Getting my kids to sit still is......

Charla · December 17, 2006

Impossible! Ain't gonna happen (I'm sure many of you can relate!). So I'm not sure what possessed me to attempt a portrait session today, but nevertheless here are the results. I'd love to hear what you think.

Setup was in my basement with white walls all the way around. External flash in wireless mode diffused and bounced off the wall, with on camera flash used for fill. I intentionally left these a little warm because we are so fair skinned and I didn't want skin tones to be completely washed out.

Thanks for looking! Comments are greatly appreciated

GREAPER · December 17, 2006

I think they look great. NIce expressions, and casual natural looks.

CenterStageLori · December 17, 2006

They are gorgeous (and so are your portraits.)

I really love the blurred background and sharp, sharp, sharp faces

Scott_Quier · December 18, 2006

Love these! #1 and #3 are my favorites! Like CenterStageLori said, very nice control of DOF and such sharp focus on the faces. Well done, indeed!

kygarden · December 18, 2006

I would be very happy with those results if I were you. I know what you mean about trying to get your kids to sit still ! It's not easy.

Derno · December 18, 2006

im really liking the christmas tree blurred behind them, definately makes it a great photo, along with the nice sharpness

ziggy53 · December 18, 2006

Charla,

A wonderful series!

The first three do seem a bit overly bright on my monitor, and the first two are a little "flat" in lighting. (The first is kind of justified, because much more angle to the light, and shadows could have become a problem on each other's face.) Possibly the fill needs to be cut back a bit.

The fourth is almost perfect for lighting, with excellent depth and dimentionality.

The last is nice, but, I'd like to see a little more angle on your face, not so "straight into" the camera. (I do the same thing, so this is a reminder to myself as well.)

What I "love" about the series is the intimacy and affection. I adore the interaction and animation of you and the kids.

The first image is a true "family" portrait, with the closeness and warmth that many families would envy.

I echo the sentiment about the way the bokeh affects the lights in the background. That perfect luminous sphere is to be desired and is a very attractive addition to the background.

I hope that I have conveyed the sense that I truly enjoyed these images, and any criticism is intended to be constructive.

Good job and thanks for sharing,

ziggy53

Maestro · December 18, 2006

All are fine, but two and three really stand out!

Charla · December 18, 2006

Thanks so much for the kind responses everyone. I was really happy with these shots but a little positive reinforcement really helps my confidence.

Ziggy - I really appreciate the C&C on these and I totally agree that the first 2 are bright. I was constantly tinkering with the light really working to control the shadows and wound up overdoing it a bit. Later in the session I dialed back the fill flash from -1.0 to -2.0 and that I think is where you see the difference between the shots.

The first shot was at f6.3 and we were very close to the tree. I didn't like how in focus the background was so I moved the stool further from the tree, moved the camera back and switched to my Tokina 100mm Macro f2.8 and shot all the rest at f2.8 basically just to see what would happen to the background. I really liked the bokeh that gave me and as an added surprise I even got some of the subjects in focus!

The self portrait was actually a result of my son saying "Mom can I take some pictures of you?" I said sure and set up the shot and got into position and let him press the shutter. He thought that was pretty cool. I think I have a budding little photographer in the family

Thanks again everyone for the comments!

DavidS · December 19, 2006

I love the third one. Wonderful expression.

yoyoboy · December 19, 2006

the purple catch light in #2 is pretty cool.

Charla · December 20, 2006

DavidS wrote:

I love the third one. Wonderful expression.

Appreciate the comment, thanks for looking!

Charla · December 20, 2006

yoyoboy wrote:

the purple catch light in #2 is pretty cool.

Thanks. I'm not sure what caused the purple tones in the eyes on #2. Could be a reflection of something or maybe a remnant of an auto red eye fix. I don't remember if the original has any red eye or not...

Thanks for the comments

Seneca · December 21, 2006

Great looking family. Good work.:ivar

MelP · December 21, 2006

Very nice set of pictures!! At least I'm not the only one with kids who won't sit still. You did get some nice expressions. My kids (especially the oldest) will cross her eyes and stick her tongue out.

Mel

KenMaurer · December 21, 2006

Great smiles
Great smiles. I bet they are even bigger today after all the snow you got in Denver.

Charla · December 21, 2006

Seneca wrote:

Great looking family. Good work.:ivar

Thanks Seneca

Charla · December 21, 2006

MelP wrote:

Very nice set of pictures!! At least I'm not the only one with kids who won't sit still. You did get some nice expressions. My kids (especially the oldest) will cross her eyes and stick her tongue out.

Mel

I got one of those too!

Charla · December 21, 2006

KenMaurer wrote:

Great smiles. I bet they are even bigger today after all the snow you got in Denver.

Thanks for the comments. Keep your eyes open for a new thread "Things to do in Denver..."

ziggy53 · December 21, 2006

Charla wrote:

I got one of those too!

I don't remember that big kid being in the back of the previous images?

That tongue looks nice and healthy. You are blessed.

ziggy53

Charla · December 21, 2006

ziggy53 wrote:

I don't remember that big kid being in the back of the previous images? That tongue looks nice and healthy. You are blessed.

ziggy53

Thanks Ziggy. Yeah, the big one bailed out after about 5 shots, but whaddya expect when the Broncos are playing??!!