Dad, uncle, cousin and the guest of honor.

Too arty?

BTW this is right out of the camera, I may slap a big crop on it and lighten......

Don't think it's too 'arty' at all. Looking forward to the final result.
John

This is quite an unusual and interesting portrait. From the title I thought "Oh not another group shot sitting on a sofa" - but I could not have been more wrong! Technically you have done very well to keep the exposure balance right and everyone in focus. The rear people could use a little more light on their faces, but I imagine you will be working on that. The top left could use a little skewing upwards too.

Nice house btw! Or is it a hotel?

Cheers
Mike

I agree with the others, this is very unusual and appealing. I like the sort of whimsical set up. Don't crop too much. Just trimming a bit but leave all the setting in. A bit of WB adjustment and some lightening the faces in the bg. A very interesting layout
Well done

Yes I think a crop and maybe a skew to strighten it would help, I like the idea. Nice work.

...Nice house btw! Or is it a hotel?

Cheers
Mike

We rented a room for the occasion but the whole place was empty so I moved everyone into the hall for portraits.

I got what I felt were some good ones but sometimes it is nice to have disinterested opinions.

Thanks.

what a neat Idea for a family portrait. The little girl in the front and the way they are standing give me this regal feel. Very nice. When you do work on this or crop it...maybe take out the Green emergency exit sign on the left ...that is the ONLY way I knew this wasn't a house. :)

No, it has impact. I like the geometry and lighting. I am not sure about the rug at the bottom of the frame, I would prefer it to be all marble. If you can enlarge it it will be fine, but in reality only the guest of honor is really big enough. Everyone else, though they ideally placed, are a bit small in the photo. But see what you can do!

G