First portrait shots EVER. CnC more than welcome.

So my girlfriend wanted some portraits with her kids for their grandma and asked me to do it. I'm going to try again tomorrow for sure because I'm not at all satisfied with my results. I am asking you guys for professional advise since I'm totally new to portraits and want to learn and need lots of improvement. So don't hold back.

Some things I already know:
1) My color balance isn't consistent throughout because I shot everything in RAW and had my first experience with trying to adjust color balance with these.

2) The window totally ruined everything I shot in front of it. I moved to the left to get rid of the giant light reflection off the window not thinking that I just killed the shots. This was my worst mistake.

3) The lights are too harsh. I'm using the existing lights in the room: 4 really bright lights (mixed type) on the ceiling fan and the 2 lights to the subjects right bouncing off the wall/white blanket. The shadow on the wall went away when I thought to hang some tissue paper in front of the bright lights and use a faster lens (the canon 50/ f1.8 ). I think I'll stick to that lens for my next go.

Anyways, I'll try to host somewhere I can preserve exif data.

I did all of these on a tripod with wireless remote by the way.

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I think you have some very promising ideas here for candid portraits of the girlfriend and the kids.

Yes, the color balance looks better in some shots than in others. The best cure for that is to use a Custom White Balance with a gray card.

You also seem to be aware of some of the composition and arrangement issues, so I won't take up that issue.

Your poses are for the most part very good and are generally interesting.

My most significant issue with your pictures is the overall setting. Perhaps an outside setting with Open Shade is possible. Either that or keep the setting indoors, but arrange the group around more conventional furniture.

Thank you for your response, your input is valuable.

I totally agree with you. I did this with absolutely no studio equipment at all. I chose that room because the lights she has in there are ridiculously bright and the blanket was white plus the extra lamps by the bed. Once I took off the Sigma "superzoom" lens (which I don't like because it's a pretty slow lens), and put on the 50mm there was a great difference. I could even drop the ISO down from 1600, haha I know...

It was raining that day but I really wanted to do it outside. It's cloudy today so if it doesn't rain I might just do that.

This time I might arrange them in front to the big dark entertainment center that has lots of family photos all over it. While keeping a moderate distance from it so as to blur it into the background and have them lit up good. Trouble is finding decent lighting. I got some ideas though.

Thanks again for your input.

Dan

I have a small camcorder. I might set it up to record the photoshoot and get some good footage to give them a nice family home video on CD since I also got their easter egg hunt and birthdays on it. Getting ideas now...

I love the expressions on the faces and the character you have caught, they may not be technically correct, but I think they say a lot.

I had a play with one, I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I like them so.............

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OEH, great job! I think that edit worked really well.
that style takes the "snapshot" feel away nicely.