Trying my hand at Portraits

Thought I’d save money and try to take my child’s portraits myself this year . Here are a couple that I liked, but wanted to get some opinions on. I don’t typically take a lot of portraits, but would like to get into that some more.

Why not have a look at this one as well…

Hi Anthony! Beautiful kid :) i think they are lovely – second one is cheeky. But i think from another angle with more light on the faces would serve you better? In all three the light is hitting on top of the head :) Just my thoughts i am new to this too. Also i think a powerful portrait has emphasis on the eyes…
good luck

Yes – I agree with Courtney. Catch lights in the eyes give personality. Also a much shallower DOF works better with portraits to place the emphasis on the person and not the surroundings. Number 1 works the best for me as far as composition and crop goes. . Number 2 has a fence rail impaling his chest and number three has a fence post growing out of his head. These were brought to your attention as a reminder to watch your backgrounds when shooting portraits. I applaud your desire to do these yourself and ask for critique because no doubt in a very short time you’ll likely be taking better portraits of your kids than the pros can – simply because you know your own kids better and you’ll know the personality and quirks you want to catch. There’s some real good books out there on how to take good portraits – grab one and you’ll be putting out pro portraits in no time as evidenced by your work here! These are good.

Thanks you two…..

Also I noticed that Mark German just put up a journal on his page about how to take casual portraits. I bet he has some good advice too.

I like the first two the best. He looks kind of unhappy in the 3rd one to me. I also agree about the lighting – more direct light on the face would bring a bit more life to them. Otherwise, not a bad effort at all :)

I’m not a photographer but I often paint portraits in oil paints. I so wish people would send me photos like these to work from instead of tiny images….

...that are impossible to work with.

Great photographs (my humble opinion)

Portraiture I’ve found through my paintings is a very personal thing. They can be someone’s prized possession but are not valued by everyone. My original paintings sell but being so personal few people other than close family members are interested.

i really like the bottom one because it looks semi candid,im not a fan of planned portraits. i find with my 4 year old that if we both go out side and find an area (good for photography) and just ask her to carry on playing or to tell me a story and i just snap away as she does,i have some wonderfull portraits this way.good luck matey.

Hmmm, I would suggest something opposite to the advice above – that is, don’t attempt to get more direct light on the face, instead, aim to get less light on the head. The best way to achieve this would be to get into the shade. This could be the shade of the house, the porch, or a tree. This will give you a much more gentle, diffuse light, which will be more flattering to your subject and easier to get a good exposure. Alternatively, get indoors near a window (but not with direct sunlight coming in) for subtle side-lighting. The problem with direct sunlight is that you will get harsh shadows. Even if the light is on the face, you will often get shadows in the eye sockets and under the nose, which won’t look great. (None of which is to say that direct sunlight shots can’t be done, and done well, just that they are more difficult to get right.)

As others have said, watch the background, making sure there are no distracting objects there. Use a large aperture to blur the background a bit, and focus on the eyes.

Of the images above, I think the first shows the most promise. The background is good and leads the eye to the subject.

Having said all that, I hardly ever take portraits myself, so there’s a good chance I don’t know what I’m talking about!

Cheers, prbimages.

I particularly like the black and white shot, and the way in which it’s been framed and how your son is relaxed and smiling naturally. I think it could be improved though by getting some of the sunlight on your child’s face. It only needs to be subtle as too harsh shadows will be distracting.

Good luck, Natalie

Natalie, I find the top one (B+W) interesting and the bottom one thought-provoking.
(The middle one is fine as a photo of your child and for you, but I think not as eye-catching or stimulating to an onlooker as your other two photos.)

The first seems to me to suggest that the woods surrounding his face are the world of a child’s dreams and imagination. He has a Mona Lisa-like enigmatic expression… like, ‘what am I not telling you… but could, if I choose…’
It would make a good book cover!

The third seems to hint at a story… what is he looking at, and with what feelings? does it relate to the sign seen vaguely behind and above his head… a warning sign? is some drama unfolding before his eyes?
The perspective shot along the balcony rail and the contrast between light and shade on his head make this lively.
It seems to illustrate part of an adventure story!

I’m grateful to have seen these; Thanks!