# Family Shoot



## portermeister (Sep 16, 2011)

I worked with this family a few days ago. The little once was super uncooperative, but I got a few nice shots. I'd love some c and c. 

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## cannpope (Jan 12, 2012)

I'm quite the newbie myself, so just some of my thoughts.  
#1 - The man's face is blown out and his hands are cut off in framing.  Not to sound gross, but the way the mom and child are posed, looks like she is breastfeeding.  No family feeling in this shot.
#2 - underexposed
#3 - Don't care for the angle of view.  Way too much ground in the foreground and not liking the vertical framing.  If you would have shot this image horizontally with less ground in front and framed the father and son more to the left of the frame, this would have been my favorite.
#4 - I like the moment.  Make sure all of mom's body parts are in the frame OR you could have cropped in really tight so that only their heads were in the shot.


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## Joey_Ricard (Jan 12, 2012)

Without going into each one separately - and I'm not talking about any processing or tones.

My first thought when shooting portraits is the background. While you may not have complete control in the location you are in, at least try to consider what is pleasing and what draws the eyes away from the subjects. Maybe you could have had a solid tree cluster by changing position or angle. Grab shots wouldn't matter, but as a portrait, this should be considered.

Other than that, the crop is a bit tight and you cut off hands etc.


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## paigew (Jan 12, 2012)

cannpope said:


> I'm quite the newbie myself, so just some of my thoughts.
> #1 - The man's face is blown out and his hands are cut off in framing.  Not to sound gross, but the way the mom and child are posed, looks like she is breastfeeding.  No family feeling in this shot.



I think she is breastfeeding. What would give a more family feeling than a woman feeding her child the way nature intended? Regardless, it is not a flattering shot. The mans face is blown out; they are sitting at a weird position...knees to knees? And the gloves on the ground are destracting. Also, if you would use a higher aperture (sp?) you would get more blurred backgrounds in your photos. I think #1 would be improved by having only the mother and child focusing on the special moment/bond. I like the way the mother and baby look with the light hitting just right, but the father sort of takes away from this.


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## j_mejia17 (Jan 12, 2012)

Yes #1 is my least favorite because of how out of place the father looks.  His blown- out face aside, the fact that he is looking away (like he's looking at the horizon) makes him look emotionally unattached.


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## scorpion_tyr (Jan 17, 2012)

Little ones are never cooperative, they just act like they don't understand your direction at all.


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## portermeister (Feb 3, 2012)

She is breastfeeding, and I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. It's a little blown, but it was a moment and it came and went. No time for adjusting. It's his lovie on the ground. Where should the father be looking? It would be weird if he was looking at her boob, yes?


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## Sammie_Lou (Feb 3, 2012)

I think the breastfeeding just looks awkward because the child looks a little old to be still breastfeeding. Also, I agree that the father takes away from the shot. As for the others, I agree with everything that Cannpope said.


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## MTVision (Feb 3, 2012)

portermeister said:
			
		

> She is breastfeeding, and I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. It's a little blown, but it was a moment and it came and went. No time for adjusting. It's his lovie on the ground. Where should the father be looking? It would be weird if he was looking at her boob, yes?



He should be looking at them.  It's not like he'd be looking at her boob - I doubt he would see much of anything.  But, I think it would've been a great shot if it was just mom and baby! 

It's hard to tell on my phone - but they don't look like they are all in focus in #2..I may be wrong though...


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## portermeister (Feb 3, 2012)

I think that's totally a judgement call and has nothing to do with the photo. I thought that it was a nice moment. The dad is there and present. It's not always about being completely uber engaged in every second.

What is underexposed in the second shot? I'm not trying to be defensive here, just wondering.


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## Trever1t (Feb 3, 2012)

Oh please let's not get into the politics of breast feeding....

I'll be honest, I like #3 but I think the subjects are just a wee bit too far.

The rest seem more like snapshots, sorry but that's how I see them, candid shots without deliberate intent.


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## MTVision (Feb 3, 2012)

portermeister said:
			
		

> I think that's totally a judgement call and has nothing to do with the photo. I thought that it was a nice moment. The dad is there and present. It's not always about being completely uber engaged in every second.
> 
> What is underexposed in the second shot? I'm not trying to be defensive here, just wondering.



Are you asking me about the 2nd shot? If so, I never said it was underexposed. It looks liked you missed focus - but I can't tell 100% since I'm on my phone.....


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## portermeister (Feb 3, 2012)

Although I feel like the idea of the photo shoot was possibly missed, I appreciate the critque.


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## Robin Usagani (Feb 3, 2012)

I dont get it.  You are out in the big field but you decided to use short focal length.  Then even after you use short focal, you still shoot it too tight.


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## eric-holmes (Feb 3, 2012)

portermeister said:


> I appreciate the critque.


I don't think you actually do.


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## portermeister (Feb 3, 2012)

Wow. At first I was just excited because I had some actual comments after a solid four months of nothing on this website. Now it just feels like I'm getting sort of hated on.


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## Trever1t (Feb 3, 2012)

not hated, I don't think it's a personal attack, do you? No, it's just the opinions of your forum peers. 

Sure it must be a bummer to think you've done a good job but fact is if you listen to the feedback without prejudice you'll be that much better next time


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## portermeister (Feb 3, 2012)

Not personal I guess, other than those are your pictures and I don't like them....

Sometimes people post comments that are all, this looked funny and here's what you could do to fix it...Those are very helpful.

Sometimes people post comments that say I don't like everything that you did...not so helpful.

There's a difference and I guess I'm just feeling a little beat up about it. Long day.


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## cgipson1 (Feb 3, 2012)

portermeister said:


> Although I feel like the idea of the photo shoot was possibly missed, I appreciate the critque.



Then explain to us the idea of the shoot.. that we missed?


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## kmontrois (Feb 4, 2012)

I think the shot is beautiful. There is a clear capture of the bond between mother and child. Age of the child is not relevant, many children breast feed beyond 18-months. It is the capture of the memory that is important. That was done beautifully.


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## raider (Feb 4, 2012)

stay on facebook and get false praises from your family if you don't want real critiques


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## FattyMcJ (Feb 4, 2012)

portermeister said:


> Not personal I guess, other than those are your pictures and I don't like them....



You posted in the "Pro" section.

1) These are not "Pro" quality.  Honestly, I hope they didn't pay for these...

2) As a "Pro", you HAVE to be able to take it when someone says, flat out, I don't like it.  You're asking other photographers their opinions, you MUST understand that we will be 10x more critical of every detail than the average Joe would be.

3) As a "Pro", you also have to be able to give the client what they want.  If this is what the family wanted, then so be it.  They're happy and that's all that matters.

If you can't handle the critique, then don't post them.  Or post them in the Beginner section, or Facebook, and get lots of uplifting praise...and maybe a few helpful comments, maybe.

I'm not trying to be rude, that's just how it is.  Believe me, I've been torn up on this forum before too.  But instead of being offended, I listened and learned.


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## Destin (Feb 4, 2012)

FattyMcJ said:
			
		

> You posted in the "Pro" section.
> 
> 1) These are not "Pro" quality.  Honestly, I hope they didn't pay for these...
> 
> ...



Amen.


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## kundalini (Feb 4, 2012)

portermeister said:


> ...... after a solid four months of nothing on this website. Now it just feels like I'm getting sort of hated on.


One of the first things I noticed was the posted date. At first I thought someone was having a funny by bringing up an old thread, but then using the finger method...... it's only four months.

Out of the photos posted, only two intrigue me. However, I will comment on a third photo first, #1. ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with a breast feeding photo, particularly as discrete as you have shown.

#3 - I really like the attempt at this. A very touching moment between father and child. Since this is obviously a crop of the original, I would suggest having another go at it. My thoughts are that Dad's head is much too high in the frame. Also, considering his pose, I would like to see him further left in the frame. If you are familiar with the "Rule of Thirds", have a crack at placing his head on the top left power point. This should crop a bit off the pathway of roots, but some of that could be lost without any detriment. However, I do like the leading line of the rooted trail to your subjects.

#2 - I believe this is the type of family portrait that most couples would like to hang on the wall for others (and themselves) to look at and admire. My thoughts on this are there are a few things to consider next time and it concerns the use of developing lines. 

1) Father's and mother's eyes are level. This can be improved upon by having the mother's eye level with father's mouth. If she has a longer torso than dad, have him sit on a booster to create that slight height advantage. 

2) Rather than having mother sit flat on her bottom, have her sit on her right hip (or closest to camera). This will make an immediate dynamic change in her posture by having her near shoulder dip and naturally lend itself for her to lean towards the lower (feminie) shoulder. A bonus of this slight change is that it will (again) naturally cause her to be perceived to be leaning towards her partner to emote a bit more affection. As is, she looks to be repelling.

3) The gap from mother to child is much to much, the relationship of heads looks disjointed. This is caused by having the child resting between her legs. Had she sat on her on her right hip (read #2), she could have had the child resting on her far leg. This will automatically raise the child's height toward the mother's face.... i.e., closing the gap.

4) Lastly the leg positions with regard to camera position. Having mom's knee pointing directly into the lens is not offering any slenderizing effect. In fact, it is emphasizing a larger thigh. Again, if she had sat on her right hip (#2), her knee would have dropped and we would be viewing more of thee top of her thigh rather than the underside. This would have a more flattering effect for her whether she has large thighs or not. Now for dad, having his leg coming straight towards the camera is not creating a connecting line for either the viewer or developing a connection with his partner. Having his foot moved closer to mom, bent at the knee, would alleviate this all together.

Take my comments with a grain of salt, it is only an opinion worth less than 2¢. Just a few thoughts as I was looking at your photos.

Thanks for sharing.


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