kids

[l1lm1k3]

http://www.photozo.com/album/data/8947/kailey_austinzo_.jpg

well the frist try was a bust with the whole fam hoping this one is better c&c def wanted ( i wish i would have got there blue eyes to pop )
here is the second
http://www.photozo.com/album/data/8947/kailey_austin2zo_.jpg

[Polly1]

Well, first let me say what a great looking family you have. Secondly, I think it is best to admit that I am in no position to give you any kind of technical advice.

But... I do know what I like and dislike and I usually know why.

I don't like the lines of this picture, to me it is too static. I am a lover of lines and movement and I think I would have got the girl to sit/straddle/lean against the upper part of the tree trunk and follow its' movement in some way. I would then have put the really cute boy on the other side to follow on from the line of the girl.

That said, I have never taken a portrait in my life, I am just saying what I feel.

Thanks for sharing and putting this up for critique, hopefully someone who knows what they are talking about will give you some better advice.

[l1lm1k3]

i have one similar to what your saying but not exactly this was def one of the better of the few i took thanks

[yellalablady]

I like the 1st one the best of these two. I don't like that everything is in a straight line. I would get the girl to kneel down where the branch is coming off the trunk, and place her elbows out to either side with her chin resting on her overlapping hands. I would leave the boy as he is in the 1st shot. You could then focus in closer. This would help make the blue eyes pop. They're too small the way they are to see much definition in the eyes at all.

[evil_ss]

A silver reflector would have worked well here michael to bounce some light into the shadows on your kids faces and 'pop' the eyes a little more.
Also i think i would have a play with the blue sider in photoshop and bring them down a tad.
Nice shots mate!

[brucep]

For someone without a whole lot of portraiture experience, I think you did a really excellent job! You did such a good job that I'll even get really picky about a few things for future reference.

One of the things my teachers harped on was "amputations." Your son's arm disappears behind the tree lopped off right at the elbow in #1.

I was taught that the back (or broad "STOP" of a palm) was very square and masculine, so in nearly every situation we should avoid photographing the back of a woman's hand straight on as you've done in #1.

You've done a really good job of coping with dappled light here. I avoid dappled light whenever possible (or use a strong fill flash to overcome it) At least the sun wasn't shining on their faces. Unfortunately it does accent her tummy in #2. My very favorite time to photograph people is right after the sun goes over the horizon giving me a whole sky full of soft light and no harsh sunlight. You can get a similar effect in the shade of a building as long as the sun's not shining on your background either.

Something I really appreciate here is that you haven't cropped off anyone's head or feet (a common error). You've left ample room around your subjects to sort of "frame" them.

A couple of "slimming" things I do for my subjects (especially women):
I have them stand 3/4 to the camera instead of straight on or profile, and put their weight mainly on their back foot. then I do whatever I can tactfully, without making them self conscious, to create a "keyhole" of background between their body and at least one arm. This way, the viewer sees only the width of their body without the thickness of their arm being included in this subconscious "measurement." I'll just ask them to place the palm of their hand higher on their hip or on their waist. My clumsy attachment isn't meant as a retouch suggestion, but to show you what I mean by the "keyhole."

Also, I try not to ask my subjects to suck in their stomachs, but I'll often ask them to draw a good breath into the tops of their lungs (same result).

Keep up the good work. You have some excellent subjects.

[l1lm1k3]

thank you very much guys / gals as for my lil boy he is very hard to work with. Getting him to set still for even 20 seconds is a challenge. As for my lil girl here she just got her hair done and was wanting photos taken. i will be sure to consider the breath thing from now on bruce again thank all of you. I will be making one of these a portriat for myself to have and there mother.

oh and what im loving is that im all manual now all but the wb i use a preset for sun