1st photo shoot C&C needed pls!

[veggie]

I did my first photo shoot of a family this weekend, and they did not like the pictures.

Could you please dish it all out!!

Thanks ;)

[trog100]

well.. not all babies photograph well.. he he..

praps a wider aperture and a little darker exposure but i think the expression on the babies face is the real problem..

trog

[livin4lax09]

cheap and easy solution to outside portraits.... go to michaels, and buy a giant white foamcore board. hold it to the shadowed side of your subject when shooting. that will help to alleviate the shadows in the first one a bit. they're just too strong. i agree, the expressions are the problem, but I like the last one. Narrow DOF works well with portraits, but thinking of it, I never really see baby shots with them. next time get something that interests the little one and dangle it in front of the camera. you'll see the eyes light up. also, if you use fillflash, you'll get a sparkle in the eye.

[jbaldocchi]

Pictures # 3 & 4 work well. the light is less harsh. I might crop out more of the tree on the right in image #3.

Cheers,

Jim B.

[trog100]

anyways numbers three and four are quite "likeable"..

trog

[GB1]

I would have guessed that they did like the shots, not the reserse.

I think # 1, 2 and 5 are the best, esp 5. I think the DOF is good here. # 1's lighting is a little harsh. Yeah you could use a reflector, but I'm not sure that would totally correct for the brightness of the subject against the darker background. Perhaps shooting in the shade w/ a fill flash would have been the best solution (but one I have no exp with).

# 2 is retro, but her face is partially blocked by her shoulder and the bckgd is a bit cluttered.

# 3 , it does not have enough view of the critical parts of the shot, and the background is distracting. Using the shallow DOF helps, but can only do so much. Just move her -- remember you're the director, so direct.

# 4 is better, but the background is getting distracting. It's still a less-than-ideal angle of her face and the baby.

# 5 is great! In this situation I believe the background adds to the shot, instead of distracting.

Just my opinions btw. I'm interested in reading others'.

GB

[veggie]

Thanks everyone for the great advice!
I have another one (different baby!) on Monday and will make the trip to Michaels before.

I'll keep all this in mind, and try to post the new ones later next week!