoulder of the younger girl, for example, I think it would be a stronger composition. It seems like a little thing, but I have found that it can make a difference, and it is one of things you can control even in un-planned circumstances.........Thanks

John

Qarik

Adnrew I think the focus is fine...the thing that kills it for me is the harsh/uneven light and the shadows. shade shade shade!

adbsgicom

John, thanks for the point on the posing. I need to get practice in posing, so it becomes much more automatic. With just the one child I don't get multiple children often (usually letting me practice isn't a priority for them).

Qarik, yeah, shade would have been nice; no leaves no overhangs, nothing with me for a scrim. From a practical point of view, a white sheet and a couple of clamps and a pair of lightstands could have helped at least some in creating some shade here, right?

lilmomma

Qarik wrote:

Adnrew I think the focus is fine...the thing that kills it for me is the harsh/uneven light and the shadows. shade shade shade!

maybe putting their back to the sun would've helped with the light mixture. Also imo the flash is a *touch* too strong, literally like a touch.

those are my thoughts anyway for what it's worth

haven't seen you around lately, nice to see you posting.

Mitchell

Overall, I like it. All the things you've mentioned (lighting, etc..) are here, but the thing that bothers me the most is their attire. The clothing with the text and designs really take this portrait down a notch. I realize this is just a casual, family photo, but a little attention to their attire would have made this a real keepsake.

adbsgicom

lilmomma wrote:

maybe putting their back to the sun would've helped with the light mixture. Also imo the flash is a *touch* too strong, literally like a touch.

those are my thoughts anyway for what it's worth

haven't seen you around lately, nice to see you posting.

Thanks. I wanted to step the flash down a 1/3, but the youngest was done...
I've been swamped with the paying job, so not even any time to shoot...:cry

adbsgicom

Mitchell wrote:

Overall, I like it. All the things you've mentioned (lighting, etc..) are here, but the thing that bothers me the most is their attire. The clothing with the text and designs really take this portrait down a notch. I realize this is just a casual, family photo, but a little attention to their attire would have made this a real keepsake.

Had I even had an inkling that this was coming I would have suggested, nicer clothing, but we weren't out here for photos, mostly for BBQ, so the wardrobe was a bust. Perhaps I need to send all my kid's shirts that aren't good for photos to Goodwill; that way I get a tax write-off and remove the risk of having a great setting and lousy clothing with her....

Tried to rotate as much as possible but they really wanted the part of the creek as backdrop and with the sun nearly parallel to the creek.... Down the side of the creek wasn't nearly as nice a backdrop... the mom joked to me if I wanted them to wade across the river to get better light when I commented on it. This river was bone dry about 6 months ago. I have a shot of a small sapling that started to grow in the middle of the creek and is now about 1/2 under water... Not so much defending my picture (I know the light is harsh and mottled), just wondering what I could do given the open space to even it out, thus the question about the sheet/scrim (or wait for a cloudy day).

adbsgicom

Trying to deal with the uneven light. Did this help or hinder the net result?


I've also posted it under the original for side-by-side....