First Family Portrait

[Crovean]

Critics and Comments are very welcome!



PP notes: 2 layers on this image, under expose background and Finalized PP image for subjects.


I could have done better with the focus but as you know kids are kids and its really hard to get a good picture. hehehe.

[carregwen]

Chriss

It's a pretty good group subject with happy, healthy, nice-looking people (I'd spoil the shot if I were in it).

I think there is too much space around them and it has quite a few distractions. The top half is very dark in the background, which I find distracting. The general eye-line level of the group is at the centre, and I think it looks better at the top third. I'm not sure about the three people on the right looking straight into the camera while the boy is looking away. It might work, it might not. There isn't any separation on the dark hair of the adults against the background, which is also dark.

In short I think the group is great, it just needed a better thought out background. If you are posing a picture (as this was) you normally have the luxury of choosing a background. Take a shot, look at in in the viewer, and if it doesn't look right then try a different backdrop.

I did a quickie to crop out some of the background.

[Crovean]

Thanks for reply Rob.

Rob, I did a crop like that yesterday but didn't seem to look right. I might want to look at it again when i get home to see what the difference. Maybe it had a lighter background opposite that yours, i don't know, just got to look at it again.

How i wish its a backdrop because selecting a good background would be so easy hehehehe. Somehow with this photoshot we end up on a cemetary lol. I had to make it work to not show the tomb stones.

[Crovean]

Here's the image Rob with 1 layer and no masking. This is the image i'm talking about that it didn't look right because of the bright background.

[carregwen]

Here's the image Rob with 1 layer and no masking. This is the image i'm talking about that it didn't look right because of the bright background.

Yes, it's too bright, isn't it. I think you should have moved the people into a more shaded spot. You want enough light to get a fast shutter speed, and if possible you want some light direction (as you have here from the left), but the conditions here are just too contrasty.

I had a similar situation last month (can't find the shots at the moment). I did a family group shot in a garden. Everyone said 'Oh, take it in the sun' but I knew that was wrong - they all squinted in the bright light and it was too contrasty. I moved them into the shade against a wall (and they all complained), but the shot came out much better.