Mother's Day Shoot

[Pinellas Guy]

Hi,

I am a hobbyist photographer who did a free shoot for one of my friends. I think they turned out really good - especially since this was my first. It was her first shoot ever for her 4 year old child.

This is her favorite shot of the set.

Camera Nikon D3100
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 80 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash
Exposure Program Aperture-priority AE

You can critique any part of the shot though I am supposed to pinpoint what I am asking. How did I do in Natural Lighting?



See the entire set here: Bella - Mother's Day

Thanks,

Kyle

[Pinellas Guy]

Hi All,

I am only posting in my critique post because the spam filter did not post until mods arroved it.

Kyle

[Mark Engelhart]

I looked at your set and for your first time out I am impressed. The image that you put in your thread has more to critic than the rest of your set. As far as the image posted the little girl is a little beyond profile so she looks like she is looking away and the direction you were shooting has laid some heavy shadows on the mommy's face. Sometimes you have to step in and set up the shot a little to get a more positive result. Most of your other shots didn't have this issue, but this one is lacking. Fill light (flash or reflector) would have added pop and helped with the hard shadows. With the reflector you are more open to the direction that you point the subjects in. If you don't have a method of fill, then your best bet is to put there back to the sun and expose for their face. It looks like a great time of day to shoot, it's just hard with one light source.

[Pinellas Guy]

Thanks for the kind words. I only posted that shot because it was her favorite. This one was from the same burst.

This is the one I should had post

[kevingeary]

The uneven lighting on the mom's face will generally turn this into a snapshot rather than a professional shot.

The moment is exceptional, but the choice of background and positioning of the subjects in relation to the sun was detrimental.

It would have been best to put the sun at their back and expose for the faces. This would have placed the ocean and setting sun as the background rather than the sides of white buildings, which distract from the overall shot.

Best to have a reflector or off camera flash with you at a time like this to really make a classy shot. But if you don't have those things, get the subjects back to the sun and pay attention to your backgrounds.

[Pinellas Guy]

Originally Posted by kevingeary

pay attention to your backgrounds.

I always forget about backgrounds til I get home and see the shots. Thanks for the advice. I will get better next time I will get someone to go with me to the beach and pose for me, for free.

Kyle