a few more of the same family

Elaine

Working with a new monitor and working with RAW files...I've decided not to be too hard on myself and give myself a chance to practice and learn some more! Anyway, the family likes them, so that's what counts, right?

I tagged this one onto the end of another post...but I like it enough to share it again (hope you don't mind).


Used my built-in flash here...


This little girl's eyes are striking ice blue...



Quite a bit of motion blur here...kids were being tickled and my speed wasn't fast enough. Even so, I liked the family togetherness. The sun was setting, but maybe it's a touch warm? Hmmm...



Thanks for looking! I'm really grateful for the bunch of smart, helpful, nice people around here. That being said, I'm all ears for any critique.

photogmomma

These are wonderful! I'm sure the family LOVES them!

#1 is just wonderful! I LOVE it!

#2 - the kids look so relaxed, the parents look like they're wanting the kids to just stand still. ! But it's still a GREAT shot because it really captures their personalities....

#3 - I love the shot, but not so much the crop. I am thinking cropping it closer? Get rid of mom's right hand? I'm not sure, I'd have to play. But I think that would make the girls' eyes pop more! Very cute interaction.

#4 is hilarious!

Elaine, these are really wonderful!! Seriously, you should NOT be hard on yourself at ALL! These are much, much better than my first attempts at family photos! MUCH! Keep up the good work - and keep playing. Raw rocks!

JimW

Elaine,

I think these are great. These people are so comfortable with you pointing a lens at them, it's a tribute to your personality and it shows in their expressions. Only thing I'll mention is I'd like to see the background further out of focus on #2. If it's possible to use a background that's further away, or a longer lens, or a wider aperture, or all 3, it might isolate them more. Just a thought.

Jim

Elaine

Thank you so much, Andi! You're so encouraging! I really appreciate your feedback. How 'bout this crop...?

Elaine

JimW wrote:

Elaine,

I think these are great. These people are so comfortable with you pointing a lens at them, it's a tribute to your personality and it shows in their expressions. Only thing I'll mention is I'd like to see the background further out of focus on #2. If it's possible to use a background that's further away, or a longer lens, or a wider aperture, or all 3, it might isolate them more. Just a thought.

Jim

Thank you very much, Jim!! These are good friends of ours, so if it translates that they're comfortable with me, that's great, and I take that as a compliment! I agree with you about the DOF. I was concentrating on getting my built-in flash to work...so I shot manual and the highest speed I can get with my flash is 125, so that put me at an aperture of 6.3 and I was at 50mm on my 28-75 lens. I think it was the best I could do with the circumstances (other than scooting back and zooming more, but my flash is wimpy!). But yes, I would rather have shot at f/5 or so with a longer lens. Thanks so much for the look and comment!

ShepsMom

Elaine, these are great shots. I especially love the last one (the crop version), this girl has beautiful eyes!!

Cuties02q

Very nice Elaine you did a great job and they all look so comfortable and like they had a great time

Nacho

Oh yes, let me repeat what one other poster has said, the family looks at ease and having fun. I do like that last one, even with the bit of blur. You know, I think family shots, and portraits like these are hard to capture. It is certainly not my area, but I truly appreciate seeing these beautiful shots, and seeing the joy in the people's faces. Thanks Elaine,

N
Emerging SmugMug Site

DavidS

These are all very nice. I love the color. The expressions are great. It seems like you really captured somewhat of the essense of those kids.

Scott_Quier

Some thoughts on these. For the most part, I think these are pretty good; you should be proud of these and I have no doubt the clients are happy with them.

1. I still like this one. The light is very interesting and not at all flat. To top it off, you get a real sense of the childrens' personality.
2. Lighting-wise, this is probably the best of the lot. The on-board flash is just enough to fill in the shadows a touch. You still have lovely light (from the sun) coming in from behind them. And, the little guy in front just makes me want to smile!
3. She is so cute! I get the impression that she is just about done with the whole photography thing.
4. This is, IMO, the best of the lot. Personality is just jumping off each of them. Very nice.

OK, now for a thought for you to congitate upon - it appears you are standing tall in all the shots, even the shots of the children. Something to consider - get the camera down a bit, bring it to the level of your subjects. Common wisdom suggests that the camera should be about level with the chest of your subject. This is particularly important when dealing with children. Shooting from our height makes it look like we are looking down on and dominating the subject.

Finally, the new crop of #3 is much better than the first posting of this image.

photogmomma

Sorry I haven't been back here!!! Been crazy and I forgot to check. !

new crop is much better! I like that you can see her eyes more. They are stunning!

Mitchell

#1 is really great. I can't imagine the parents not loving this shot with the different personalities all coming through. The lighting is great and the shot has nice contrast and saturation.

I don't know these kids, but I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling looking at that first shot. That's the mark of a good children's portrait!

Elaine

Mitchell wrote:

#1 is really great. I can't imagine the parents not loving this shot with the different personalities all coming through. The lighting is great and the shot has nice contrast and saturation.

I don't know these kids, but I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling looking at that first shot. That's the mark of a good children's portrait!

Thanks, Mitchell! What a nice compliment!

It's funny...I'm learning more and more that what the photographer likes is not necessarily what the client will like. The mom hasn't ordered prints yet, but she's chosen three to download for Christmas cards and family calendars, and none of the shots I shared in this thread are the ones she chose so far! Of course, that doesn't mean she won't like these or order them, but it would seem our first impressions are different!

Elaine

I just realized I forgot to thank a bunch of people for commenting on these! Scott, David, Nacho, Stephenie, Marina...thanks for looking and dropping a note!

Scott...as always, your detailed notes are very appreciated! Thanks for the reminder about shooting height. I must admit...I'm not super tall at 5'7" (not short either) but I feel kinda tall with this family! On a couple of my shots, I purposely wanted to stay tall to get the perspective of the child looking up. Maybe that didn't translate well. I'll start practicing my squats again!

Scott_Quier

Elaine wrote:

I just realized I forgot to thank a bunch of people for commenting on these! Scott, David, Nacho, Stephenie, Marina...thanks for looking and dropping a note!

Scott...as always, your detailed notes are very appreciated! Thanks for the reminder about shooting height. I must admit...I'm not super tall at 5'7" (not short either) but I feel kinda tall with this family! On a couple of my shots, I purposely wanted to stay tall to get the perspective of the child looking up. Maybe that didn't translate well. I'll start practicing my squats again!

Glad to help. I'm only 5'8", so I'm pretty short (especially for a guy) and I spend a lot of my time down on one knee.

Squatting - probably not the most stable position from which to shoot. Dropping to one knee, with your knees somewhat separated will, I think, a much more stable position from which to get a lower perspective.