Newbie(Attempt at family portrait)

[deshalon]

Hello all,

I'm new to this site and was hoping I could get some feedback on how I could have made this picture better. Any suggestion is better than nothing, so feel free to give me you take.

Thanks in advance.


Ps. My grandmother has alzheimer's and doesn't take instructions, so that's why she's not looking at the camera.

[jiminyClickit]

deshalon, Welcome

My Grandma was fairly healthy at 93, and she wouldn't look at the camera because she was stubborn as 2 mules, so, what can you do? If you have a conversation with (I'm guessing) Mom, Dad, and Sister, you could create a number of casual "get-togethers" that would feel natural, but would place each one in a position (standing, seated, on a pillow next to Grandmother) that would place her in the center. You become the coordinator, make a small sketch, everyone knows where to go, then 1-2-3 go, smile, snap, you have a photo that will look professionally posed.

Here, it appears one window is to the left rear, causing some underexposure in everyone but Grandmother. Another window, maybe lighting the floor to your right side? Arrange those poses so that your light is more front/left or right, if you don't want to use flash. If you can practice ahead of time, setting up a large reflective white posterboard to bounce light from opposite side of window light will make a nice balance, while causing no concern over flashing lights or long posing time.

That probably took twice as long to type as it will to actually make happen. Your shutter speed, f/stop, ISO and general focus could all be set up a few minutes ahead of time. This photo is pretty good, just tightly cropped and under-exposed. So a little planning can give you an excellent portrait. Let us see how it goes.

[deshalon]

Jiminy,
Thanks for your advice and welcoming me. I will give it another try and keep in mind the things you said.

Thanks

[jiminyClickit]

deshalon,

You're the photographer: if you show confidence and that you have a plan, it will help everyone relax and give you a look of unposed family gathering. Hope all goes well.

[purplcat]

I'm still pretty new to getting the exposure and other settings correct so I'll leave that one up to the folks who've already spoken (good advice already!) but hopefully I can give some guidance on posing that might help....

I agree with jiminyClickit that getting everyone instructed and ready to go ahead of time is a headache reliever. When you get everyone together have them sit or stand at angles rather than straight on at the camera. This will give you a more professionally posed look rather than a snapshot look. Take a look at the family shots of one of my web design clients: (I hope this is okay to post) http://artisticimagesbylisa.com/site...um=1&gallery=3 you'll note that everyone is angled slightly from the camera and sometimes the subjects are not even looking at the camera. This might help you knowing that Grandma won't necessarily be looking where you want her to (my grandma had Alzheimers too so we're sharing a life-path with this!). You might even have one of your family members looking at her instead of the camera.

Another thing is to make sure there are other people whose faces are are closer to her level. This will make sure Grandma is at the center of the attention (as she should be!).

Most of all, play with it and have fun. You'll treasure these photos. I know I treasure the ones of my grandma and my babies.

Can't wait to see what you do with everyone's suggestions!

Mary

[deshalon]

Mary,

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll give it a try.

DeShalon