p.1 #1 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
Last March I was working at my desk whilst watching our local morning show, cappuccino in one hand, mouse in the other, as routine usually has it.
The show ends at 9:00AM, but I got distracted that day and let the TV run. The next show came on the air, one I never watch. Another talk show, but more intimate. The introduction presented a couple which had won a contest named "Deco for your heroes" which is about rewarding families who contribute positively in their community by offering them a 10,000$ room make-over in their house. A friend of theirs had signed them up.
To make a long story short, Sylvie and Jonathan first had six biological children, whom are all adults today. 11 years ago, they began adopting children with special needs -- autism, cerebral palsy, etc -- knowing these children had a very low probability of finding a loving home. They adopted five such children, who are between 4 and 12 years old today.
Then, last October, she was struck with cancer. At the time the show aired, she was still waiting to hear whether the chemo had worked. They aired a clip of their experience with the make-over show (they renovated the family room) and showed a beautiful wall with a lot of family photographs.
I was really touched by their story and the fact I never listen to this show prompted me to take it as a sign to do something. I hopped onto Facebook and contacted their social media team in the hope they could put me in contact with the family so I could offer them a free session.
A couple days later, I got in touch with the producer, who put me in touch with the Godfreys. Finally, last Sunday, we drove to their son's estate where 38 grinning people were waiting for us. Their eldest son has fifteen children of his own, half of which have also been adopted.
They were such an inspirational family. Thankfully Sylvie is in remission now, but recuperation will be slow. She is well supported as you can see.
So, here they are.
Sylvie and Jonathan, and their 36 children and grandchildren.
p.1 #3 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
yes, kudos for giving it back to the community. nowadays, it's easy to get lo be wrapped-up in the daily grinds and not have a 2nd thought for the neighbors. :-)
This is Celeste, the youngest of their biological children and a most charming young woman. She's holding her little brother who is autistic and blind. They have a really special bond.
p.1 #10 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
It is a really nice story, but did you take an entire group shot with everyone in the image and in focus? Not sure why you cut the guy on the far left in the first shot. I get the concept of the family behind them being out of focus, but I'd lay money they'd want a shot with everyone fully in the frame in and in focus.
p.1 #11 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
Theres about 80 photos on the blog you'll find many group shots there as well. Guy is cut because it was the first exposure of the pose, I noticed in camera, recomposed and shot a few more but their expression was the best in the first one.
I always prioritize expressions or the moment over a technically perfect photo.
Aug 11, 2015 at 12:45 PM
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p.1 #12 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
FrancisK7 wrote:
Theres about 80 photos on the blog you'll find many group shots there as well. Guy is cut because it was the first exposure of the pose, I noticed in camera, recomposed and shot a few more but their expression was the best in the first one.
I always prioritize expressions or the moment over a technically perfect photo.
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Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense. Given the guy who is cut is in the background, obviously the expressions of the couple trump him. The message and subject of the image comes through loud and clear either way.
p.1 #13 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
FrancisK7 wrote:
Theres about 80 photos on the blog you'll find many group shots there as well. Guy is cut because it was the first exposure of the pose, I noticed in camera, recomposed and shot a few more but their expression was the best in the first one.
I always prioritize expressions or the moment over a technically perfect photo.
I took a look at the blog and I didn't see any full group shots with everyone together in it like this first one. Still curious if you have one of everyone in focus. Also, just saying, but if the background is great in one shot, and their expression is great in another, it's often easy to turn it into a composite if it's basically the same shot/focus length, etc.
p.1 #14 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
You're right, I didn't include many full group shots in the blog. I left most of them out. They're all in their gallery in the client access section.
I'm not a great photoshopper and I don't like composites so I never really used them. What do you use to make them? I probably could take the group from another exposure and put the couple from the first shot in. If they want to print that one big it is what I would have attempted. I attended a Joe Mcnally workshop last month and there was a special on topaz filters and I got them all, including Remask, which I used for the first time last week to impressive results.
The guy who is cut is also a spouse and not a kid and grandchildren so felt less bad, even though I agree people should never be cut if you can help it.
If the composite doesn't take too much time I'm willing to try it. We drove 3 hours, spent 3 hours with them, and I spent another 4-5 hours in PP. I didn't want to spend 30 minutes trying a composite that may fail for a single image out of 121ish good ones.
If you can offer advice I'll definitely try it though, if only for practice.
p.1 #15 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
The composite is really easy on this shot because the main subjects are sharply in focus and the background is out of focus. I use Perfect Photo Suite for the more difficult masking jobs, but for this one, piece of cake. In PS, I'd simply use my Quick Selection Tool and select the couple up front. I might use Refine Edge if there are some stray hairs. I'd also feather the selection with a 1, 2 or 3. Copy and paste as a new layer. I'd bring in the other shot with the full group behind them and bring that in as a layer just under the masked couple. You may need to clone some things so the couple fits into the new background. The couple will likely be a bit larger than they are in the new background (as you would have shot a bit wider to get everyone in the shot) so you just scale them down until it's a perfect fit. Merge the layers down, and you're done. Roughly a 5-minute job.
But I'm still curious if you got a shot of the entire group in focus?
p.1 #20 · Jonathan, Sylvie and their 36 children and grandchildren
Thank you everyone! The family loved the photos so much, I have 12 new Facebook friends as of this morning and I am quite sure we will all be keeping in touch for years to come.
