Constructive Criticism Needed - 2 Shoots from Last Weekend

[annnewjerz]

So last weekend I did two shoots, one with a friend of a friend and one with a co-worker who just welcomed his first baby to the world! The first family planned to use a photo that I took for their Christmas cards, but the point of the shoot was also for their personal albums and around the house. The second family was going to put out a birth announcement and also wanted some photos with all three of them, since usually it was just Daddy and Baby or Mommy and Baby.

Anywho, I would like some constructive criticism on what would make these shots better. I have included a few below.

Some things I tried to take into account after getting CC on some of my previous portraits of children were getting down on their level, trying to get the proper white balance, etc.

Thanks!

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3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

 

[Suburbanmom]

WOW! Your white balance is much improved and those feet are PRECIOUS!
I don't care for the background in #6 as my eye is drawn to the white cabinet, but I like the image. Good job!

 

[dpic]

I like all the shots, and my favorites are #2 and the "toes." Next, always ask yourself, "what is the photo about?" So, in #3 your eye is drawn too much to the bow. It's a nice artistic touch, but confuses the eye.

Next, I assume you shoot in RAW. My favorite sample point for white balance is the "whites of their eyes." The last photo could have had a little cooler white balance.

Lastly, #7--for my tastes--looks a little too "posed." I like the candidness much better of the first set. But, it's not criticism at all--just my approach.

Good luck, and I applaud you for asking for pointers. You have a very nice touch with the camera, and it takes guts to open yourself up for comments. Because of your openness and skill, you'll make a great photographer.

 

[Amy]

Nice shots, Ann! I'm not going to criticize, because your skills are definitely better than mine to begin with!

My favorite shots are the toes and the first one with dad swinging the child up in the air.

 

[Nicole786]

From an ametuers standpoint, I just wanted to give you the non-photographers POV. My eye wasn't drawn to the cabinet or the bow as others have pointed out, I think they are terriffic! And are very impressive!

 

[pointandshoot]

Thanks for sharing your images. I prefer candid pictures and like where you are taking your images. With candids, I would also suggest watching your backgrounds.

Image 2 has a merge with the tree coming out of the back of the child. Image 1 has somewhat the same situation. I like the interaction you captured with the family.

I would make the same comment on image 7. I see the open door and stairs. Maybe a step to the left would have given you a cleaner background givng the image more focus on the subject.

Selecting a spot and angle to shoot and paying close attention to light and background is important. It is a challenge with candid shots since the subjects are moving. You have very good instincts to capture the magic moment between them. Image 4 is nice shot. Overall, I think you are doing great and bet your subjects really liked your work.

Chuck

 

[MICKEY88]

awesome job,

I would recommend not shooting quite so tight, it's best to always leave extra space for cropping to various print sizes, plus extra space is good to have for framing purposes

 

[annnewjerz]

Thanks for the comments thus far, everyone! All of the feedback is very much appreciated and any/all thoughts are welcome.

Since I'm no good with multi-quotes, here are my responses to some issues mentioned:

1. Regarding the white balance on the last photo of the baby's face, I agree...he does look a little warm. Unfortunately, I was working with all artificial lighting which made things a little difficult. I did use the temperature feature of PE6 to "cool" the skin-tone down a little, but I do see what you mean about the eyes. I guess my problem is paying too much attention to the largest portion of the picture, not necessarily the part which indicates the correct WB best.

2. The backgrounds of some of the photos. I do agree that some of them are a little distracting (such as the trees in the top photos). I'm hoping that the more I shoot, the better I can get with knowing where is/isn't a good angle. One thing I would also like to learn to do is use PE6 to its fullest advantage. I know you can clone out things you don't like, etc. but until I get "The Missing Manual" I'm afraid I'm in the dark as far as doing more than the normal color balancing, shadows, sharpness, etc.

3. The posed shots. I know no one said hate, but I might go so far as to say I hate the ones that are posed. I did some typical posed ones for a few reasons. A. They asked for some, and who am I to say no, right? B. They wanted some more traditional family portraits since their photos usually ended up with one parent or the other. I made an attempt at making some of them interesting (for example, I would shoot Mother, Father and Baby but adjust the aperture so that the DOF was shallow, leaving only the father's face in clear focus). I am definitely more a fan of the candid/photojournalistic approach to shooting, but I knew that the family with the newborn was really going to cherish these photos of their first child and wanted to make sure they a variety of shots to pick from.

4. Shooting tight. I agree, that usually I would like to shoot wider to have more room for adjustment. I tried to shoot wide in the first set of pictures because we were outside and I used my 18-200 lens. For the set of baby portraits, I was using my 50mm and manually focusing it so either A. I was limited by the amount of space in the room or B. I was too darn worried about trying to get everything in focus and paying less attention to how much room I was leaving myself for corrections. This is definitely something I will have to improve on, although I've got to say...I am a fan of tight shots.

Thanks again everyone, and keep the comments coming!
Ann

 

[Todd_H]

Just wanted to say I love your pictures, Ann. Really really nice job

I definitely agree about the white balance on the last one, but that's the only constructive criticism I can offer. I am an aspiring amateur myself!

 

[MICKEY88]

4. Shooting tight. I agree, that usually I would like to shoot wider to have more room for adjustment. I tried to shoot wide in the first set of pictures because we were outside and I used my 18-200 lens. For the set of baby portraits, I was using my 50mm and manually focusing it so either A. I was limited by the amount of space in the room or B. I was too darn worried about trying to get everything in focus and paying less attention to how much room I was leaving myself for corrections. This is definitely something I will have to improve on, although I've got to say...I am a fan of tight shots.

Thanks again everyone, and keep the comments coming!
Ann

there is nothing wrong with tight shots, but you will create problems for yourself, when printing various sizes there is cropping involved, it's better to crop after the fact..if you shoot tight you will run into problems where important parts of an image will have to be cropped to print a pic, whereas shooting wider allows you to crop out out unnneccessary stuff when cropping for the print..

 

[Pea-n-Me]

These are beautiful, Anne. You're doing great!

 

[spinetnglr]

I agree I think you did a great job! I can't imagine either family being unhappy with the pictures if the rest of the shots are as nice as the ones you have shown us here. There are always little things that can be pointed out but overall I think you did wonderful!

 

[annnewjerz]

Thanks! These were definitely much more challenging than the photos I had taken in the past of a co-worker's daughter (at the orchard). The little boy was sick and cranky (although I don't think you can tell) and the little baby was, well...a little baby. Lots of crying.