Self Family Portrait - CC Please

This was a high degree of difficulty shot for me!

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/22918854@N04/6​414322703/

The dogs need to smile more. Try shaking a plastic bag or something to make them open there eyes and look forward. The family looks pretty good, maybe a little closer together next time? Not allot, just a tiny bit

For something that's high degree of difficulty you did well. But to do better you needed a back/hair/rim light. People call it different things but it would have lit the shoulders and hair of your subjects and prevented the black hair and sweater of the man at the right from blending into the black background.

HTH

For a self-portrait, that's pretty awesome... The lighting comments are reasonable, but the plastic bag might be tough Also one of the people isn't looking directly at the camera...
What's the dog on the left? Looks like a little cross of a bulldog and a boston

Thanks guys. Dog on the left is a mini-bulldog. Getting both dogs to look forward, when there was nobody there, was near impossible. Most of the shots had the lab looking at me (guy on right). My five year old was being a little pisser too - most of the shots he had his tongue out.

Hair light would have been a good idea. Didn't think of that one. Thanks for the feedback! I think we have a Christmas card!

Great job! I can only imagine how many "takes" it took to get that portrait. Love the colors and the personalities!

I love the dog's expressions and a bulldog has a nice gentlemanish sweater ^^

Other than the composition being a bit out of balance with the lad on the left by himself, I think you did a great job!

SJC from VT wrote in post #13461816
Great job! I can only imagine how many "takes" it took to get that portrait. Love the colors and the personalities!

I believe it was around 250. You can't tell but I'm screaming obscenities through my teeth!

These shots were much more typical:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/22918854@N04/6​418390557/

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

Look like the dog is being choked out. lol

First one obviously the better of the two. It looks a tad underexposed on my monitor. If you still have the raw file, try upping the exposure 1/3 to half a stop and see if you don't get some detail in the blacks and tops of heads. What to look for is your wife's top blowing out. If raising exposure blows out her top, you can darken highlights as well.

Given your set of circumstances, I'm not sure you'll do much better than the #1 shot. It's really pretty good.

dave

looks good. could you tell me, or everyone, your setup and what you used. the colors look great.

pickledmidget wrote in post #13464139
looks good. could you tell me, or everyone, your setup and what you used. the colors look great.

Thanks!

I used a pair of Elinchrom 500BXri lights. One to the side on the right side of the camera with a large octagon soft box (54"?) slightly feathered in front of us and one to the left of the camera facing more directly into the picture as fill with a small square soft box on it. I also used a tripod with my 7D and 24-70 lens at about 60mm or so and I think f12, 1/320th, ISO 100 (I'm going from memory here). I used a shutter boss remote trigger. There is a black backdrop behind us (which now has yellow fur all over it).

I think the lab is going to tap out : )