Home Forums Am I a Fauxtog? Just want a few opinions. Reply To: Just want a few opinions.

#25223
Visionthing
Participant

Hi,

 

This is what I do portraits. With that said…I love your first image.

 

#1 Your composition of the 4 family members is spot on

and the little boy looking at the camera is sweet. Good job.

 

#2 I see where you were going with this. I don’t think it works though. He is starring off into space [I realize we are dealing with an infant, you can’t cue an infant]. You could keep the shallow depth of field you are after, but I think you would have been better off filling the frame with his face from a different angle. Although you can’t cue the baby, I will have a mother just off the edge of the frame talk or sing to the baby. Babies respond to their mother’s voice. Just a thought.

 

#3 Again I see where you were going but the baby’s fuzed out head at the bottom takes up too much of the frame, it’s visually distracting. Maybe you could have found another angle from which to shoot and concentrated on the babies hands together, putting just enough of their faces in to put context to who’s hands they were.

 

#4 I love you shot it on a quilt, smart choice. I like the kids are bare skinned, it’s sweet the older bro is looking and smiling at the baby, but again I would keep shooting and patiently wait till either the baby noticed the other kid or I might ask the older boy to tell the baby a joke, give a kiss, tell him a secret and then you would have some interaction between them that would look natural.

 

#5 Here I might have swaddled the baby, or have someone hold the baby and focus close on his face. Kids at that age are always making weird gestures. I have had 3!

 

#6 Sweet. Looking off camera is fine. Just keep working it though. Kids in action or absorbed in something that holds their attention is the way to go. As far as cut off body parts. I have no problem with that but remember you should always cut off a body part anywhere but at any joint otherwise they can look amputated.

 

#7 Mom & Baby, Sweet. I like the fact the background is the fence. You do have to be careful in contrasty light. If you are going to do that make sure it looks like it was a creative choice and not that you didn’t see it and failed to move your subject into better light.

I don’t know if anyone is there when you’re shooting cause a diffuser disc or something as simple as a bed sheet blocking that light would have evened the light out. Keep waiting for the moments of calm on the baby’s face. When you see a baby reacting it can feel a little disconcerting to the viewer. [One time I had to wait 2 hours before my client’s baby stopped crying]

 

#8 This shot I don’t see enough of the baby and Dad’s expression is a bit flat. I’m not being mean to him, just truthful. This is [without a doubt] the hardest part of being a portrait photographer. Getting your subject to truly emote in front of a lens they are uncomfortable in front of. What I do is talk to my subject. I might just ask the guy:” What are your dreams for this baby”? I might even tell him, “Don’t tell me just think about that question”. Inevitably he will start showing emotion without realizing it.

 

#9 I have no critique on this one. Adorable and spot on!

 

#10 I know what you were trying to do but there are way too many elements in this shot to work.

What was your visual goal? The baby’s feet?, his future in baseball?, the mom’s touch? It too much of a mash up. I think here you needed to pick one of those and drop the rest. And then play with the others separately.

 

I hope I gave you some things to think about. Keep going, keep shooting, keep working. Really look back at your images and try to figure out what worked, what didn’t and why. If you do that with each shoot, you’ll continue to improve.

 

Good Luck!