I usually shoot landscapes but want to improve my portrait skills. I have some family shoots coming up so I stopped by this afternoon and took some shots of my daughters. Suggestions on what I could have done differently / better? All of these were taken with a Nikon D600, Sigma 70-200 F2.8, and available light. Luckily the sun had just gone behind a nearby mountain.
Sorry for posting so many photos. I hope 9 isn't too much!
Wow - the 1st 2 had me wondering, but the rest of the set was awesome. You label this 'my girls' - but there's a young dude there. Is a boyfriend?? At that age??
@Billk55, funny story. We were out there shooting and this boy and his family showed up. He is a friend of my oldest daughter from school.
@Steady, I think you're referring to #2. I was trying that for an effect but wasn't sold on it either. I think it goes back to what Billk55 was saying. The first two didn't have backgrounds that were all that interesting to me. I tried a creative vig to see if it'd help. Fail!
Interesting because I think 2 is easily the best shot. Has the most sense if purpose and location by having a nice amount of the landscape involved. Composition and lighting is spot on, and the vignetting really works for me.
Whilst the rest are nice captures, most seem to have little things that detract from the overall strength of the image. For example in 7 her right knee is cut off. In 9 you've just clipped her right foot off, and in 6 I think you should have stepped back a few paces so her entire lower half is in the shot. Again, in 1 the image would be stronger if her feet were included in the frame.
First and foremost - I think your kids are awesome at posing...very natural, big smiles, very cute....as SteadyHand said...great expressions.
As for pictures...though I am myself a novice, I feel that the last several pics are better than the first 2 (I prefer narrower shots for portraits...so the subject dominates the frame...not the landscape around them)
And would second the other comment about being careful with framing (cutting off a knee or foot etc..)
Beautifully shot, great expressions and use of depth-of-field. One nit, its not flattering when shooting people to crop at a joint, as in 1, 6 and 9. Just my two cents.
1, 5, 6, 7 & 9 all have composition issues. Mostly limbs cut off. I wonder if you are concentrating on the middle of the pictures and not seeing the edges of the frame.
Great advice all. I learned something about my issues of cutting off limbs. This happens mostly when I'm shooting portrait. I try to keep subjects from being dead center. So, I'm focusing and shifting my composition but I didn't leave enough room to move without cutting off parts. Yay for progress!
On #5, it was a necessary evil though. With the 70-200 I couldn't get enough height for the angle I wanted.
For those who think my girls are awesome at posing, you didn't see the 300 or so pictures I trashed! !
I like the photos, but they seem to be a bit too saturated. If you're in photoshop, maybe try bringing the saturation down by 7 units and see if the pinks show more detail. In general, maybe pulling some magenta out of the photo might be good. Just some thoughts.
!