School Photos? Help!?

[kbpixx]

I'm an amateur photographer and I work at a preschool. I'm taking our school photos next week, but I'm succeeding a professional photographer whose photos are really good.
I have 60+ kids to photographs and I know most of them will cooperate with cute poses, but anyways, let me stop rambling and get to the point.
I took a few shots yesterday as a trial run. None of these are edited, but I know they will have to be if I don't fix something and do it soon.

The picture attached was my favorite all around, (lighting, pose, bkgnd)
The link for the others is - Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at

I don't want any critiques on the subjects themselves, just on my work. Please critique them all if you'd like!
How's the lighting? Should I attempt a different pose? Is it too close? Is the brick wall an eye sore? Please give me ANY input. I appreciate it ALL!

EXIF Data:
- Fujifilm IS Pro
Lens - Nikon 60mm f/2.8 D AF Micro Nikkor
Filters - Peca 700 Hot mirror & Rocketfish UV filter




f stop - f/22
Exposure - 1/250
ISO-3200
Max. Aperture - 3.4
Strobe Flash
Spot metering

[autofocus]

First off, I'm not sure of your choice of settings..why these?:
f stop - f/22
Exposure - 1/250
ISO-3200
The lighting seems to be OK, however, I think the crop is too tight. I'm also not sure of the brick wall for your background..it's a little "hard" for these little pre-schoolers. I would find a better place to use without harsh light, and one that's a little prettier, and use that area for all your shots. Are you planning on selling the shots, and possible enlargements to the parents?..or is it just something you are doing for the school? I would also consider some suitable props along with some small benches/chairs/stools..it will help contain them a bit. We did a school job earlier this year of pre-schoolers attending a Montessori school, but far less kids than your planned 60. We took about 15 minutes per child, and shot enough shots so that the parents would have more to choose from. Our goal was to provide photos that would be totally different than your 'typical" school photos, and we feel we accomplished it. We reduced our standard session fees and also our enlargement prices. Other than spreading our business name a little further the return was less than satisfying. I think parents feel somewhat obligated to purchasing "school photos," and typically only buy some minimum package. Bottom line, we got some great shots of the kids, also expressed by the parents, but from a sales perspective the return was negligible at best.

[kbpixx]

Yes, I am planning on selling these. That's a big reason I asked for input!
I have a chair I'm planning on bringing and a portable black background, I just didn't have these on hand when I did them yesterday.
Its a church preschool, so we really don't have lots of places to choose from. If you look at my other photos, the other girl is sitting on a ledge and the background of it is pretty (atleast I think so) I had it on Auto mode, honestly bc I didnt know what would be best and I figured auto would help me out. Any other input?

[autofocus]

I'm planning on bringing and a portable black background

We shot with a natural background, and once again, I think it'll show a lot nicer than a black background

Its a church preschool, so we really don't have lots of places to choose from.

We also shot at a church pre-school..it was a small yard area, but we found a good place to shoot.

If you look at my other photos, the other girl is sitting on a ledge and the background of it is pretty (at least I think so)

The link doesn't seem to be working, so I couldn't look at them. As far as other tips, the obvious answer is shoot in RAW mode, try to plan your schedule around best light periods (if you can), if possible, learn to shot in manual mode for better control, try not to do all 60 in one day..I would limit to not more than 20, or so, per day. Otherwise you might wind up with less creative shots, and more that look like your 'typical school photos" especially if you do use your black backdrop. Are you planning on using an off camera strobe/light?

[kbpixx]

yes. those pictures were taken with an off camera strobe flash.
try this link - Pictures by Kbpixx - Photobucket

[kelleyrie]

I can't get the link to the other photos to work for whatever reason.
I think as far as the photo goes, you are a bit too close. I like close crops a lot but this one doesn't appeal to me. If at all possible try to bounce your flash off of something, foam board or reflector, even a wall or someone wearing a white tshirt. This gives better light and great catchlights in the eyes. I don't mind the brick wall but if it's there, really use it because the railing in the back is kind of distracting.
Also your camera setting really confuse me. Why 3200 ISO and f/22?

[kbpixx]

Again... my camera was set on auto, i really didn't know what would be best. Figured it'd help, guess not.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by kbpixx

yes. those pictures were taken with an off camera strobe flash.
try this link - Pictures by Kbpixx - Photobucket

That worked. I like the leaning up against the wall with flowers in the background as a possible location. Your exposures/lighting seems to be all over the place...you probably want to get a better grasp on that before you take on the task

[kelleyrie]

This idea is great, though you need to get a handle on getting a proper exposure.
http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/...x/DSIR0074.jpg

[autofocus]

One more note, be careful with your in-camera crops. Cutting off hands, or parts of hands and/or feet is not particularly good. Watch for crops at joints, also. Leaving a little headroom in your images is also a good idea especially if your parents want to buy enlargements. Remember, a tight 2x3 aspect ratio shot will not produce a full image 8x10 without some image loss