Help! Magazine Photo

JavaLover

I was asked by a friend to take some photos of her for a magazine article. The article is about working moms. So the idea was to take photos of her working especially since she takes her son with her.

Deadline is Wednesday and we were only able to get together today at 1pm! Take a look and give me your honest opinion on how I can make these better. Or if we need to get together and do some more.
She liked these two the best...

1.


2.


Here's a link to the rest of the shots that came out...

bobcool

Okay, honest feedback coming:

If this is a working mom, what is her job? Baby transporter? Dog walker? There's nothing in your photos that suggest anything more than a snapshot of a woman with baby and dog.

A photo should tell a story, or at least support the story that the article is telling. Does the article focus on juggling career and motherhood? Does her job require her to wear business attire? If so, maybe dress her up in her business suit and THEN strap on the baby and walk the dog for a humorous shot. Oh, and tell her to take the sunglasses off before you start shooting - those things are huge, and the eyes should almost never be covered up.

As far as the location goes, I would suggest meeting her in the late afternoon a couple hours before dusk, putting her in front of a nice green bushy/tree background (like a park, perhaps) with the sun to her back or maybe in the shade of some trees. Meter for the background and use fill flash to light her up. Use a wide aperture like f/2.8 or f/4 to blur the background. If you plan it ahead of time, you can knock it out in thirty minutes or so once you meet up with her at your desired location.

I'm sure others will chime in as well and provide other great suggestions. Good luck!

JavaLover

Thanks. She is a pet sitter and the article will be about that and how she takes her son with her and does her job. Didn't think about the sunglasses as it was bright out! , now that I look at them and not her I see big bug eyes! Seems our only opportunities are when the sun is high in the sky. I'm trying for 10:30am tomorrow.

Thanks for the honesty!!!

Scott_Quier

JavaLover wrote:

Thanks. She is a pet sitter and the article will be about that and how she takes her son with her and does her job. Didn't think about the sunglasses as it was bright out! , now that I look at them and not her I see big bug eyes! Seems our only opportunities are when the sun is high in the sky. I'm trying for 10:30am tomorrow.

Thanks for the honesty!!!

Even 10:30am may be too late. It appears you are in the SW somewhere (NM, AZ, ?). If you shoot a little earlier, she will be more comfortable, won't have to wear those sunglasses, and you will get much better light with which to work.

Time for some honest feedback (please don your protective gear)

• As contextual/environmental portraits, these really don't do the job. As she's a pet sitter, get more pets involved. Have her walking a 1/2 a dozen dogs on leashes. That would be totally unambiguous.
• Watch your backgrounds that they aren't too distracting.
• In #2, exposing for the background with her in shade caused her to be under-exposed by about 2 stops. Use some flash to balance the light on your subject with that of the background.

JavaLover

We are in Arizona...I have a Canon 40D with the 28-135mm and that's it. I think I have a place where we can get under some palm trees. I'm hoping...Unfortunately she was not given much time and as a busy mom (both of us) our available time is not the greatest.

I will try again.

Thanks!

System

I agree with pretty much all that has been said so far. Especially about the light. The lighting is awkward, I'm not sure what time the sun rises where you are but much earlier or much later seems to be in order.

Oh yeah, and that kid is HUGE for that baby carrier Maybe something more fun like a red wagon (like a Radio Flyer) or a tricycle?

saurora

Try some various angles that emphasis the dog and child. For instance, shoot a low angle with them walking more towards you (not directly) positioning the dog left or right as they appear to pass by you. Try to put the dog and child in front of the Mom since they are a big part of the message you are trying to convey. Perhaps she could be talking on cell phone at the same time....multi-tasking!

joshhuntnm

Here is a shot i would try. Get down on the ground and get real close the dog. I'd have them walk by. (this of course, will likely invlove trying quite a few times to get it right.) I would not have them look at the camera. Just shoot them as they are walking by.

Here is one thing I have learned: if you take a picture from the most normal, comfortable angle, it tends to look like a snapshot.

JavaLover

Thank you all for your C&C. I read this before I ran out the door this morning. Not sure I did any better, but here are a couple of shots from this morning...what do you think?

1. I like this one because I have everyone's face in the right direction! Sheesh, kids and animals.


2. Slightly different pp


3. I don't like the shadows on this one, but don't know how to take care of that.


Thoughts? Thanks guys!

JavaLover

One more...
Liked this one, since they weren't looking at the camera, except for one dog...

leaforte

JavaLover wrote:

Liked this one, since they weren't looking at the camera, except for one dog...

Well done. Sorry not to see the face of the rear dog, but all in all, you did a great job of adjusting from your first shoot and getting it dialed in. The story is much clearer with this new shot.

gluwater

JavaLover wrote:

I think this on is the winner. It shows the dogs, her son, and her busy but still having fun. The dogs pulling add to her looking busy IMO. The colors in this one look much better than the second you posted, that one looks too contrasty. You did an excellent job of taking the feedback supplied and actually using it. Great job to you and those that gave you honest feedback. This is what this forum is all about .

joshhuntnm

much miuch better. I love #2. Looks like the dogs are dragging her.

Swartzy

I too agree! Yea, that shot tells the story.

Scott_Quier

These tell the story - so much better then the first attempt.

I agree with Nick, the winning shot is #1.

The only way I know to fix #3 is to re-shoot and use flash to fill the shadows. But, that's not going to fix the squinting

JavaLover

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! All for your advice!!!! She LOVES the same one you all do and wants a poster of it too! I'll keep you posted (pun intended) on the magazine story.

joshhuntnm

The contrast between the first group and the second is like a text book on how to go from snapshotter to photographer

PhilCollum

Wow! That's quite an improvement over the first two! The change in perspective (camera angle)makes for a much more interesting (and therefor visually appealing) shot. Way to go!

Personally, between the three new shots, I agree with everyone on #1.

As a side note, if a flash is not possible, you might think about throwing together a homemade reflector on-the-cheap with some white construction paper, cardboard, or just about anything. The mid-day sun puts out a heck of a lot of direct, hard light that's very difficult to work without one. A reflector could throw some light back up toward her face, fill in the harsh shadows, and give you a better exposure that wouldn't need as much PP. The only drawback is you may need some way to position it and move it, to track your moving target.

My 0.01€. (and falling)

Sparky

+1 on the wows! This really shows it's the photographer and not all the equipment that makes the biggest difference. The people who gave the advice should look into starting a business in teaching photography, well done!

System

Yes, night and day improvement on composition and lighting. Well done!

len20

Pretty cool to see such a big improvement.

Richard

Much better.

Cheers,

JavaLover

Well, the magazine lady really liked my photo too! Now I just have to wait til the summer issue. Patience is not one of my strong suits.

BriShay

what a difference! Those are much better!

bobcool

JavaLover wrote:

Well, the magazine lady really liked my photo too! Now I just have to wait til the summer issue. Patience is not one of my strong suits.

Congrats!

Good job taking the honest feedback and making a huge, huge improvement in the quality of the photo. That pic belongs in a magazine - oh wait, it is in a magazine! (or will be in the summer)...

saurora

Wow...I agree with everyone else that #1 new shot is a great improvement and tells the story quite well. Congrats!

Agnieszka

what an improvement!!