I'm a newbie and I know it...but agreed to shoot a friend's family

As always, I welcome constructive criticism to help me improve. First time ever snapping someone that wasn't in my immediate family

1.

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Jason, I'm just a newbie too. These shots are all very good IMO. Looks like some slight hand blur in #3.Was it one of those spur of the moment shots? Shutter speed? I get that sometimes myself. Kids are ALWAYS moving! My favorites are 1 and 7. The parents should be happy with your work.

Actually - you did a pretty good job. Your shots are sharp, well exposed, and the expressions we see here are all very good as well. All of those points are the base of a good portrait sitting. Now, when you continue, think unity of family. So hands and arms and heads all lead towards the center of the group, and keep spaces between family members to a minimum.

When you can tilt heads toward one another, do not cut off limbs, fingers, feet and always crop above a joint.


In the last shot for example, the daughter should be sitting on Mom's lap and the son real close to her with Dad (hands out of pocket,) shoulder touching Moms. Think of shapes the heads could make and set up those poses. "W" - "U" - "Circle".

But as portraits go I have seen MUCH worse. so keep plugging away. Get books on family portraiture, and study the actual positions of each member of the group.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. #3 actually isn't the result of camera shake, I just missed focus on it (had it set to one shot instead of Servo when I first got there).