Sisters...

Don Kondra

From a recent in home family shoot...

48" octobox nestled in with the Xmas tree camera left, 2' x 3' softbox straddling the console TV camera right, camera/tripod in the entrance to the room



Cheers, Don

divamum

Lighting is super, and it's a sweet shot of them.

Nits:

- grey sweater (camera right) has balled up her hands - her position around the waist is great, but it looks like a death clutch; more relaxed hands would've been a little less obtrusive

- beige sweater (camera left) is already a bit taller, so I'd have had her wrap her arm around Grey Sweater's waist instead of her shoulder.

- possibly had them both turn FACES (not bodies) a little more to camera, and got their faces closer.

These are serious photographer nits, however - this is a lovely photo of the pair!

anonymouscuban

Lighting is great, which is the toughest part. I agree with the posing nits Diva made. I also have to add that the background is blah. Maybe a slight vignette will living it up just a tad.

Don Kondra

Thanks for the comments Madeleine and Alex !

After shooting six people in ten different combinations I did miss some of the finer points of posing

In hindsight I believe the taller of the two was simply taking an opportunity to show off her new engagement ring, he, he...

Cheers, Don

D3Sshooter

Nice picture, and with an octa softbox of that seize there is very little that can go wrong. What I do notice is that because of the abundance of light the picture has lost a depth feeling. Light and shadows create depth and a mood. So lighting is what we call flat, but don't worry it is still a good family album picture.

No back to the composition, and here I do have some remarks. I understand that the two lovely ladies are not models . So it is the photographer that should guide them in the pose. There are two main area's that I would have done or tried to have done different.

1.) Don't let the ladies squeeze each other , look at the left hands (Viewer).

2.) The fact that they are so close to each other creates a mono block where the lovely contours of the ladies are no longer visible. Try to leave some space between them, not everywhere. And don't worry , you can still create the illusion as they are very close (mentally close) to each other with the right expression and position of the hands. It will result in a less heavy picture

3.) The hands, those are you main tool to create emotions. The hands on the back don't really work, and are more a distraction then added value. Try not to show half hands, palms, and use the fingers in a relaxed and stretched way . Like a gentle touch. Look at the hand on the right that is leaning on the shoulder , what do you see ?. Indeed it comes out of nowhere. Try to avoid hands that come out of the blue and show its connection

And as a last observation, pay attention to the clothing . Make sure everything is in place and straight, the jumper or whatever it is of the lady on the right (viewer) is not really pleasing is it ? (above the arm of the sister).

So far my views

Don Kondra

Thank you for taking the time to comment...

Good points to consider !

Cheers, Don