Predeployment Family Portrait

I did a studio shoot today for a friend who is going overseas next month. He'll be gone for a year, and this is definitely not his first rodeo, as you can see by looking at the stripes on the forearm of his jacket. He was my supply sergeant when I was with the Army National Guard.

James, Bobbi and their son, Aidan.

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He has a great smile. He should use it more often. Your back light seems a bit hot on the sides of their faces.

These are great portraits and I hope they are proud of them - you did a great job!

The lights are a bit hot camera left and I agree about him smiling - he has a great one and I bet his family would like to see more of it too


Jen D.

too much PP on the eyes IMO

These are great---especially the last! The people on this forum in particular are VERY picky---take it with a grain of salt, they're trying to be helpful.

Thank you all for the comments. He is a good friend of mine and it took a funny conversation to get that genuine smile from him. Otherwise it was a pasted on one, and it doesnt look natural.

The light on the side of their face was a bit tough to control. They like the photos and I wasnt too picky about the light spilling over.

The pp on the eyes is very minimal. Would you like an original posted? That's the beauty of awesome gear... Profoto lights, 5D2 and 70-200.

They just look out of the ordinary compared to the rest of the photo. An original would be cool

The last one is my favorite. The eyes look fine on all of them. Good glass and lighting does bring out the detail doesn't it?

It looks like you got the little one to cooperate a lot..that's a big help. One thing not mentioned..notice HIS head tilt in the series. It looks better to me when his head is straight, or even slightly tilted INTO the photo. The top few are OUT of the frame, and the third is into..more natural looking.
Just my opinion.

Tell pops to smile at least once! lol. Nice lighting by the way.

I think everyone should be smiling when together. Remembering the stern face should be reserved to the individual parent shots as they want to be taken seriously given their occupation as serviceman (persons).

IMO, The gentleman should smile with his son and so should mom.

Jeff, you've done something very nice for your friends. I love the first family shot. I do have one question about the last individual portrait, his uniform has a moire pattern, what do you think causes that?

The ones where he's not smiling add and earie and I suppose poignant feel to them. The one where he's smiling is the best for me.

The "official" one is stunning!

Agree about the hot lights... and the smile... but still, there are some nice images here. May God go with him and bring him back safe. I would hate to think that "official" shot might be needed. I would hate to think of that little boys smile turning... Thanks for sharing