First portrait shoot

[gecko]

A work collegue asked me to take some pics of his family
No pay - said I would do it for the experience
It was a bit of a one off event getting the whole family together in one place at one time and so I was feeling a little pressure.
Brief was 'casual shots at the beach'.....

What did I learn?
1. Clean your filters before you start - my CPL was so greasy it was unusable and I had nothing to clean it with!
2. I need to work on positioning people in groups for more pleasing effects and also in relation to the ambient light....

C&C away folks....

[drifter]

I'll start by saying , man, this would be a tough gig and a bit daunting . I wouldn't know where to start .
To me #3 is the best one , good group shot , looks to be in need of a bit more light though.
The first one to me is too distant . The second one the shadows ruin it . The last one is cute and is a good thinking outside the box shot .

[Matt. K]

gecko
You did a few things right and there's a few things could have been improved. The shot at the base of the tree is best. I think white T-shirts were a mistake and lots of different colours would have been an improvement. Did you use your flash? Fill flash was called for to kill those shadows on the faces. Best way to pose groups is triangual or cirlcular composition....rarely does a straight line work. If you must do a straight line of folk then get them close enough together so that no light comes in between the bodies. Hope this helps.

[macka]

I personally prefer candids to staged group shots, but having said that there are not bad. Everyone looks relaxed and happy in the tree shot, which is what you want to see. My favourite is the last one, because it is the most natural, and quite a sweet moment.

[ozimax]

Geck, white shirts (clothing) is extremely difficult to photograph, maybe they are part of a white shirt brigade from QLD?

Very interesting concept this is, eg casual family shots. Might have to explore the possibility.

Thanks for posting them, Max

[gecko]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I

think white T-shirts were a mistake and lots of different colours would have been an improvement.

Yes - I didn't have any control over this, decision was made by the wife of my work college and I didn't know about it until everyone showed up in white.

For future reference should would you suggest soft colours such as pastels?

Geck, white shirts (clothing) is extremely difficult to photograph, maybe they are part of a white shirt brigade from QLD?

Not sure about this, but white shoes were popular on this day!

Did you use your flash? Fill flash was called for to kill those shadows on the faces.

Yes, SB600 with LSPJ with dome pointing directly at them.
The long shots were with a 75-300 - I had a flash on the hot shoe (no PJ), but can't remember if I used it - distances were so great that it probably would have not made any difference?

Thanks for the feedback
Without this forum my photography skills would be only a small fraction of what they are and I still have soooo much to learn....

Cheers
Gecko