Mother and Son

[mbower05]

The goal of this shoot was to get a nice mother and son portrait for mothers day. Anyone who has photographed children at this age know how difficult getting the right pose it!!

This shot was taken next to a window (camera left) and I had placed a large silver reflector opposit them (camera right) to try and fill in the shadows slightly. I am curious about a few things:

Pose: Is my wife's hand distracting to the shot?

Sharpess: because my sod kept moving I had focused on my wife's eyes and I feel my sons face is a little soft. I can't quite firgure out if it is the lens or just the fact that his skin is so smooth there isn't a lot of detail to pick up in the first place?

Exposure: I had the reflector on ground resting against a chair because there was no one to hold it.... does anyone fee that holding the reflector higher or at a different angle would have been better?

At the end of the day my wife and I are very happy with this shot but I am always looking to improve!! Any suggestions would be welcome.




Nikon D90
Lens: 50mm
ISO 200
F 3.2
1/200
WB: Custom

Reflector Used Opteka 42" 5 in 1

[Trader]

If you are happy with the shot that's the main thing.

Your wife's hand does not detract from the shot at all. I rather like seeing it there, keeping him secure.

If you could place the reflector on a chair (higher up) you should be able to get rid of those shadows under their eyes, or use a little fill light.

[WooD]

I think it's really nice. The hand doesn't bother me at all. Really like to warm gold light on your wife's face.

The background even works except for the black square on the right of the frame.

Love the expression on her face, it would have been great if he was looking more toward the camera.

[inspire]

i think this one is a great shot where it captures the mother's close relationship of his son as the mother is holding her son close to her, the mother smiles with his young son, a good pose... and good cropping which ends a little bit from the mother's wedding ring... this little detail shows how happy they are...

the background is dark and blurred which gives them both focus...
the bright light shone just fine on the mother and son's faces, and the light seemed warm and feels like it gives off hope and a bright future...

usually i would convert photos like this to black and white... but i love this as it is... its really unique...

[mbower05]

Thank you everyone for the encouraging comments! I am glad that my pictures are beginning to improve!