St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

DebAnn has volunteered their WPC Entry to the Photo Critique Forum* to find out what could have done to make it better. Be nice, but be honest as this will help everyone with their craft. Thank you everyone!

From WPC 1447 - Friends and Family RESULTS http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/photo_contest_ratings.jsp?pcnum=145

* If you are new to the Photo Critique Forum please read the Section Rules http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-159520-1.html

Sisters, brothers and cousins posing for Grandmas birthday

(Download)

LPigott Loc: Monterey Peninsula, CA

This photo caught my attention an I enjoyed lingering over it for several moments. I wanted to like it because of the charming subjects. In my opinion it would be more artful if the composition were not symmetrical. Experiment with the rule of thirds, move the vertical subject off the center line, anything to get off the rigid symmetry. The photographer is fortunate to have eight wee urchins to work with. Thanks for submitting for another look ...

Nightski

I love this DebAnn. I too spent several moments looking at it because my eyes kept going from one child to the next, enjoying the different expressions, wondering about all the little personalities of each. Every expression different, each child so precious. This this the most important thing in a photo, and it's the thing that you did so right. You caught a moment in time. No. It's not a perfect portrait with every child smiling, it's so much more .... I love it DebAnn. You should be so proud of this image. I don't think I've ever said this ... but you should have it printed large and hang it. It's so special.

wilikioti Loc: Deep South, USA

Wow! To get eight children looking the same way with their eyes wide open is amazing. The only change I would make is to maybe soften the contrast just a little bit.

Country's Mama Loc: Michigan

You did well. You were at the top of the page. :)
I think technically this was good, though portrait photography is my most problematic area.
I love the little girl laughing in the back. And the few smilers in stark contrast to the more serious little ones that would rather be doing any thing else.
I think you did well to not have any tears.
There is something off about the way it is posed. I am not sure if it is the symmetry as pointed out by LPigott or if it is the awkward way the little girl on the left is sitting.
No matter it is a photo that I am sure Grandma is going to love. I know that I would give my eye teeth to have all of mine in one place to photograph together.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thank you all who have commented to this point - it's now Sunday at 8.07 in Toronto. There's more to this photo than meets the eye, so to speak.

For my sister's recent milestone birthday, I thought the ideal gift would be a photo of her 8 grandchildren - that was the easy part. These are the kids of 4 sets of parents and getting them to agree on a day and time wasn't easy. The only mutually agreeable day was the day before the birthday when a surprise party was planned.

I had to work backwards by purchasing a matte and a frame ahead of time. We all agreed to meet at my sister's house while she was away. Now comes the next problem - where to set up. The only place I could have a blank wall was the living room - of course, full of furniture. The night before the shoot, I went in and moved what I could, took paintings off the wall and set up two flashlights pointed into white umbrellas. That small space where the kids are posing was my only choice. It was too cold outside for scenic stuff.

On to the photo day. The families arrived and now I have 8 adults and 8 kids in the house which kind of caused a frenzy among the kids. The 2 on the left of the photo were the only cooperative kids. They sat in the chair and behaved. The 3 biggest kids at the back just wanted to have fun. The little girl standing centre front kept bursting into tears. The baby far right kept hopping off the chair and running away and the small girl behind him was kinda stunned by the whole thing.

To make matters worse, the parents had ignored my request to dress the kinds is subdued neutrals so they all turned up in a mish-mash of colours. The wall behind them is dark mustard yellow! That's why it's a black & white photo. You'll notice that most of the kids aren't looking directly at the camera. That's because a bunch of dads were standing behind me making silly faces and trying to attract their kids' attention.

So, I really appreciate any comments that suggested how improvements could have been made, but this was really the best I could do in the 10 minutes or so I was able to keep the group's attention. And finally, I do have to admit to having cut and pasted the centre child's head from another of the shots to this one. She really was miserable that day.

Anyway, my sister loved the photo and the framed one is now hanging in her family photo gallery.

Cheers
Deb

Country's Mama Loc: Michigan

I have cut and pasted more than one family photo. :) Some times with those little ones it is the only way. I think you did good to get what you got. :)

Nightski

DebAnn ... I think it's a treasure. It has a street style photography feel to it. It's very special. Maybe you were going for a portrait, but I think what you ended up with is much better. Just think ahead 20 years. These children will get so much joy out of seeing their personalities coming out in their expressions. I think it's fabulous ... wouldn't change a thing. And .. I love the b&w work you have done .. it just adds to the success. You do not have any color distracting from the faces.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thanks so much Nightski, I very much appreciate your comments.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thanks so much for commenting.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

This is quite an accomplishment. I read the description of the dress requirements and the background colour, and cringed a bit. Again, from your description, I'd probably have asked the parents to leave the room and relied only on yourself to attract and maintain the attention of the subjects. That would have them all looking in the same direction, at least.

The choice of black and white was a great one, regardless. The exposure, PP, results are quite nice. Keep up the good work.
--Bob

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thanks for commenting Bob. Appreciate it.
Deb

steve272

You have done well my friend. Not only with the photo but the lovely family. I have tried this many times and the only solution is to get the parents out of the room. Good luck with that! Just remember even if you don't get get the perfect shot you still have the grandchildren.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thanks Steve. Good point about always having the grandchildren.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

I am a land and seascape photographer.
I am not a portrait photographer.

First off I am going to mention the things that i would "fix".
The little girl front middle. I think her face is too bright and the photo would be better if you could darken her a bit to have the tones more closely aligned with the other children.
And composition, faces are basically lined up along the middle of the photo. It looks much better if you crop about a foot off the top of the image to let the kids "stand taller" and fill the frame.


Now, some more general and specific comments.
B&W - I know you did it to cover a deficiency in the image, but I think its a great choice anyway. I think it is wonderful as a mono image.

Composition, the chair edges are cut off, I don't think it matters a cracker.
Yes it would be more "perfect" if all of the chair arms were included but then the children would be slightly smaller in the image.
And to be honest, it is these slight "imperfections" that i love about this image. They give it a ... humanity ... a candidness .. a mood, ...that adds so much more than perfection would.

The childrens eyes, looking different directions and mostly not looking at the camera. Usually a big no-no with group portraits. Another "imperfection" that works perfectly.
Perfect in its rule breaking, very well done.

The facial expressions, I love that they are not all just smiling looking at the camera.
It gives it life, vitality, individualism, truth.

This is very very good.
For me - it is perfect in it's "imperfections".