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Family and Kids Critique Part 2

Um, I love this image beautifully exposed, beautifully processed, the k what is not beautiful is that big thumb that's just sticking up there and the disconnection between them, the shoulders and magnificent, the faces just don't quite b and so he's a little tip when you're moving around because this had the potential to be magnificent, beautiful people and really well finished. What I want to see is you do this when I posed a couple or or a single person on their own, no matter where I do my role, I do my eight compositions, okay, so I look at somebody and then I go, what if I stand higher and look down? What if I stay in lower in the cup? What a figure like this? What if I get there and I just move around and then I move for them backwards in my camera competition? Okay, and you'll be amazed what you see, because I've seen it a million times. Photographers set up a shot, and then they stand still and take thirty photographs without moving. If you can't move, they move so directing pe...

ople has had to what you could have done is nuzzle into each other too in your face is towards me move around you know you can do this smell her cheek it doesn't matter what you say to them as long as the together and they look like they're together because the problem with this is it looks like to really beautiful people going about this you know, instead of two really beautiful people connected to each other let them find their own group they'll find it people just they come together like you normally would nuzzle into here cold here direct, direct, direct it's so important and they move around but I really love we were I love the back of her shoulder this one at that thumb could have been down a back in a here just not sticking right out like a appendage you know, it's a funny thing uh this a lot I like about the shot and there's a lot I don't like about the shot. So what are the things that you like about it first? Um I like her connection. I like that the poses kind of age appropriate in the sensitive bodies killed up as opposed to being or like I get that she's probably a dancer or something like that because she is dancing here and it's a dancing dress which makes me big the question why isn't she in there dancing kind of pose or in movement? Um you know some people that hand and it's just the arms big and the wrist is cut off in the arms or not working but tonight okay, there were a few things you know, I think you can hit the nail on the head the forward arm because it's called going all the way across to the other arm you notice how does it look like she has an arm and that's one of the big things in formal portraiture that we we want to avoid because it looks like a nub when you're entering competition that's going to be something that you really want to avoid part of what's holding me back on this photograph by two I love what she's wearing and I like her I love her face I think her face looks beautiful but it's everything else doesn't seem to be working together it's like it's two separate components background rock or background and subject but there's no harmony between them there's no, they don't look like they are that there's a reason for her to be there doing anything so if you're gonna have her if you're gonna have her seated, I think that it would probably benefit from being cropped obit I'd also love to see what would happen if you didn't have her moving I got shot because quite honestly, her face to me in this photograph her face is is a is a ten the rest of it is not doesn't meet the mean anything to me doesn't feel like it really belongs you know what it wass I think you've got a young girl beautiful face you've got a dancing gown and you got those boots and you want to rock the boots with the outfit she could have put in these together and put it elbows on and he's done the same cute face showing the boots skip tucked into a niece that still looked young girl still a funky keep rocking it in it was relevant for the boats I feel like the boots with a big component and bringing her feet up like they're not a big ball of black yes that's exactly what it is yeah and you can see through it to the league so you could have just tack the scared up underneath so she looks small shown those boots and without being hit down what are your guys is rules about portrait's and jewelry is less more I know we had that one of the two women earlier and there was, you know, hearings there was necklaces, so could you guys give us a little insight? You're looking at the blame girls right here high style clothes and I make them choose your own jewelry like george very personal. What defines here and I always say, I want you in this black dress, whatever joy you have with it, go for it because to me and if it's too much, I say, take that one off, but if it's overpowering, take it off, but I'm never it doesn't bother me and like, yeah, I feel I feel the same way, I think it's really important for personal expression that it be something that, you know, has a meeting to them, and so and that's actually, my philosophy about clothing as well is I believe that it's a component that can be a bit of a distraction, but the end of the day, if they're comfortable wearing it, you know, if that's something that has meaning to them, then I don't want to be alone all anal anne and get all perfect on imus safe. You know you need to change and put this blue shirt with these these khaki pants I mean that's so been done in the nineties and is really quite boring so and I do like a little blank. I said a shot the other day, and when they came in to do the viewing, she said to me, thank you this portrait is so special because that was my grandmother's necklace and I didn't even know that when she was wearing it, but you know, I asked joy is really personal what was your question? My question is, um I absolutely love this little girl. Is there any other suggestions you could have for settings? You know, sometimes you don't get the option, you just don't get the option tio going shoot somewhere, anybody out like that? So we had to eat his head, maybe that's their backyard, maybe that's where they wanted to be photographed, maybe it's special to them, you never know the circumstances behind a location, I would have just maybe put her on the very back rock and headless rocks and more of that sort of background out of focus or I would've boarded down and just head rocks a supposed to going rocks background like ball on the santa, you know, to me, it's just didn't kind of mish and really the key is is that the deposed over the needs to fit the environment and and because of this big blob of black on that rock, it kind of becomes an extension of the rocks because I tried to agree that it's very important for us to just teo I like a more clean, neutral background I don't want things that have become that compete with the subject, and in this I think that it because of the way that she's posed on that rock that's why it's not working in this environment for me in fact what makes it a good shot is how beautiful her face has been captured if that was bad it wouldn't be a very good shot but the photographer has done a beautiful job of capturing her face an expression so you look there ask yourself when you look at your portrait where do you look when you see this image where do you look? You look at her eyes first then where where did you look second because I look straight at her hand I went to her eyes to a hand and into the background and so we did with your eyes drawn so when you look at a portrait when you look at this where you look and when you look here where you look and if you're looking at her eyes then you're in the right place because that's a portrait like that there are beautiful that's where you look and you know what all this all they had to do to make this one hundred out of one hundred was take down the hot spots that just pull you away so sometimes there's little bowker hot spots draw your way but when you look at that child these don't distract because everything about that works those hot spots will kill you because straight away you go your eye goes well what's that wow what's that and you're taking me on your hot spots especially when they leave the frame like this really important because a half frame hearts but draws you out and you know this is so much going for it it's absolutely absolutely beautiful and you know that sort of imagery that you just sell in your studio over and over again what do you think about the hand being cut off on the bottom that bother you now you see I'm a hand cutter I'm set to rule breaker with him total hand cata cutem off it does bother me that her hand is cut off on the bottom traditionalist well, maybe so but I think that's all right I'm okay with that but at the same time I think that it also to me would be a great way to anchor the photograph of the bottom but still I think it's a beautiful beautiful portrait on dh I think it's a very, very nicely done and you know what? It is kind of a traditional portrait. I mean, look what she's got on. So you know, I don't think that it's an embarrassment or something wrong to say that it's you know, for me to want the hand and that it would be, you know, a bad thing to be traditional if the cop was just a smidge higher what have you interestingly enough you could have corrupted above the albert and just had a shoulder because she's looking but you couldn't have her hand was there this one because it's bringing the one arm and one cut off yellow tone on the blue and head the speck can not being in the image I don't think would be discussing the front hand but it seems to be when you have one handed on one hand out that you have trouble but again I'm a hand cutter so um beautiful beautiful shot well done I feel like this is a snapshot not a portrait and you know this thing is is if this is your child I know why you like just shot and it's not because it's a good shot it's because it's a good shot of your child and that's interestingly what people buy so you know you got a there's a halfway point which I think is really, really important that child is either looking at another child or edits on reflection I'm thinking reflection but you know I won't get that it's got a little twinkle in that side but it could have been two camera you need to get that to camera and you're nailing it but somebody told me this uh really amazing wedding photographer in l a justin and garo and she said she watches photographers create these epic winning shots you know with the bride and groom are in the distance you got rolling thunder and you know these epic shots and she said him in at the end of the day what people buy is that moment between you and dead in that moment between you and grandma because she's lost two dead and she said the first thing she did was when back through who winning photos tio every moment he was in the images and thousand more important, the moments are more important than the epics, so I think you have to always remember is a photographer, but if you're putting that up as a critic for a portrait, it wouldn't be in your folio, right? But there is a caveat to that and in my opinion I completely agree with you this is not necessarily a perfect portrait, but if it's part of a series of images that are lifestyle oriented, then it's something that could be part of an album that could be very, very good for a family and I I'm really kind of all over the planet on that because as a technical as a photographer who is trying to strive for excellence, you know that's something that's really important to me that we try to strive to do better and not just take snapshots and I think that's part of the reason the photo industries in the in the toilet that it's in is that so many photographers just take snapshots that the consumer doesn't really see the difference. I mean, you know, they don't know what the difference between a pro shot and an amateur shot is for a photograph like this. What I like about an image of like this, I like the fact that the way that they've composed of photographs of the week only go right to that baby's face, the what's bothering me about that there's a couple of things that bother me about it, but number one is the hard light, the hard lighting on that photograph, it's, a small light source and it's very, very it's a very sharp lights or so I'd like to see if you're going to do this kind of snippet like this, where you're kind of focusing in on a child's face or something. You know, this could even be a wedding photograph, you know, like a bride with her dad or her mom, I like the aspect of it photographing over someone's shoulder to capture that moment moment kind of been a pj fashion or a photo journalistic fashion, but if you have a choice toe light that image it in a in a nice way, then maybe used a soft, light source like that that I was telling about that ice, like the jury ganis ice light would be an awesome light source to use on this kind of a portrait if you were going to do an image like this it's a great way to do it because it's a very beautiful soft light source you're you're being very kind because if this was a page a shade and this was your best shot then you need to work on your images well that's true yeah and then sinking may you know lead of the day golden rules he can catch like gone taking out so eighty one dollars but remember again beauties in the eyes the checkbook holder and if they think that that's really one of the others this is your eyes for a second such a beautiful shot of the moon yeah it's a beautiful shot of the moon yes you have a hard time even seeing her maybe it was like a child moved to the left a little bit keep going keep going keep going I just need a shot of that moon watch that what you're focused on is your subject and not your background classic classic example I love this kid's expression it's badly exposed because she's bright orangey rid and the thing is is it's a good chart of the moon to either take a shot of the mon or take a shot of the child but be very careful when you background competes with your subject for a team chant and because it doesn't work so talk about exposure a bit with this I don't really know how to capture the moon because I've tried so many times and I'm really bad at it on and then the moon is there well ok, I'm a photographer that only sees faces I would have never looked at the moon and I would never have put them in the shot at least there was relevance for the moon being in the shot like they had to have a shot of the full man because it's somehow has some significance I only see faces I dated a landscape photographer wants and we still have to stop the car every eighteen miles in his and he'd be like, why aren't you taking a photograph? And I think ofthe who and he'd be like the mountains and it's like they won't pay me but I see beauty in the landscape but I don't capture it and I'm very, very much struggle with doing there but yeah, I don't light at night I don't shoot at night I don't expose for the moon and I wouldn't use artificial light so that's yours not mine? Well, I wouldn't shoot this time I would not photograph it this time I would photograph at this time of day, but I wouldn't use artificial light and I do agree with you completely about the context I don't see the connection between the two of them, but it doesn't make sense that that what she's doing there? Because it looks like you've got two pictures. One is in the background and once of the subject.