I went home for the holidays and had the wonderful opportunity to shoot my sister, her boyfriend and their beautiful baby girl Maria. Been waiting to shoot them since the summer, now that she's a bit older it made for a very fun day of pictures. Have a look.
I apologize up front for so many pictures, can't help but snap alot when its family...
Some of these are quite well done, while others show some weaknesses.
#1 has lots of empty space on the bottom for no apparent reason.
#4 has such narrow DOF that important parts of the photo are OOF
#5 has narrow DOF that becomes distracting and areas are overexposed.
In the other shots you seem to have caught the essense of this happy family and protrayed them well. We see wonderful expressions, nice colour, good compositions and see them interacting as a family.
Jim Rickards wrote:
Some of these are quite well done, while others show some weaknesses.
#1 has lots of empty space on the bottom for no apparent reason.
#4 has such narrow DOF that important parts of the photo are OOF
#5 has narrow DOF that becomes distracting and areas are overexposed.
In the other shots you seem to have caught the essense of this happy family and protrayed them well. We see wonderful expressions, nice colour, good compositions and see them interacting as a family.
+1
Plus a few more "personal opinions"....
1. Faces are always more interesting than photos of shoes. I would rather see "details" of a child's face instead of a simple (and easy) shot of some temporary and unimportant shoes. Mass marketed shoes are not unique. People are unique. Devote your focus on shoes, not on inanimate "details" that have no life.
2. Look at image #1.
See the light on the face? Where is the light coming from? Most of the face is in a shadow. My Simple Suggestion: rotate the child so that more of the face is catching the ambient light so the front of the face is not in a shadow. "See the light."
3. Short DOF may seem very "cool" if properly done. IF improperly executed, it just looks like a lack of "focus" and lack of "skill" on the part of the photographer. OR, it appears like you don't know what to focus on.
4. Very cute kid. Lucky parents. Loving couple. Lots of potential.
5. Image #8 would have been my favorite if most of the faces had been in focus. IF I were the mother of one of the parents, i wouild want to see both my own child and my grandchild BOTH in focus. IF I were one of the parents, I would want to see BOTH my spouse AND my child in focus. So easy to do, and so simple.
Thanks for the comments guys... I will agree that the thin DOF was not used as I had hoped or tried in SOME of the shots we took, that is just inexperience on my part. Gotta start somewhere when trying something new, overall I am very happy with the shots and so is the family, Grandma loves the shot of the little shoes btw. Funny how things photographers don't like, clients do.
Hey, buddy, I see you had a nice holiday weekend with the fam in Montana. No b.s. here - I can definitely see growth in your skills. I know what you're after in these shots, and you're getting closer to your goals. I will echo the comments on depth of field though. There's softness where I don't think you necessarily wanted it. Good job overall though.
See you at work Tuesday, sucker! I took tomorrow off!
I liked the overall feel to the set. I like what you were going for with the shallow DOF in 5, but while the child's face is nicely in focus, so is the man's neck, which is a distraction. Others have said it all vis a vis the DOF in other shots, I personally prefer a broader DOF for faces. I especially agree with Steady's observation that 8 was a great capture if all faces were in focus.
About the shoes - I think a shot like this conveys an 'idea' or 'impression' of childhood by their small size and impossibly small, cute jeans. A child of this age is only just finding their feet, if even, and this transitionary phase is so fleeting and brief. Therefore I see the merit in the photo and why the 'client' liked them. They may be as Steady pointed out 'mass marketed shoes', but they are unique in that they may well be the first pair of walkers this child had. Just a different POV, and a shot that would probably resonate a lot more with the child's family then a casual observer.
keep experimenting. good effort, and good on ya for trying. I do think a lot of these are pretty flat.
i think it's important to remember that other photographers can be a mixed blessing as far as critiques go (just like anyone). they/we bring our own preferences and biases to our critiques. example: some people like everything to be in focus, whereas that generally bores me to tears, because it's too easy. also, the only thing that matters is what your clients like. none of us are buying your work, so take everything with a grain of salt.
i like #4, but i would've focused on the babies eyes.
Hey thanks for the comments guys, appreciate it. This was a very fun set for me to shoot and process, I will keep shooting, learning and most of all, have fun!
