Had a friend that had to deal with a problem woodpecker. IT would show up at her house several times a day and start pecking on a plastic sewer vent pipe, on the roof. The noise was about to drive her crazy and she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. After about a week of this, a neighbor noticed the woodpecker. From then on, whenever the bird showed up, she would toss a large ball onto the roof near the vent pipe. The bird soon realized it wasn't welcome and moved on.

#2 isn't a bad shot. but notice how your eyes are drown to the nose. A fill flash or a reflector would of toned down the sunlight and made for a more pleasing portrait. With portraits done using a hair light, you have to be watchful for the same thing since it is set to be brighter than the main light. Therefore you keep the hair light off the nose. Outdoors this isn't always possible, but with digital you have the advantage of looking at the picture and make adjustments.

This is where a good light meter that does both incident and flash readings comes in handy. I'll bet the Captain used one on the portrait he posted.

Crazy: Take the Captain's advise and get a flash meter. Playing with your camera and lights to much can make you seem uncertain about what you are doing. However, doing as Anotherview has suggested would be a good exercise in learning how each of the lights effect the subject. This is one of the advantages of shooting digital. I just wouldn't do it on a money shoot unless you're trying to get a special effect. Also when you decide on some lights, make sure the modeling light are bright enough to light up your subject. I use four Norman strobes. the modeling lights are just fine when they were pointed at the subject. But aren't bright enough when my main and fill lights are bounced off umbrellas. The hair light with a snout was also a problem. Each head had four 25 watt modeling lights. I ended up replacing one bulb in each strobe with a very bright one. This took care of my problem except it created a heat problem, so I had to add a extra switch to each head so I could control the brighter light. Remembering to shut off the lighting on the hair light has been the biggest heat issue. As for backdrops, many camera stores carry rolls of that paper. Get some fast dry spray paint and get creative.

Yes Jerry, Don't forget your earplugs. I've spent the last forty five year in a industry that requires hearing protection and often double protection. That means earplugs plus ear muffs. During those years, I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I've had to supply hearing protection, or the work that has been delayed because my fellow workers have forgotten to bring the proper hearing protection. Even people who know that hearing protection is always required, even forget.

Don't forget earplugs.

I could tell you I like it and you would never know why. I say, I don't like it and you'll wonder why. Why post it for a yes or a no? So like it or not, here are a few thoughts. I would of posed them differently. there's to much of your wife's shoulder and arm showing. The viewers eyes are drawn to it and it adds pounds to her look. You need to show more shoulder on your older son. If you frame it, more shoulder will be lost. The photo is unsettling to look at and out of balance. Different cropping would help. The catch light in their eyes need to be higher to make it look like a outdoor portrait. that means your light source needs to be off the camera and your son will need to remove his hat so his eyes aren't shaded. A higher camera angle might also be helpful. You did a Great job adding the background, but the tree limb need to be removed, it doesn't have enough light on it to make the lighting look natural.

Looks like I struck a nerve with CaptainC when I used the term, so called professionals, in my comments on this topic. May I suggest that CaptainC return to another topic about Beach Portraits that he commented on and read my comments there. That one was posted before I commented on this topic. I know that CaptainC and the photographers that he has suggested to mdorn don't fall into the "so called" category. When we read mdorn's topic, he doesn't tell us what his wife considers professional and my comments are based on my knowledge of how the majority of senior portraits are done today. Let me give you a few examples. I spoke to photographer in Salt Lake City that had contracted with a local high school. He realized how important the senior portrait is, so he tries to scheduled the seniors into his studio during the summer months and that allows him the time to be very creative. It also work very well for his pocketbook. On the flip side, I have a friend who had a contract with a small school district. He had about a hundred seniors to deal with. I remember him bragging to me that he spent about twenty minutes on each senior. What he didn't know until the yearbook came out, is that after seeing their proofs many were calling me. I didn't even have to advertise other than passing out a card now and then. Photography is his full time profession, it's just been my avocation for over forty years. One of the news papers or yearbooks that I try to look at each year comes from a small town in Nevada. The high school there contracts with a photographer that uses drapes in all the senior portraits. This means everyone is dressed alike. A dark coat, white shirt and a bow tie for the boys and a dark top for the girls. This year everyone (79) wore drapes. This setup gives you a lot of insight into how the photographer works. Same background as last year, lighting stayed about the same. Most poses were about alike with very little change to camera angle and no real attempt to flatter the subject. This is the work of the so called professional, and sadly you can find more creative police mug shots photos out there, than creative senior portraits in many of todays yearbooks.

I would make it my goal to prove to the wife that you can do a better senior portrait than the so called professional.
Many senior portraits are done by someone that the school has contracted with. The problem often is, they don't have the time to shoot a great portrait. Many are burnt out on shooting portraits and just want to get it over with. They setup the lights and use that same setup for everyone. Great portraits are few and far between. Where I live the local news papers will honor the seniors at graduation time, by publishing their pictures from the yearbook. Since I used to do a lot of senior portraits, I enjoy looking at how they were done and I can tell you, many are not good. Now, If your wife has the portrait done at a studio you may not have the equipment or skills to do the better job. But, one advantage that you do have is knowing your son and have seen him looking his best and worst. That factor alone can make a difference and help you come up with a great portrait. Some other things you need to consider are, will your son need some facial retouching and what is the deadline to get his picture into the yearbook. Also do they need a digital file or a certain size photo. Sometimes its easier to let the school photographer handle the yearbook photo and you do the one that everyone else receives. And one other thing, its not always easy doing a portrait of your teenager. Right now, he's smarter than you. Good luck, I hope you can make it happen.

After you've been here for awhile, those of us who have photography experience can quickly sort out who is giving the reliable advise. CaptainC, is one of those people. If you have any doubts about his portrait skills then check out his website listed below his posts. we,re lucky to have him on board. I know many professionals that will not share their knowledge like he does.

If you want to have a better understanding about paper and ink check out. http://www.wilhelm-research.com/

The poses are good and really like the hair, but think I would of made sure their eyes were always showing. A fill flash or reflector on #3 would really help.

Try http://www.google.com/ I've been on several sites trying to ID a hummingbird and seen some photos that look like him. Just don't remember the site.

If you want to know all about batteries, try batteryuniversity.com

All females are natural posers, even babies. The only difference is some are better at it than others. If you've spent much time with this girlfriend and you have a born talent to do portraits, then you have noticed times when she looks special. It could come at any time and you need to watch for it and when it happens, try to capture that look. Knowing how a camera works is also a must.
With what may seem to be a simple snapshot, (done right) can become a beautiful portrait.
When you get this shot, please post it so we can see it.