My first go at taking family portraits

katebeth · March 18, 2007

Hi all! I'm new around dgrin, though not to smugmug.

I recently started taking some pics for friends around the neighborhood. I haven't charged anyone yet, but I'd like to start. These were my first try at family portraits (I have done some maternity pics for another neighbrhood friend), and my first pics with my new black background.

I don't have any studio lights, just my 580ex on camera with a cloud lightsphere (no dome) mostly bounced off the wall camera left.

I guess I'm looking for consructive criticism, and basically - if you were this family, would these be pics you'd pay for? Thanks for looking!

Shane422 · March 18, 2007

These look good, but on a black background you really need some sort of hair light to keep darker hair and clothing from disappearing. I'm only a hobbiest as well and I've been battling this myself.

If you want to stay on the cheap, look for the slaves that plug into regular light bulb sockets on B&H or Adorama. They will only be about $25, but they have fixed power settings. Or you could go all Strobist, and pick up a cheap speedlight to use with a slave trigger. You could get that setup for ~$120. Or merely use a reflectore out of the frame.

DRabbit · March 18, 2007

I don't do portraits, so I can't offer too much as far as what kind of lighting would have made them better...

The horizontal shot: The way the three of them are sitting bugs me a bit... I would have liked to see her leg crossed over his... wrapped around in the other direction -- emphasizing how the boy is cradled between them, and balancing the shot out a bit -- The way you have them sitting, it all leans a little too much to the left. It makes me want to give them something to rest against

:

katebeth · March 18, 2007

Thanks! I definitely agre. They need some sort of separation from the black background. It drives me crazy that their hair blends right into it. After I looked at them I got thinking that a reflector, while it wouldn't have solved all my troubles, could have helped immensely here. A refelector is on my never ending "want list" too...

I'm trying to convince my husband that I need a studio stobe or two to really make the pictures pop but with baby #1 on the way in 2 months (or so) he's skeptical that they'll get the use... IMO having the baby around gives me more reson to use them!

Shane422 · March 18, 2007

I bought one Alienbee B400 a few months after adopting my daughter. I figure it saved me a ton at the portrait studio. There are cheaper options though. Definitely check out the post on the Strobist website, especially thier Flickr discussions. There is a lot of DIY work going on there. Also take a look at the studiolighting.net site. You'd be surprised at what you can do with $50, a handy Home Depot, and a little ingenuity.

By the way, try a sheet of foam core as a reflector. Its only about $5 for a 2x3ft sheet at any craft store.

Here is my gallery of favorite portraits. I think I'm getting pictures that rival what we'd get at the mall portrait shops.

katebeth · March 19, 2007

Shane - those shots aren't just as good as the mall places, they are MUCH better! I'll have to go pick up some foam core to use as a relector - my budget can certainly handly $5. And I bookmarked studiolighting.net too. Thanks for all the insight!

chicodawg · March 19, 2007

Hi there!

I went nuts buying stuff, learning what I can everyday. I'm doing (and did) a couple of volunteer-for-the-experience events. And family members seem to enjoy my test sessions as long as ice cream afterwards is mentioned.:D

A couple questions... were the images touched up any w/software, or are these from the camera?

Did you pose the family, or did they do it naturally. That's going to be my crutch(?) for now. I've read books on posing, but until I grasp the how and why, that'll be the difficult part. Or, maybe not?

I like pics. The catchlights in the boy's eyes are great. It appears to me that they enjoyed doing this and are happy. Did you show them these photos? Are they happy with them (if you did)?

Good luck!

Mike

katebeth · March 29, 2007

chicodawg wrote:

A couple questions... were the images touched up any w/software, or are these from the camera?

Did you pose the family, or did they do it naturally.

Did you show them these photos? Are they happy with them (if you did)?

Thanks Mike! I know it's been awhile since I've been on dgrin (I'm 8mo pregnant so things have ben busy at my house), so you may or may not see this, but I thought I'd answer your questions.

I did some small pp in lightroom, mainly correcting white balance and brightening the images a little bit (and changing the one to B&W). I didn't do much posing - just let them get comfortable and gave them some ideas when they weren't sure how to sit. I have the hardest time with posing too. I can "see" how the lights and camera settings will affect the picture, but I have a hard time seeing how the pose will affect the shot.

They have seen the pictures and were happy with them. In all there were about 100 pics for them to choose from (about 1/2 the pics I took), which was a little overwhelming. I should have narrowed it down even more to the absolute best ones. I also thought it was funny, because they felt like their little one was being a stinker, but it didn't show too much in the pics (except for the one where he purposely put his finger up his nose - which turned out to be a hilarious photo if you ask me).

vangogh · March 31, 2007

Maybe you could use a small angle poise or something hidden behind them & have them sitting further away from the backdrop or a bulb/light clipped to a stand to you have the facility to move it how you want.

I have a small Portaflash set up (Jessops - don't know if they have the equivalent in the US) (2 white umbrellas one with a barn door on it as well. They have 3 power settings, so they aren't that controlable but are good for a start kit. I tend to use the lowest setting all the time otehrwise they over power everything. I bought it from ebay for about £157, but its worth keeping your eyes open for other stuff on there.

I was also going to say, use a reflector as well, get someone to hold it for you out of camera or balance it on something.

Nicola

Desmond · April 3, 2007

At first glance they look quite professional besides the hair blending with the background . I've only done a few weddings , nothing like this , but my first thought was that his foot looked a bit large and maybe it would be better to move back a bit and use a slightly longer lens to reduce perspective distortion . Otherwise I think very few non-photographers could find much wrong with the basic approach , and just remember, things like reflectors don't have to come from a photo shop , a wite sheet or board will do the job well enough .

snapapple · April 9, 2007

I think these came out pretty nice. I too am just a beginner with portraits.

My only suggestion is to try not to have the arms and legs coming forward. The camera enlarges them. The man could have been leaning on his right arm with his body slightly sideways to the camera, his hand pointing left. His leg would then go parallel with the front line with his foot pointing to the right. The head leans forward. This makes a nice triangle. The wife would be behind his leg and the boy beside her leaning on her leg. I hope you can visualize that.(smile)

Very nice job altogether.:D

My first go at taking family portraits

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