[Jamfke]

Okay, I tried some posed portraits of my kids last Christmas, and I wasn't happy at all with the results. I'm more of a candid portrait shooter, hoping to catch more natural expressions, poses, etc. So, I decided to attempt some posed shots again, this time for my kids' "school photos." Please let me know what you think, and where I could improve. Thanks.










My girl was helping me get my settings before I photographed my boy, here's her almost serious look:



And here's her Miss Attitude look:

[Gregory_51]

Hi
It's hard to get good shots of people let alone kids. There is good sharpness and you have them under the tree canopy and aren't getting any hot spots of sun on them for the most part. One of your son has some sun on his hand. The little girl unfortunately is mugging for the camera and the photos don't work. Your son seems to be engaged. I think the one of him standing has the best potential. It's a bit stilted but it's hard to get a relaxed pose when it's a posed shot. I do think it could be framed better. It seems a bit tight and needs some space on the right and top. It would help place him in the frame better and have better balance. I did an edit to add some space top and right and a different framing. I also did some tweaks to the tones and such to make it look a bit more dramatic if you will. Certainly not perfect but gives you the idea. I posted it here. alternate edit on right of photo by Jamfke | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Just my 2 cents.
Regards
Greg

[Jamfke]

Thank you Greg. I like your edit. I will try some more shots in the coming days, and try to give him some more breathing room, so to speak.

[Alliecat]

I would choose a background that doesn't have a bright spot -- that bit of road draws the eye -- and use a bit less depth of field to blur the background a little more. Something more gently mottled, like the trees in the 3rd one, minus the road. Maybe you could move around the tree to make the background a more uniform green without the bright bits. Then all the viewer's attention will be on the kids.

[JohnBee]

Okay, I tried some posed portraits of my kids last Christmas, and I wasn't happy at all with the results. I'm more of a candid portrait shooter, hoping to catch more natural expressions, poses, etc. So, I decided to attempt some posed shots again, this time for my kids' "school photos." Please let me know what you think, and where I could improve. Thanks.










My girl was helping me get my settings before I photographed my boy, here's her almost serious look:



And here's her Miss Attitude look:

Try capturing moments, not poses.
Plan some events, set the kids free and look for potential moments to capture the essence.

[Colbyt]

I would make a sandwich out the the young one since she is a natural ham.

I actually like the suggestions above but I know you want to do this. The boy is looking right at the camera. We rarely make such direct contact in nature. I think a slight twist of the head and the eyes directed slightly away would improve the natural look of the poses.

Do keep in mind I have never done any portrait work.

[Jamfke]

I would choose a background that doesn't have a bright spot -- that bit of road draws the eye -- and use a bit less depth of field to blur the background a little more. Something more gently mottled, like the trees in the 3rd one, minus the road. Maybe you could move around the tree to make the background a more uniform green without the bright bits. Then all the viewer's attention will be on the kids.

I thought that road might be a distraction. On my next attempt I will reposition the camera to get it out of the scene. Thank you.

Try capturing moments, not poses.
Plan some events, set the kids free and look for potential moments to capture the essence.

I normally do candid portraits as I love the natural expressions better than posed, but I wanted to try my hand at "traditional" portraiture. Thank you.

I would make a sandwich out the the young one since she is a natural ham.

I actually like the suggestions above but I know you want to do this. The boy is looking right at the camera. We rarely make such direct contact in nature. I think a slight twist of the head and the eyes directed slightly away would improve the natural look of the poses.

Do keep in mind I have never done any portrait work.

She is definitely that, and a bit of a turkey too!

All help is appreciated. As mentioned above, I normally try for the candid portraits. I like them best due to the natural expressions and non-mannequinized positioning. Directing a pose is one of the things I need to learn. I guess you can only direct a 6 year old so much though.