I think the lighting is pretty even throughout, so good job on that.
I would have gone with a different background, though, as I find it too
distracting.
Thanks Tim and fstop
I have tried and used this background in other families before and for some reason, they love it so is this family.
Clients don't seem to care about any distractions in their photos as long as you make them look good.
I usually used two backgrounds in each session in case, they don't like the other.
I appreciate your comments.
trumpet_guy wrote:
I think the lighting is pretty even throughout, so good job on that.
I would have gone with a different background, though, as I find it too
distracting.
I think you have some good pictures and some good photo skills that will please your customers. However, the backgrounds are problematic in this series. The black portion of the first background allows dark areas of your subjects to blend into the background. This is seen most clearly in the B&W photo where hair and her dress do just that.
The bottom line is that when I see your first picture, I see the background as much as the people. I should see the people and not even notice the background.
I see the boquet of flowers as a distraction and as making the picture "off balance". Small, medium large from flowers to lady to man.
In #3, there is a large dark area in the photo, between the girl and the vase. It doesn't contribute to the picture, yet it is more than 3 times the size of the girl's face.
In #4, that boy doesn't need flowers behind him. Keep it simple.
I wouldn't put a lot of credence into the "they love it" response from some customers. You are the pro and have the job of making the pics look as good as possible.
Don't expect them to notice much. They will see themselves smiling and standing together as a family and like the picture. They won't notice the details that people here on this forum are telling you. They are not photo critics.
My advice is to pay more attention to backgrounds and continue to improve your pictures.
Jim Rickards wrote:
I think you have some good pictures and some good photo skills that will please your customers. However, the backgrounds are problematic in this series. The black portion of the first background allows dark areas of your subjects to blend into the background. This is seen most clearly in the B&W photo where hair and her dress do just that.
The bottom line is that when I see your first picture, I see the background as much as the people. I should see the people and not even notice the background.
I see the boquet of flowers as a distraction and as making the picture "off balance". Small, medium large from flowers to lady to man.
In #3, there is a large dark area in the photo, between the girl and the vase. It doesn't contribute to the picture, yet it is more than 3 times the size of the girl's face.
In #4, that boy doesn't need flowers behind him. Keep it simple.
I wouldn't put a lot of credence into the "they love it" response from some customers. You are the pro and have the job of making the pics look as good as possible.
Don't expect them to notice much. They will see themselves smiling and standing together as a family and like the picture. They won't notice the details that people here on this forum are telling you. They are not photo critics.
My advice is to pay more attention to backgrounds and continue to improve your pictures....Show more →
My observations were pretty well covered in the earlier posts above.
But...there is one more...
My Simple Suggestion: Change your sitting "stool" to some other piece of furniture.
Reasons:
1. The tiny metal legs look "cheap."
2. The image #1 image has a pose and POV that makes it look like the woman has a big butt and it is "hanging out" there in space supported by a small pole.
My Suggestions: Pick a solid support (box or ottoman shape) or one that has more "solid" looking foundation (thicker wooden legs) and "seat."
Or....crop the image so the seat and tiny legs don't show.
Thanks Steady,
The tiny leg furniture you're referring to is actually cheap bought from Target.
I was worried that if I cropped her butt, I would cut the little girl's dress.
So I opted to keep it that way.
As usual Jim, I always learn from your advice.
I will keep that in mind.
A frequent complaint of people with dark hair is their hair getting lost in the background. This has happened with the individual portraits of the kids. I would suggest using a hair highlight from behind or 2 lights, one from each side, flagged and pointing towards the camera but behind the subject.
