# The Vruden family...kids portraits



## NJMAN (Jul 1, 2007)

Here are some from a recent shoot I did with some very nice kids.  C&C always welcome.  Thanks for looking!  

1.






2. 





3.





4. 





5.





6.





Thanks for looking! 

NJ


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## tkme4ard (Jul 2, 2007)

I like those a lot.  1 and 3 are my favorites


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## NJMAN (Jul 2, 2007)

tkme4ard said:


> I like those a lot. 1 and 3 are my favorites


 
Thank you tkme4ard for looking and commenting!  

NJ


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## tkme4ard (Jul 2, 2007)

you are most welcome   not that it's worth much LOL

can you tell me which lens you used?  I was just looking at the 28-135mm.  I just ordered the 50mm.  


Angela


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## NJMAN (Jul 2, 2007)

tkme4ard said:


> you are most welcome  not that it's worth much LOL
> 
> can you tell me which lens you used? I was just looking at the 28-135mm. I just ordered the 50mm.
> 
> ...


 
Hi Angela,

I used the 28-135mm for this shoot. But I also use the 50mm f/1.8 a lot for portraits. I'm sure you will like the 50mm lens. The 28-135mm is a great all-around lens because it gives me a fairly nice zoom range for outdoor stuff, but is also sharp enough for portrait work. 

NJ


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## Johnboy2978 (Jul 2, 2007)

I think you did a nice job with these.  The last one with everyone looking in a different direction is a little distracting, but still a nice shot.  I like the vignetting as well.  Good job.


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## JimmyJaceyMom (Jul 2, 2007)

HI there!  You did another awesome job.  I LOVE 3 and 4!  They are seriously SO CUTE.  Of course the others are as well but those are like the best ones yet I think.  Beautiful!


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## zendianah (Jul 2, 2007)

Great shots! . I always love your colors. What time of day? What equipment did you use.


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## NJMAN (Jul 2, 2007)

Johnboy2978 said:


> I think you did a nice job with these. The last one with everyone looking in a different direction is a little distracting, but still a nice shot. I like the vignetting as well. Good job.


 
Thanks Johnboy!  I know exactly what you mean.  It was nearly impossible to get them all to look directly at the camera at the same time.  I had the parents and their neighbor in back of me at all times trying to get them to look in my direction, but their eyes kept wandering.  This shoot was getting tough near the end, but overall I enjoyed it. ;-)



JimmyJaceyMom said:


> HI there! You did another awesome job. I LOVE 3 and 4! They are seriously SO CUTE. Of course the others are as well but those are like the best ones yet I think. Beautiful!


 
Hey Kathi, thanks for the comments!  As always, I appreciate your kind words. 

NJ


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## zendianah (Jul 2, 2007)

oh 3 is my favorite...


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## NJMAN (Jul 2, 2007)

zendianah said:


> Great shots! . I always love your colors. What time of day? What equipment did you use.


 
Hey Zen,

We waited until late afternoon, around 5 pm maybe.  I used the 28-135mm lens.  I was back about 20-25 feet (on my belly most of the time) and zoomed all the way in to 135mm for good depth of field.


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## zendianah (Jul 2, 2007)

NJMAN said:


> Hey Zen,
> 
> We waited until late afternoon, around 5 pm maybe. I used the 28-135mm lens. I was back about 20-25 feet (on my belly most of the time) and zoomed all the way in to 135mm for good depth of field.


 

Stupid question is 28-135 a wide angle lens?  Can you tell me what wide angle lens you would reccomend thats fast and can take big group shots.


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## NJMAN (Jul 2, 2007)

zendianah said:


> Stupid question is 28-135 a wide angle lens? Can you tell me what wide angle lens you would reccomend thats fast and can take big group shots.


 
Not really. At the widest end, this lens is only 28mm on an SLR camera that has a 1.6x zoom factor. So I believe it is actually about 45mm on a full frame sensor if my calculations are correct. So no, that would not be a very wide angle at all. I use my 18-55mm kits lens for wide angle group shots, and then set the aperture to a more narrow f/8 or f/9 so that I can get everyone in focus. 

But other photogs that have better lenses will probably tell you that a Tamron 17-50mm or 17-55mm f/2.8 lens (Canon or Nikon) is much better for group shots, because it gives you a better aperture to play with. You might also want to consider a 10-22mm for a really wide angle, but things can get a little distorted at the extreme wide end if you are too close to your subject. The 10-22mm is a lens I would love to get eventually, especially for wide open landscape shots. Hope this helps. 

NJ


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## zendianah (Jul 2, 2007)

NJMAN said:


> Not really. At the widest end, this lens is only 28mm on an SLR camera that has a 1.6x zoom factor. So I believe it is actually about 45mm on a full frame sensor if my calculations are correct. So no, that would not be a very wide angle at all. I use my 18-55mm kits lens for wide angle group shots, and then set the aperture to a more narrow f/8 or f/9 so that I can get everyone in focus.
> 
> But other photogs that have better lenses will probably tell you that a Tamron 17-50mm or 17-55mm f/2.8 lens (Canon or Nikon) is much better for group shots, because it gives you a better aperture to play with. You might also want to consider a 10-22mm for a really wide angle, but things can get a little distorted at the extreme wide end if you are too close to your subject. The 10-22mm is a lens I would love to get eventually, especially for wide open landscape shots. Hope this helps.
> 
> ...


 

Thank you !! My kit lens is so slow. its a 5.6 lens -- Its crap that came with my D50 .. I need to buy something faster and affordable. Is Tamron a good product?


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## NJMAN (Jul 2, 2007)

zendianah said:


> Thank you !! My kit lens is so slow. its a 5.6 lens -- Its crap that came with my D50 .. I need to buy something faster and affordable. Is Tamron a good product?


 
I don't own one, but yes, Tamron is a very good name and they have very good lenses from what I hear.


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## schumionbike (Jul 2, 2007)

Very Nice!! I love the color.  The pose in number 1 is probably the best.  I also really like number 2 but now that I notice the feet is cut off at the ankle, I'm not so sure.  It took me a while to notice the missing feet so that's good!! Number 4 is also one of my favorite!!!


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## NJMAN (Jul 2, 2007)

schumionbike said:


> Very Nice!! I love the color. The pose in number 1 is probably the best. I also really like number 2 but now that I notice the feet is cut off at the ankle, I'm not so sure. It took me a while to notice the missing feet so that's good!! Number 4 is also one of my favorite!!!


 
Thanks for the comments schumion!  I was going for the vertical orientation in #2, so I had to make a call of where to crop that one.  Otherwise, I would have surely included his feet.


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## dostagamom (Jul 2, 2007)

These are GREAT!!!  I always enjoy viewing your work.  You are so good!! How long have you been at photography?  I see that you are self taught and I am DSLR beginner and would eventually love to take the plunge into the business.  Any advice?


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## NJMAN (Jul 2, 2007)

dostagamom said:


> These are GREAT!!! I always enjoy viewing your work. You are so good!! How long have you been at photography? I see that you are self taught and I am DSLR beginner and would eventually love to take the plunge into the business. Any advice?


 
Thanks!  I really appreciate the nice words.  I've been serious about photography for a little over 2 years.  Though, I wouldn't call myself a pro, I've been getting paid for portrait photography for a little over a year now.  I started out doing shoots for family and friends, and now word is spreading quickly through referrals, so I am grateful for that.  I only do it part time because I have a full time day job as well.  So I only schedule as much work as I can handle without sacrificing my family life. 

The best advice I can give you is to read posts on this forum.  There are many great nuggets of information if you look in the right spots and ask questions.  There a tons of people here willing to help you improve.  Also practice practice practice.  

NJ


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## dostagamom (Jul 2, 2007)

Thank you so much for the advice.  I really enjoy taking pictures and would love to pursue it.  I am up for the challenge because I know that I have a lot to learn.  I look forward to seeing more of you work.


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## ClarkKent (Jul 3, 2007)

Super work!!


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## NJMAN (Jul 3, 2007)

ClarkKent said:


> Super work!!


 
Thanks very much Clark!  Your comment is appreciated. 

NJ


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## oldnavy170 (Jul 3, 2007)

Ahhh the colors.  I always love how your photos glow with colors.  You did a great job NJ.


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## NJMAN (Jul 3, 2007)

oldnavy170 said:


> Ahhh the colors. I always love how your photos glow with colors. You did a great job NJ.


 
Thank you for stopping by and commenting oldnavy! 

NJ


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## Christie Photo (Jul 3, 2007)

For me, #3 is a real stand-out.  Do you have on like this with her looking into the lens?

Pete


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## NJMAN (Jul 3, 2007)

Christie Photo said:


> For me, #3 is a real stand-out. Do you have on like this with her looking into the lens?
> 
> Pete


 
Thanks Pete!  I appreciate the comment.

It was pretty difficult.  I only have a few out of about 75 of her where she was actually looking directly at the lens.  She just turned 2, and her attention span was very short, obviously.  I don't have one exactly like #3, but here is one that might come close.  It was one of the mom's favorites. 







Thanks for looking. 

NJ


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## oCyrus55 (Jul 3, 2007)

I like that last one^

You got some good pictures man, the family will really like them (if they haven't seen them yet)


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## NJMAN (Jul 4, 2007)

oCyrus55 said:


> I like that last one^
> 
> You got some good pictures man, the family will really like them (if they haven't seen them yet)


 
Thanks for the kind words oCyrus! 

NJ


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## heip (Jul 4, 2007)

Great shots, especially the little girl. The facial expressions are priceless.


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## NJMAN (Jul 4, 2007)

heip said:


> Great shots, especially the little girl. The facial expressions are priceless.


 
Thank you heip for the nice comments.

NJ


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## Leo (Jul 5, 2007)

NJMAN said:


> Hi Angela,
> 
> I used the 28-135mm for this shoot. But I also use the 50mm f/1.8 a lot for portraits. I'm sure you will like the 50mm lens. The 28-135mm is a great all-around lens because it gives me a fairly nice zoom range for outdoor stuff, but is also sharp enough for portrait work.
> 
> NJ


 
Very nice, I like it. I also use my 28-135mm for portraits. They're great lens though underrated because it's slow on low-light conditions but great on outdoors.


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## NJMAN (Jul 5, 2007)

Leo said:


> Very nice, I like it. I also use my 28-135mm for portraits. They're great lens though underrated because it's slow on low-light conditions but great on outdoors.


 
Thanks Leo. 

By the way, how do you like the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8?  Would you recommend that one for indoor church and reception/dance shots at weddings?


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## Leo (Jul 5, 2007)

NJMAN said:


> Thanks Leo.
> 
> By the way, how do you like the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8? Would you recommend that one for indoor church and reception/dance shots at weddings?


 
Replied to your PM, anyway....love the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens. highly recommended for shooting in low-light conditions.


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