I don't like adults

~Jan~

I did a shoot last night of a family of 5--the 3 kids were all in their 20's. It was my hardest shoot EVER. They were so stiff and unnatural! I couldn't get them to do anything fun besides the posed shots. Plus, we were at a location too late so I had to bump up my ISO and the pics are grainy...it was an all-around disaster. Ick.

I now think that toddlers are MUCH easier...I may have to coerce/bribe, but at least they are natural and themselves!

Cuties02q

Sorry that really stinks...I have had the same problem with adults =( You are going to share some pics right?

evoryware

where's the pics?

I prefer adults over kids especially young boys. Newborn when they don't move much and then 10 and Up when they can focus for more than a second.

John Mueller

I wonder if this will work for adults also?

saurora

John Mueller wrote:

I wonder if this will work for adults also?

Oh John, you beat me to the punch! I was instantly reminded of DavidTo's thread.

~Jan~

That pez thing is a great idea! I haven't seen that before. I use my flash sometimes, though....


Here's two. I hate them (the pictures...I actually adore the family).

wesleyt

Jan,

I really like 1. It might be interesting with a square crop?

Regards,
Wes

ShepsMom

Why do you hate the pictures? I think they came out quiet nicely. Are you using your new 85 lens? I personally don't this anything wrong here.

~Jan~

Yeah, I was using my new 85 mm. Thank goodness, too, because the focus was pretty good on all of them! THe problem was NOISE, because I had my ISO at 400 or higher, and my XTi just can't deal w/ that. I need a 5D. That's on my list for sure! Anyhow, at full resolution I'm sure you'd be able to tell. Smallish web pics are kind to the eye.

I DO LOVE my 85. I'd sleep with it under my pillow if I could.

~Jan~

~Jan~ wrote:

Yeah, I was using my new 85 mm. Thank goodness, too, because the focus was pretty good on all of them! THe problem was NOISE, because I had my ISO at 400 or higher, and my XTi just can't deal w/ that. I need a 5D. That's on my list for sure! Anyhow, at full resolution I'm sure you'd be able to tell. Smallish web pics are kind to the eye.

I DO LOVE my 85. I'd sleep with it under my pillow if I could.

I think this shot is cool...this is the church they wanted in the background of some of the shots. It's being torn down, and they are sad because they've always attended there & their daughter was married there.

ian408

Good portraits are about knowing your subjects and interacting with them.

Sometimes they're stiff as boards though.

Seneca

ian408 wrote:

Good portraits are about knowing your subjects and interacting with them.

Sometimes they're stiff as boards though.

Jan why ISO400? I think you could've gotten away with 100 or even 200. Yeah I did a shoot on Saturday (Engagement)...and man o man...I couldn't get the guy to loosen up. I finally told him "Dude we need to get you a glass of wine..." It worked he did better.

But Jan I think you did great. Looks like the guys didn't know how to smile.

wesleyt

Jan,

Re noise: I love Noise Ninja; its ability to remove noise is simply amazing. I'm sure there are some newer and probably less expensive apps that are as good, but I'm not familiar with them.

Re the church: wow, what a beautiful picture of a beautiful church! It's a shame its being torn down.

The guys' exressions in 2 are so serious. The ladies all have such beautiful smiles. Such a big contrast.

You're a wonderful photographer; keep at it with the adults. Us guys can be tough sometimes, but we're usually not as tough as we pretend to be.

I always love seeing your work. Thanks for sharing!

Take care,
Wes

~Jan~

Seneca wrote:

Jan why ISO400? I think you could've gotten away with 100 or even 200.

Nope. That put my shutter speed under 100 or my ISO under 3.5 and I wasn't willing to sacrifice that, given my focus issues!

evoryware

you have a tripod, Jan?

Van Isle

I see your toughest issues were not of the techinical kind. The smiles (or lack thereof) seem to be the big challenge here. What were your options for making them seem more pleasant and enjoyable?

A rubber duck on the flash unit?

VI

~Jan~

evoryware wrote:

you have a tripod, Jan?

Yes, but I hate it. It's so not my style. I tend to move around a lot while shoot (and in general). I was thinking maybe a monopod? I know using a tripod would allow me to lower the ss...maybe I need to force myself to use it. I actually carried around the tripod for this shoot and even put the camera on it once but never used it.

heatherfeather

~Jan~ wrote:

Yes, but I hate it. It's so not my style. I tend to move around a lot while shoot (and in general). I was thinking maybe a monopod? I know using a tripod would allow me to lower the ss...maybe I need to force myself to use it. I actually carried around the tripod for this shoot and even put the camera on it once but never used it.

You know what? When I shoot receptions and things where it is extremely low light, and I gotta have that tripod- i just turn my tripod into a monopod by putting the legs together. It makes all the difference in the world for moving around and flexablity- and then if I need to rest my arms or something, I can just quick as a whip, pop out those legs and set that honkin camera down. It helps my arms a lot and I get that steadiness when I shoot! : )

photogmomma

Jan, you sound like you shoot a LOT like me. I hate tripod and monopods with a passion - as much as I've tried not to! (I set my camera on rapid burst mode now to get several photos from the same shot to switch eyes/heads if needed.)

Anyway, I try to joke around with my clients. We do serious (read: boring) poses first. Then I ask them for ideas. Then I make stupid jokes (hey, if you could just sit on her shoulders, we could have a GREAT shot!) and that loosens them up. I know they're dumb jokes, they know it and we all sort of relax.

Then I have them do less posed things. If we're at a bridge, I have them throw rocks. (Even if it's not natural for them, who cares. They're doing something different.) I'll have them walk away in a line - holding hands, if it's normal for them. Then I'll find a new place to shoot and by then they're relaxing.

I always use a fill flash, too. 580EX now, but it used to be a 420. I don't like flash at all, but in situations of low light, using one with a Lightsphere or some other diffuser is a life saver. I don't mind noise, but some people do - and I like to have the option.

Anyway, the photos are nice. They are technically well done, everyone looks good, but I agree - they are too static. It's hard doing adults and I don't really enjoy it either. Unless they've had a glass of wine or two and I can get them to relax more on top of that!

Hope some of what I said helps or sparks ideas! Keep it up. (And the 5D is a rocking camera - I'm using a 30D right now and really miss my 5D and hope it's back next week!)

~Jan~

photogmomma wrote:

Jan, you sound like you shoot a LOT like me. I hate tripod and monopods with a passion - as much as I've tried not to! (I set my camera on rapid burst mode now to get several photos from the same shot to switch eyes/heads if needed.)

Anyway, I try to joke around with my clients. We do serious (read: boring) poses first. Then I ask them for ideas. Then I make stupid jokes (hey, if you could just sit on her shoulders, we could have a GREAT shot!) and that loosens them up. I know they're dumb jokes, they know it and we all sort of relax.

Then I have them do less posed things. If we're at a bridge, I have them throw rocks. (Even if it's not natural for them, who cares. They're doing something different.) I'll have them walk away in a line - holding hands, if it's normal for them. Then I'll find a new place to shoot and by then they're relaxing.

I always use a fill flash, too. 580EX now, but it used to be a 420. I don't like flash at all, but in situations of low light, using one with a Lightsphere or some other diffuser is a life saver. I don't mind noise, but some people do - and I like to have the option.

Anyway, the photos are nice. They are technically well done, everyone looks good, but I agree - they are too static. It's hard doing adults and I don't really enjoy it either. Unless they've had a glass of wine or two and I can get them to relax more on top of that!

Hope some of what I said helps or sparks ideas! Keep it up. (And the 5D is a rocking camera - I'm using a 30D right now and really miss my 5D and hope it's back next week!)

Thanks for those ideas, Andi! The mom actually had a cooler of water and pop, and the kids asked if there were wine coolers in there. I said, "that's what you should've brought." They thought I was kidding.

evoryware

I don't notice a lot of noise on my cam at ISO 400, but typically 800 and 1600 it's noticable. I do at times use my tripod as a monopod.
I personally still don't like having to pull out my tripod.

That said I could see if these were motion shots, you sacrificing noise for extra shutter speed, but they are standing still. W/ a cheap RC-1 wireless remote, compose the shot on a tripod, walk over and tickle the men with a feather so they smile and then take the shot.

If you are concerned about noise, I think it's worth the hassle and worth going against your style to drop down the tripod and shoot ISO 100 or 200. Also, it allows me to compose the shot more carefully because Im not worrying about how I'm holding the camera and if my breathing and heartbeat are shaking the camera. Now I'm concentrating on what's in the viewfinder and the exposure and the people I'm taking a shot of.

I learned that the hard way taking a shot for a contest here. I took the shot of an inanimate object at ISO 1600 handheld instead of dropping the tripod and taking it at ISO 200. The noise ended up being the subject of my picture.

I don't like the composition of #2.