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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 26: Wide aperture (Hosted by Anna Yu) >> Challenge 26: Exhibition (Hosted by Anna Yu) > Family (*)
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09-OCT-2004 Ann Chaikin

Family (*)

Bellingham

I took this photo at a party. It was a grab shot. What attracted me to the family and to this photo was the amazing coloring of the little girl and her mother.

In response to comments by Olaf and Anna, I agree with all you say. Rarely do I do intentional portraits (I've been doing a few of my coworkers for their web sites lately). Almost all of my people photos are caught in the moment so additional lighting is not an option. However, I could have asked them to sit and look up at me. That would have been a good plan to improve the lighting. As to increasing the saturation I'm not sure I want to because it might obscure the amazing coloration of the baby and mother... might give it a try though. Thanks for your comments.

Canon EOS 20D ,Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
1/200s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso800 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time09-Oct-2004 17:27:49
MakeCanon
ModelCanon EOS 20D
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length50 mm
Exposure Time1/200 sec
Aperturef/3.5
ISO Equivalent800
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Mode
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programmanual (4)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Canon DSLR Challenge16-Oct-2004 16:13
Nice, for a grab shot! Since you didn't use flash fill I'd probably work on the shadows a little with Photoshop to lighten them on the faces. The soft light is otherwise very nice.

-Noel
Canon DSLR Challenge14-Oct-2004 11:35
Seems a bit lame to agree with other comments and not make any of my own, btu i think Olaf and Anna have summed this up a treat. A great photo, that could have benefitted from a different set up and lighting, but none the less very pleasing. - Jono
Canon DSLR Challenge10-Oct-2004 19:25
Ann, in spite of what I'm about to say, I think this is a very nice photograph. I realize this was probably a quick photo session without too much preparation etc, but will offer some points of constructive criticism anyway:

First, the lighting is nice and soft, but it's coming in mostly from straight overhead. This renders the eyes dark. You could try to brighten up those shadows on the the man and the woman in post, but the best thing would have been to have used some kind of reflector at the time of shooting. Another way of dealing with it could have been a weak (-1 to -2EV) fill flash, which would have had the added benefit of putting a catch-light in their eyes. Due to the position of the the boy's face, his eyes are bright and clear. So I guess, having the whole family sit down and you shooting from slightly above, could also have eliminated the dark eyes (them looking more upwards, towards the light source, the sky).

My second point of critique would be on the relative position of the three. The father (I'm assuming), seems slightly detached, leaning in from the side. Mother and child are touching faces, but the man is left out... Now don't let this bring you down (not that I think it would), I think this photograph has a nice and relaxed feel to it - it has a certain calm over it - which is very, very nice.

--
Olaf
Anna Yu10-Oct-2004 07:28
What a precious family photo. I like the composition, the way the father is just marginally in the picture. The focus on the baby is great. Can you boost up the saturation a tiny (very tiny) bit?