# studio family shoot



## lindseydy (Dec 6, 2016)

Im working on my family shoots in studio. Cc welcome.  Sorry about the giant watermark... I had selected the wrong thing when I exported


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## Granddad (Dec 6, 2016)

6 people looking good at the same time is quite an achievement!
The starkness of the studio setting juxtaposed with the red couch is not something I've encountered before but I think I like it. Did you get any at eye level? I'm not too sure about the way you're looking down on them.

.... AND let me be the first to welcome you to the forum!


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## pixmedic (Dec 6, 2016)

i like it. right up my alley. 
i like the contrast of the red couch against the plain clothes and gray background. 
really makes it pop. 
well done.


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## tirediron (Dec 6, 2016)

A couple of things stand out:  (1)  A light gray sweep is probably the most boring set I've ever seen for a family portrait.  (2) The lighting is adequate, but...  well... boring, and (3) the posing.  It really looks like no direction at all was given to the clients, either in regard to their dress or their posing.

Thoughts for improvement:  Separate your wall and floor.  For shots like this, I prefer "normal" floors (hardwood, tile, etc) and a dark background.  Lighting-wise I likely would have gone with a key about 15-20 degrees camera right, and a fill about 1 stop below just off-axis camera left.  That should give you just a bit of contrasting shadow; even lighting that isn't quite flat.  I would also probably boom in a strip box as a "bulk" hair light light, and maybe a contrasting gel on the background.

Clothing isn't bad, but did you actually do a pre-shoot consult and discuss clothing choices?  That's a lot of gray, and while it doesn't work too badly with the red of the couch, it doesn't do a lot for their skin tones.    The biggest area for improvement, IMO, is posing.  Dad has legs apar, Mom has legs angled and daughter has knees together and feet apart.  Everyone is leaning at least a little bit except for the infant and the young lady on the arm of the couch.  I prefer to post families so that Mom and Dad are either in the center (The center of the family) or the outside (protective).  In this case I think I would have gone for Mom & Dad in the middle, infant on Dad's knee, older boy on Mom's knee and daughter's flanking.  That should give you a nice triangular pattern of heads (remember:  Triangles are one of the most powerful compositional elements).

All that to say that it's by no means a bad image, rather that there are a lot of little things that could be improved and raise it from "Okay" to "Wow, I want that in a 30x40 float wrap!"  On the upside, you could not have got the infant more perfectly posed!


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## lindseydy (Dec 6, 2016)

Granddad said:


> 6 people looking good at the same time is quite an achievement!
> The starkness of the studio setting juxtaposed with the red couch is not something I've encountered before but I think I like it. Did you get any at eye level? I'm not too sure about the way you're looking down on them.
> 
> .... AND let me be the first to welcome you to the forum!


 Most of the ones I have of this pose are from this height. I believe I was standing. I will remember for my next one to get a little lower.  Thank you for your reply.


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## lindseydy (Dec 6, 2016)

tirediron said:


> A couple of things stand out:  (1)  A light gray sweep is probably the most boring set I've ever seen for a family portrait.  (2) The lighting is adequate, but...  well... boring, and (3) the posing.  It really looks like no direction at all was given to the clients, either in regard to their dress or their posing.
> 
> Thoughts for improvement:  Separate your wall and floor.  For shots like this, I prefer "normal" floors (hardwood, tile, etc) and a dark background.  Lighting-wise I likely would have gone with a key about 15-20 degrees camera right, and a fill about 1 stop below just off-axis camera left.  That should give you just a bit of contrasting shadow; even lighting that isn't quite flat.  I would also probably boom in a strip box as a "bulk" hair light light, and maybe a contrasting gel on the background.
> 
> ...



I "actually" did not do a pre shoot consult.  I will work on my posing and lighting for future sessions. Thank you for your suggestions.


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## lindseydy (Dec 6, 2016)

pixmedic said:


> i like it. right up my alley.
> i like the contrast of the red couch against the plain clothes and gray background.
> really makes it pop.
> well done.


Thank you!


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## tirediron (Dec 6, 2016)

lindseydy said:


> I "actually" did not do a pre shoot consult.  I will work on my posing and lighting for future sessions. Thank you for your suggestions.


This is actually one of the most important aspects of a retail shoot like this.  While it's not a guarantee, it will help avoid couple showing up in "inappropriate" clothing such as the man in all black and the woman in too-tight jeans and a sleeveless white blouse.  It also gives you an opportunity to get a feeling of what will work best for these particular clients.  Ideally, in the studio is best, but failing that, a coffee-shop or similar meeting will work, and at the very least, a telephone consult will work in a pinch.  The most common issue is that [usually] Mom makes sure everyone's dressed nicely, but there's no coordination.  You don't need or want them all dressed the same [usually], but a coordinated look will really help the final result.


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## KmH (Dec 7, 2016)

I too like the red couch and the white background/floor.

Like tirediron I suggest the lighting is less than flattering.
Except for the baby, everyone's eye sockets are dark to one degree or another.
Note the almost blown out right cheek of the young boy compared to the left cheek of the daughter camera right.
The lighting also delivers a general gradient left to right on the entire scene.


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## lindseydy (Dec 7, 2016)

KmH said:


> I too like the red couch and the white background/floor.
> 
> Like tirediron I suggest the lighting is less than flattering.
> Except for the baby, everyone's eye sockets are dark to one degree or another.
> ...


 Thank you for the reply. My current lighting is an AB800 with a 72in PLM and I also have a large panel reflector. I had the PLM set up next to me pointing towards the subjects at a slight angle  and the reflector was next to the girl on the right. The light was pointing at the subjects not the reflector, but I was hoping to get some fill at least from the reflector. Do you have any suggestions to make the lighting better next time using only the one strobe?


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## Designer (Dec 7, 2016)

lindseydy said:


> Cc welcome.


This is a good example of when posting more than one shot will help with further critique.  Ordinarily I recoil at someone posting half a dozen shots asking for C&C.  I usually don't offer much in that case.  

Here that giant watermark superimposed over one subject is right out.  I presume this is one shot that the family will not receive.

The couch and most of the group is nearly centered in the frame, but one person's legs and feet are way off to one side.  That pose will work in different circumstances, but not this time.  

To get a more "photographic" balance in your lighting, you might try moving the PLM more to the left, and just a bit closer to your subjects, and aim it to "rake" your subject's faces more, and catch the reflector more.  Think of the set as a circle, where the camera is at "six o'clock", the subjects are at 12 o'clock, your main light is at around 8 o'clock (you'll have to experiment with the exact placement) and the reflector is at 4 o'clock (same for that).  

Having fixed the legs sticking way out to the right, the next thing you'll notice is that there is a lot of empty space around your subjects, particularly a lot above their heads.  

Speaking for myself, I would like to see a couple more shots from this session, particularly if they are way different.  If they're the same, then never mind.


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## tirediron (Dec 7, 2016)

lindseydy said:


> Do you have any suggestions to make the lighting better next time using only the one strobe?


Yes, buy another light.  Seriously...  ABs are very inexpensive, and this scene is just too big to light artistically with only one light.  A reflector isn't going to be a lot of use; it will add a little fill, but just not enough.  The first technical step in a shoot like this is to plan your lighting.  The first step in planning your lighting is determining your lighting ratio.  For something like this, I'd want probably no more than 2:1 (shadows 2 stops darker than highlights or to put it another way highlights one step above mid tone and shadows one step below).  This will give you some definition through highlight and shadow, but keep the overall image on the brighter side (an important consideration for photos of this nature which are often sent to older relatives with less than perfect eyesight).

I would probably light this with at least three lights, and use a large, gridded SB as the key.  If I were going to do this with your single PLM, I would re-arrange the family so that the children are seated on the couch and Mom & Dad are standing behind.  This will lessen the spread of light required, and allow you to pull your key off to the side a bit more, say 20 degrees.  Remember that if you do this, you will have to pull the light a bit farther back to avoid fall-off.


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## lindseydy (Dec 7, 2016)




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## lindseydy (Dec 7, 2016)

tirediron said:


> lindseydy said:
> 
> 
> > Do you have any suggestions to make the lighting better next time using only the one strobe?
> ...


I am planning to purchase another one in about a month or so.  Its top of my list of things needed.


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## Designer (Dec 7, 2016)

Thanks for the other shots.  The one on top (#2?) has a very nice "line".  If you connect the subject's faces, you'll see that the line goes in a nice sweep, catching all but the smallest child's face.  This is good.

#3 the line is broken badly, with the boy's face being completely out of line with everybody else's face.  

Oddly, the oldest girl appears to be squinting in all three shots.  This might be her natural expression, or she may be anticipating the flash, or maybe your modeling light is too bright.  Mom is squinting in two of the shots as well.  Watch for that, and figure out why, and make adjustments.  

Yeah, too bad they aren't all dressed to coordinate.  That really spoils the whole session.


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## tirediron (Dec 7, 2016)

Designer said:


> ...Oddly, the oldest girl appears to be squinting in all three shots.  This might be her natural expression, or she may be anticipating the flash, or maybe your modeling light is too bright.  Mom is squinting in two of the shots as well.  Watch for that, and figure out why, and make adjustments.


With the daughter, it looks like it might a natural expression.  A trick I use is to ask people to physically force their eyes open as wide as they can, and ask them to hold it... and hold it... and then tell them to relax and as SOON as you tell them to let go, take the shot.  You may need to this several times, but you will usually get at least one "normal" eye expression out of this.


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## lindseydy (Dec 7, 2016)

Designer said:


> lindseydy said:
> 
> 
> > Cc welcome.
> ...



I added a few more images in the thread. Thanks!!


Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app


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## lindseydy (Dec 7, 2016)

Designer said:


> Thanks for the other shots.  The one on top (#2?) has a very nice "line".  If you connect the subject's faces, you'll see that the line goes in a nice sweep, catching all but the smallest child's face.  This is good.
> 
> #3 the line is broken badly, with the boy's face being completely out of line with everybody else's face.
> 
> ...


 Would #3 have been better if I had swapped the boy with the girl next to him? Or scrap this pose all together in the future? 

And yes, oldest girl and mom naturally have very squinty eyes.


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## Designer (Dec 7, 2016)

lindseydy said:


> Would #3 have been better if I had swapped the boy with the girl next to him? Or scrap this pose all together in the future?


For that shot, yes.  

To be sure, there are other considerations beyond "making a line", but I mentioned it mostly because you missed it rather obviously in #3.  That's unfortunately the way some people give criticism; we see 20 things done well, and one done poorly, so we're likely to mention just that one thing done poorly.  It doesn't mean that's the most important thing, just that we assume you paid attention to the 20 things you did right, so there is no point in mentioning them.  I hope I haven't confused you.


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## lindseydy (Dec 7, 2016)

Designer said:


> lindseydy said:
> 
> 
> > Would #3 have been better if I had swapped the boy with the girl next to him? Or scrap this pose all together in the future?
> ...



I greatly value constructive criticism. If I wanted a pat on the back I would have just showed my mom the image.   Thanks for your help.


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## JustJazzie (Dec 7, 2016)

For whatever its worth- If it were my family portrait, I would be very pleased!


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## lindseydy (Dec 7, 2016)

JustJazzie said:


> For whatever its worth- If it were my family portrait, I would be very pleased!


 Thank you!!


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## ronlane (Dec 8, 2016)

tirediron said:


> Designer said:
> 
> 
> > ...Oddly, the oldest girl appears to be squinting in all three shots.  This might be her natural expression, or she may be anticipating the flash, or maybe your modeling light is too bright.  Mom is squinting in two of the shots as well.  Watch for that, and figure out why, and make adjustments.
> ...



Something similar to this that I use to avoid blinking and closed eyes is to have them shut their eyes and when I count to 3 have them open their eyes. I go 1,2,3,click and get good results with eyes that are open.


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## photo1x1.com (Dec 12, 2016)

Very nice images in my opinion. In the last few years, there is a trend to more natural looking people rather than posed shots, and you nailed it. It seems your communication with the people was great, they look as if they feel comfortable, which is the most important thing in my opinion. The light can be slightly off, so can be the clothing. But what I do care for is the expression.

Light and clothing can be fixed rather easily, communication is something you need to have some talent for  .

If I were to critic something, it is the posing. The boy and the younger girl in the second image look a little strange posingwise. What I do if I see things like that (especially with kids) is not to tell them exactly how they should sit, but tell them to do something weird, like shout out loud at me, using their hands as a megaphone (well, I take a snap of these too of course  ). Once they are finished, they usually sit rather naturally compared to the shy posture before.

In general you seem to know what you are doing, I just looked at your website - I like your style. One tip in this regard: try to get a tool that will allow your visitors to enlarge the thumbnails in the gallery.


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## lindseydy (Dec 12, 2016)

photo1x1.com said:


> Very nice images in my opinion. In the last few years, there is a trend to more natural looking people rather than posed shots, and you nailed it. It seems your communication with the people was great, they look as if they feel comfortable, which is the most important thing in my opinion. The light can be slightly off, so can be the clothing. But what I do care for is the expression.
> 
> Light and clothing can be fixed rather easily, communication is something you need to have some talent for  .
> 
> ...


Thank you so much!! I am actually in the process of redoing my website and will be sure to make my gallery images larger.


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## DanOstergren (Dec 13, 2016)

Love the first shot. Everyone looks good and the body language and expressions look natural. To me, there seems to be a green tint. I'm not sure if it was added in post or was the result of the white balance settings, but I'm not a fan of the look. I would personally go with warmer tones. I'm also seeing a bit of a faded look to the tonal range, which I think the shot would be better without (I like images with a less edited look, especially family photos). All in all though I would be really happy if I hired you and got these shots (if I had kids and a family of course).


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