Cut the mustard?

[Matthew_Scullion]

I was asked by some family friends recently to do a portrait shoot of them and their 2 year old twins. I wasn't being paid for the shoot however I had set the expectation (to both the client and myself) that the results would be of the caliber of what they would get if they paid a pro photographer.



I have another career which will always be my primary job however I would like to, on a semi-pro basis, do some portrait and lifestyle work, as much as a way to persue my hobby as anything else.

So my question is, are these shots up to the standard I am setting out above. Would I be justified charging future clients for this sort of shoot? What have I done that could be improved on next time?

Particularly of interest to me would be opinion on composition, light balance, any technical issues with the shots (e.g. focus, dof, exposure) and also if you think I could improve anything in post prod. Most of all though, do these shots cut the mustard and if not, why not?



Shot details: Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70mm. Manual exposure, f/3.5, 1/125, ISO 200. Strobist: SB-900 camera right on light stand through Lastolite softbox. Manual, 1/4 power, triggered with Nikon CLS.

You can see the whole set here: Hutchinsons at Home - a set on Flickr

Many thanks indeed for any comments.

Regards,

Matthew

[Niresangwa]

It may just be the mood I'm in right now, but I think that all of these shots would benefit from being converted to light, breezy black and whites. The colour just isn't doing it for me, it seems so clinical... not a fault of the technique particularly, more a case of the location.

Technically however, my biggest issue would be the framing and crops, which seem a little uninspired and in some cases too tight for the scene. Maybe it was a case of the size of the room and your lens, I don't know, but that would be my biggest concern here.

Lighting is ok, a bit washed out, but could be my monitor. Again, nothing dramatic. Also be aware of placing things too close to the wall, such as the chair, as the shadow its casting isn't helping at all.

The final group shot is great (aside from dad's crotch shot). I looked up close at only this one, and the focus is definitely soft... it has such personality in it though, it could definitely survive being culled.... needs a levels adjustment or another way to preserve some borderline highlight loss, (common to all of the shots i'm guessing).

[Matthew_Scullion]

Steve, many thanks for taking the time to feedback. All most excellent advice which I shall take on board for next time.

For this shoot I will return to post prod to try and improve in a couple of the areas you suggested: B&W, Crop, Saturation/Colour, Shadows and Levels on the highlights.

Might be able to rescue!