Your Opinions on a Photoshoot, Please.

SixofNine

Help me out with a little market research on a portrait photography business I'm considering getting involved in.

I'd love to get your feedback (especially if you are a parent who has purchased portraits of your 1-6 y/o child) on the following photoshoot: http://steveshow.exposuremanager.com/g/maura (ignore the first few photos with the mom; that's really just reference).

Feel free to speak freely, the child is not mine or a relative, and I only shot about half the photos and another photographer shot the rest. If this is not the type of image you'd spend money on for your kiddo, I'd like to hear that too, and why.

In addition to anything else you might have for critique, I'm curious about two things specifically:

A) Is there anything about the overall shoot/photos that you find unique and unexpected (in a good way) wrt a child's portrait session? (there is actually a very unique technical technique used for this, I'm trying to find out how many people will notice it's admittedly subtle effect w/o me telling them specifically what it is.)

B) How much would you expect to spend if you where purchasing a session like this and prints of the finalized photos?

Thanks in advance!

brinjen

Good photos. I'm noticing the child seems rather nervous at first (that's how she comes across to me anyway), almost formal shots but as the numbers in the file name goes up, she seems to be relaxing more and you get the feel her own personality is coming through.

brinjen

Some of the shots are of the child smiling, the others are the child's reaction to a toy... or someone pulling faces perhaps?

purplesofa

I think the photos are great. When I was getting my kids photographed (5 of them) was a shot that Olin Mills was trying out, a close-up of my baby's face. That was thirty years ago, and I still love it.
She looks natural compared to regular studio pics.
I esp like the last little girls pic in b/w and her pose.
I don't have a clue what the technique is.
I much rather have a photo like this that captures the childs personality, not a frozen in time fake smile.
I don't have a clue as to how much its worth.
purps

CoonDawg

I thought that some of the later photos in the series were very very good. Especially the two that you decided to make b&w. I'm not sure about the technique other than getting her to have fun and catching her at candid moments. As a parent, I would expect to pay at least a $100 sitting fee and then up to another $200 for photos to send out, but that would include at least 10 8X10 sheets in whatever configuration the parent wants for distribution. It would also have to include one large framed photo to top it off. -- but that's just my assessment based on a large metropolitian area's economy and experiences getting good, privately shot senior portraits done for a highschool student.

no more kool aid

I love those, if that was my little one I would probably go way over my budget and buy them all. When I was taking my kids for pictures it all seemed so stiff and formal, one day one of my kids started to get cranky and the lady said to come back and I said no please capture these crazy little sad expressions that's the real child. Those pictures of them with pouts are still my favorites. It seems like you got every possible expression that this little girl has.

PrimateDave

The pictures are cute. They appear to be well lit for the most part. However, since it's not my child, they seem dull. Not too much to look at but enough for parents and grandparents to be satisfied. Maybe that's enough for the kind of studio you want to work in.

There isn't much variation from the standard setup. They are all similar in lighting and focal length. There are no close ups, no full length portraits, just head and shoulders. There is only one background. In at least one picture there is a lighting umbrella, generally not a good idea imo.

I like the spontaneous poses, but interspersed with them you could also include tried and true formal poses and lighting setups. I have an excellent book, unfortunately out of print, by Don Peterson that details portraiture and studio management. So far, photography is just a hobby for me, but who knows? What about different backgrounds? Do you have access to large soft boxes and ring lights?

There are so many resources out on the net now that can give a big boost to your technique, and I'm not talking megapixels and the lastest Canikon camera. Striking portraits are still made using simple off camera strobes and 50 year old TLRs.

Dave

leavingwt

Zoom out and add some props/colors.

Quandry

I like them because they capture a bit of silliness of a child, and are not with the child rigidly sitting and staring at the camera. However, the ones with the mom are all silly, and a couple could have been a bit less so. Maybe one with the mom and child looking at each other. On the whole, though, very nice. (speaking as a mom)

willyloman

This is very good work. If she were my kid, I'd want to buy a lot of them and would expect it to cost me a bunch of money. The pix capture a variety of moods which shows off the child's personality.

Some (above) said they were too much alike, but I "get" that this is a photo shoot and the goal is to yield a handful of extremely good shots for a porfolio and the rest go in the file.

Your Opinions on a Photoshoot, Please.

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