Critique My first pregnancy shots... and portraits of non family #4 EDITED + 1 added

Raptor Mike

Raptor Mike

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As I mentioned in this post my friend wanted me to do some pregnancy shots for her. This was really good because it was great practice for me and she get some nice (well hopefully) images. I did say to her that it may not be a good idea to do outdoor shots but she really wanted some. We luckily had a really nice Saturday in December and we went off to a woods I know well. I set the shots up while she had her coat on which she then took of for the photos. I kept asking her if she was ok and we had a lot of breaks for her to warm up again. Personally I thinks she's lost the plot lol. I had a lot of lighting issues because I've never used an off camera flash as a fill out doors but she was very patient with me (she knows the that I'm still very much learning).

Last weekend we had all our friends family over to do some 'studio' shots. My good wife looked after their children, who are the same age as mine, while I took couple shots and later the kids came up to join in. The only problem was that the kids just wanted to go and play again lol. I have also been asked to do breast feeding shots so loads more practice to come.

I used a Canon 60D with a Tamron 17-50 f2.8, two 430EXII speedlights (one through a broly the other with a diffuser cap either at the ceiling, back wall or off) and a reflector. The wall is mat white.

I would really appreciate and crit or comments on these because I really want to nail this. I have decided to get a second brolly because I wasn't getting even lighting just using the reflector that actually didn't seem to do much. I'm probably using it wrong lol.

Thanks for looking, Mike :)

1
_MG_5191 copy by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

2
_MG_5208 copy by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

3
_MG_5266 copy by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

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_MG_5306 copy by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

5
_MG_5767 copy by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

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_MG_5775 copy by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

7
_MG_5789 copy by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

8 This one was taken at f2.8 but the hands are out of focus because I focused on the bump. Is this okay? I have soem at f5.6 but lit in a different way.
_MG_5803 copy by Raptor Mike, on Flickr
 
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I like #3 with the fill flash, it works nicely. Brave lady, must have been freezing!
 
I don't do this kind of portrait work so please take with a pinch of salt , but I'm not sure the woodland shots work , poses seem awkward , and not particularly flattering and her expression in 2 suggests she'd rather be somewhere else (which given how cold she must have been isnt a total suprise)

On the studio shots they are okay , but again it seems rigid and forced and doesnt look like anyone really wants to be there

Imo the only one thats really worked is 10 because its fun, and she's genuinely smiling and having a good time instead of forcing a smile for the camera
 
big soft moose said:
I don't do this kind of portrait work so please take with a pinch of salt , but I'm not sure the woodland shots work , poses seem awkward , and not particularly flattering and her expression in 2 suggests she'd rather be somewhere else (which given how cold she must have been isnt a total suprise)

On the studio shots they are okay , but again it seems rigid and forced and doesnt look like anyone really wants to be there

Imo the only one thats really worked is 10 because its fun, and she's genuinely smiling and having a good time instead of forcing a smile for the camera
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Thanks for your feedback Moose, really apriciate it.
For some of the photos in the woods we were going for the natural look, so that's something to work on. I think I'll take another look at posing. (y)
 
to be fair 5 captured a fairly happy fun expression as well , and the sillohuette in 4 isnt bad but Imo its let down a bit by the ammount of branches etc.. it might have worked better against a cleaner sky. ( I sort of scrolled past them before)

IMO one of the reasons the woodland looks unatural is what she's wearing - even pregnant women (who we all know are a bit nuts :exit:) don't generally wear an evening dress to go for a walk in the sticks. I'd also note that she looks happier /more confident in the shots with her partner than the ones on her own.

As i said i'm not the best person to give advice on this, ideally you need one of the experienced portrait pro's like @Lindsay D @Yv or @asphotographymk (lots of others) to give you a steer
 
ome good advice from Pete / @big soft moose - Especially with the outfit. She must have been freezing and you can see that in her face on a couple. I did a similar shoot a couple of days back Starting with some woods and then back into the studio. Outdoor shots my subject dressed up nice and warm yet still showed off her bump and then back to the studio for a few more bump reveling shots.

The siloute shot looks good although i do feel the branches look to be growing into her body a little, A clear skyline could have improved on this but overall it worked really well and I am sure she will love it.

The quirky shot belly to belly is lots of fun and a great little moment.

I feel the lighting needs to be a little softer for a shoot like this (especially in shot 3 and the studio shots) Try and balance the ambient light with the flash for a more of a natural feel. To do this it can be good to expose to the ambient light first and then add in the flass for fill or to add highlights. I try and deal with each light on its own first (including ambient) and then as a whole.

Oh and iron out the fabric wrap and the creases are a little distracting.

Overall a good job. You seem to have built a nice ropour and the family seem very comfortable which can be one of the biggest hurdels with a shoot like this.

Here is my take on a similar shoot. I am not saying they are perfect (I am alwys forever learning and trying to improve) But they may explain my comments

1. This was my starting point. I posted this as i felt th lighting was harsh and unnatural Making even the pose look harsh.

ASP_2162-copy3.jpg


2. I then softened things out a little and better balanced the flash with the ambient light.

ASP_2178-copy2.jpg


3.
ASP_2198-copy-32.jpg


4. even in the studio i try and keep things soft so used my window light along with a low powered strobe.

ASP_2421-copy2.jpg


Again please dont think I am saying these are perfect. I look at these and see many problems.
 
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Wow, @big soft moose and @asphotographymk thanks for the advice.

I agree about the wood shots, my friend was way too cold. She really wanted to do them. I told her the problem of showing the bump in lots of warm clothes so she bought this dress. She did bring other clothes to change into but decided against it. But looking at yours Andy the solution just seems so obvious now, she just needed to undo her coat. I should've given her a better idea of what to wear. I have shots of her in her coat that I took to get the light right (well maybe right isn't the best word lol) so I will take a look at those.

Thank you for the advice on lighting, I will definitely be trying that method. Up to now in the 'studio' I've been reducing the exposure in camera so that the only contributing light is the ocf, I got this from the matt Granger videos. So too try your method would be good and I can imagine how it will work.

My friend brought the material with her in the studio shoot as although we had this planned i hadnt got annthing sutible. I hadn't even notice the creases or I'd have got the iron out. So thank you for pointing this out. I must pay more attention to these things I think.

Thank you both so much for your input and advice (y) :D
 
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Raptor Mike said:
Thank you for the advice on lighting, I will definitely be trying that method. Up to now in the 'studio' I've been reducing the exposure in camera so that the only contributing light is the ocf, I got this from the matt Granger videos. So too try your method would be good and I can imagine how it will work.
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Nothing wrong at all with setting things up so that the only light source. . This is great for a dramatic feel . I would often light like that on a brighter day if i wanted some texture in the background or sky. This was shot in that way to create drama.

flash-e1421597051634.jpg


This does however give a more dramatic, harsher feel to the lighting that may not always suit something like a maternity shoot that (in my opinion anyway) needs a more natural organic feel. Here is one of my shots when the flash did not fire. As you can see the scene is relatively well lit. The sun is still my main light source however with it being behind the subject the flash was used to add fill in the face. This keeps things soft.... Again I could be wrong... I am sure some here have much better skill than me who can come along and tell me I am doing it all wrong ha.

noflash.jpg
 
Hi Mike,

I'm in a similar position to you right now, only it's my wife up the duff ;)

I think you've done a good job working in what look like difficult circumstances. On the first three I just don't think she suits the scene. It looks like a bloody cold day and she's wearing a dress you'd expect to see at a ball.

Quite like four. I'd probably convert to black and white with a matte look. There's very little blue in the sky anyway and I think a b&w would look ace ;)
 
I really like #4 - could also look impactful in B&W as said above. Love the bump and the 'aquamarine' cloth, think that works really nicely. Can't give critique on light, as that's something I've yet to start understanding myself. I rarely take pics of people, so it's good reading what others have said.
 
asphotographymk said:
Nothing wrong at all with setting things up so that the only light source. . This is great for a dramatic feel . I would often light like that on a brighter day if i wanted some texture in the background or sky. This was shot in that way to create drama.

flash-e1421597051634.jpg


This does however give a more dramatic, harsher feel to the lighting that may not always suit something like a maternity shoot that (in my opinion anyway) needs a more natural organic feel. Here is one of my shots when the flash did not fire. As you can see the scene is relatively well lit. The sun is still my main light source however with it being behind the subject the flash was used to add fill in the face. This keeps things soft.... Again I could be wrong... I am sure some here have much better skill than me who can come along and tell me I am doing it all wrong ha.

noflash.jpg
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Ahh I see what you mean. Thanks for that advice.
And thanks for your comments Adam and Jacqui. I'll try #4 in b&w and clone some branches out too while I'm at it :)
 
I think the ones in the wood are a little underexposed, need a softer look - wider aperture, and I think some colour as they just look a bit hard. A dark red/ maroon cardigan over her shoulders/ upper arms would have really helped I think. Also the angles are a bit hard on her face - and seeing up nostrils. The indoor ones they just don't look relaxed and the lighting doesn't look right. Shame, because they are all "nearly there!".
 
Thanks Sarah.
I'm going to have another look through these. With the indoor ones I did up the exposure a little in PSE so I may see what they are like with it back to camera setting, might not be so harsh. I'm going to clone out some branches on #4 and convert to b&w, although conversion isn't a strong point with me.

I was talking to my friend about these yesterday and she said she loves them. They also go a lot of looked on facebook but that's probably more because of the subject that the images. Still i know they arent right but have learnt so much by taking them. I could do with doing a re-shot but she had a little girl on Thursday, her husband had to deliver it :O

Thanks all for your help everyone :)
 
It's a lighting issue really from what I can see. What was the set up? Single light. Was the main light very low and to the side?
 
asphotographymk said:
It's a lighting issue really from what I can see. What was the set up? Single light. Was the main light very low and to the side?
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Thanks for you reply.
Yes. I was shooting through the brolly which was just to the left about chest hight. I really need to try your method of exposing without the speedlight then using it to fill. Because I was upping the exposure in ACR I wanted to make sure that wasn't the cause of making them look hard lit. I've been playing around with some of the photos all evening trying to work out if any can be improved, but Im guessing not lol
 
Just lifting the light up is going to imorove this alot.

This is one of those silly "rule" type answers.... I hate "rules" as they rreally dont matter and a pleasing image does however at this stage they can be a good guide.

To start with I would use about a 45 degree angle down to the subject so the light needs to be lited up to abour head height. This will giie a "natural" feel. You can also create a softer light by using a larger difuser or just bringing the light closer.

You can get some really nice soft portraits using just one light.

I shot this late last week using one single brolly which gave me a nice soft feel. (again this is not perfect, I can see lots of things wrong so please those who are bump experts step in any time)

10942325_700706436714107_3884499333590987271_o1-e1422397722377.jpg
 
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And for outdoors its a great way of shooting exposing to the ambiant and then using the flash. You can add highlights, fill shadow and add mood this way. For these sort of natural portraits it works greta.
 
asphotographymk said:
Just lifting the light up is going to imorove this alot.

This is one of those silly "rule" type answers.... I hate "rules" as they rreally dont matter and a pleasing image does however at this stage they can be a good guide.

To start with I would use about a 45 degree angle down to the subject so the light needs to be lited up to abour head height. This will giie a "natural" feel. You can also create a softer light by using a larger difuser or just bringing the light closer.

You can get some really nice soft portraits using just one light.

I shot this late last week using one single brolly which gave me a nice soft feel. (again this is not perfect, I can see lots of things wrong so please those who are bump experts step in any time)

10942325_700706436714107_3884499333590987271_o1-1024x662.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks again Andy. For some reason your image is only showing in my text box in the quote.
I have a larger brolly on its way and once it's here I will spend a lot of time practice on the wife and kids (they dont get a say in that lol) The one I was using is a 33" and I've got a 43" coming. Its got a removable black cover too so I can play with shot through or bounce.

Im really keen to get my portraits right so thanks for your help. I never thought that bump shots would need to be different but now can see why. :)
 
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