The Hylands

[Alisa]

Hi, I am not on here as much as I would like to be life keeps me pretty busy. Working 8-5 and commuting 2.5 hours a day to work...on top of working out and fitting my love for photography in there somewhere. I had the honor of taking pictures of my very good friend and her family. This is my second time shooting portraits.

When asked to take their family photos she had asked to do them at home. In the original photo there was a white wall behind them and when looking at them it just didn't feel right so I changed the background to the wood planks.

I need some CC on this image becuse I am being my worst critic feeling like i doesn't look natural....

Thank you!

 

[Ben Egbert]

I am not a portraits shooter either but have seen a lot of critique and know the standard sorts of replies. Instead I will tell you what I see. First off, these sorts of images mean the world to those who are the subjects or loved ones and will be remembered years from now. I am sure this image succeeds at that level as a very nicely done portrait of a family at a particular stage of their lives.

The poses while obviously posed seem natural and not affected, The colors and contrast seem a bit flat, bit probably intentionally so and maybe thats a good thing. The background is just fine in this setting as it does not detract.

 

[beavens]

Alisa,

I'm still learning portraiture myself, so take this with a grain of salt!

At first glance the pic looks a little underexposed. A little more exposure across the board and a kiss of contrast will help.

The comp itself is on the awkward side, with the big sister shoved waaaaaaay down in the lower-right with the rest of fam in the very upper portion of the image. If you were to shoot this again I'd look to get everyone more or less on the same plane so you don't have to worry about these gaps. Something where mom, dad and baby are sitting somewhere with big sis standing - the options are endless!

Was the background added in post? If so it doesn't look TOO out of place! I'd blur it some as to make your family pop more and increase separation from the background. It's always good to shoot wide open (assuming you give yourself enough DOF) with your subject at an appropriate distance from the background to create a pleasing and enhancing bokeh'd background.

Lastly, I think that we could squeeze some more natural happiness from the family. Mom looks a bit forced and big sis looks like she could use a laugh or two.

Hope this helps!

Jeff

 

[JimFox]

Hey Alisa, first off great job on replacing the background. It looks really good!

I will second Ben's comment that we will be harder on ourselves on our portraits then the family itself will be.

And I think Jeff hit it on the head. First, perhaps a bit more pop could be added, though flat light is fine if that's the look you wanted.

2nd would be the posing, and once Jeff mentioned it, the little girl does feel separated from the family a bit. With young kids like this, you are almost better off to have the parents sit on the ground and then the kids will be closer to eye level.

Here is an example, just using Topaz Clarity on the Cloud 2 preset to add a touch more contrast.

 

[Alisa]

@JimFox @beavens @Ben Egbert Thank you all for your advice and comments this is just one pose that I am working on I do have one where the family is sitting together... Perhaps a different background will make the little girl (Riley) not feel so out of place? Thoughts? Thanks Jim for the sample! I see now where this can add more dimension to the photo. I will go back and tweek it a little more and post the update when I have it finished. I want to give her as many different poses as possiable it was definitely a learning experiance trying to take a photo of the family together with impatient children who wanted nothing to do with taking pic.

 

[JimFox]

Yeah, shooting with kids can be crazy. You will find that you will need to shoot with one hand while holding your keys (or a squeak toy) and shaking them over your head to get the kids to look at you and laugh.

The background in this very good. I wouldn't change it.

 

[Tom Narwid]

Hi, I am not on here as much as I would like to be life keeps me pretty busy. Working 8-5 and commuting 2.5 hours a day to work...on top of working out and fitting my love for photography in there somewhere. I had the honor of taking pictures of my very good friend and her family. This is my second time shooting portraits.

When asked to take their family photos she had asked to do them at home. In the original photo there was a white wall behind them and when looking at them it just didn't feel right so I changed the background to the wood planks.

I need some CC on this image becuse I am being my worst critic feeling like i doesn't look natural....

Thank you!

View attachment 4131

Alisa,
Nice family portrait. It is well lite with soft light with no shadows. The little brother could have a better expression on his face. Most importantly though is the cute little girl on the bottom right is "disconnected" from the rest of the family. It would be better if she was in or close to the plane of the others.