CC Please, be greatly appreciated!!

Yes I believe you have, you should be very proud, great image

Lovely group shot but... it looks (to my eye) like you've overdone the pp on the skin smoothing and eye enhancing...especially on the little girl. Great focus and dof tho

Well done.I like it....just be careful of the crop, she is pretty close to the side, and when framed, you might clip her.

Thanks so much everyone!! I will take all of your comments into consideration..

A really nice shot but would maybe be even better if 'mum' had moved in a bit closer to eliminate that wee gap? I'm just nit-picking...

two thumbs up. great shot

This is the critique forum is it not?

Positive critique. Everyone is in focus. Good expressions.

Constructive critique. Dad has his head tipped to the feminine shoulder. Two heads stacked. Lighting is "everywhere light" coming from both sides and overhead, which is not portrait lighting. Raccoon eyes on everyone. No forethought to matching their clothing. Pose makes it look like the parents are fighting.

Changes next time. Put mom and dad in the center with their torso's posed at a 45° angle toward one another with all their weight on the rear foot/hip. Place one child at each end both at a 45° angle to the camera and facing in toward the center. There will be no heads stacked this way, and you will have a nice pyramidal composition. Use an off camera flash to create some directional lighting. Tip all heads in toward the center. Have a clothing consultation with mom.

Benji

Nice picture, I agree that the mom should be a little tighter with the group.

The DOF works really well here as well.

That watermark has to go though, it looks like you have a special logo for Halloween or something. Watermarks don't need to be complicated, and they don't need any photoshop effects. They need to say your name, but not take away from the picture. This one is just sooo loud, and thematically doesn't fit with this kind of work at all.

If you are going to use a free font from the internet, and there are many good ones to chose from, pick something inconspicuous, but professional looking, you don't need anything so ornate.

There are many good ones here:

http://psdfan.com …t-free-fonts-of-all-time/

Benji wrote in post #11078005
This is the critique forum is it not?

Positive critique. Everyone is in focus. Good expressions.

Constructive critique. Dad has his head tipped to the feminine shoulder. Two heads stacked. Lighting is "everywhere light" coming from both sides and overhead, which is not portrait lighting. Raccoon eyes on everyone. No forethought to matching their clothing. Pose makes it look like the parents are fighting.

Changes next time. Put mom and dad in the center with their torso's posed at a 45° angle toward one another with all their weight on the rear foot/hip. Place one child at each end both at a 45° angle to the camera and facing in toward the center. There will be no heads stacked this way, and you will have a nice pyramidal composition. Use an off camera flash to create some directional lighting. Tip all heads in toward the center. Have a clothing consultation with mom.

Benji

A lot of things I wouldn't have considered until you mentioned it. That's what I like about coming here, you never know what you don't know.

Looks good, my only crit is the pp on the little girl is WAY overdone. She looks fake.

Benji, you nailed it. The expressions and focus let the photo be usable, but your suggestions would have transformed it into a keepsake.

Benji has a fantastic write-up about portrait posing. It is well worth the read. He touches on so many things that are overlooked, feminine/masculine head tilt, hand placement and no armpits.

OP: While I can't improve on what Benji and others have said, I'll throw in my penny's worth. The lighting is off. The husband is overly dark/red and the others are too white. Yes, this may be complexion, but it seems off.

Nice shot, I think all of the technical points have been discussed but one..... and it's a personal pet peeve of mine... Please ditch the "Bleeding Cowboy" font for your watermark, that is one of the most overused fonts to date. It also screams unprofessional pretty loudly.

xluckynumber7x wrote in post #11116875
Nice shot, I think all of the technical points have been discussed but one..... and it's a personal pet peeve of mine... Please ditch the "Bleeding Cowboy" font for your watermark, that is one of the most overused fonts to date. It also screams unprofessional pretty loudly.

I mentioned that, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is bothered by the font selection!