portrait critique needed badly!!!

09/29/2005 09:35:30 AM · #1

these two photos are portraits taken of my daughters. i would love to know what you all thought of them...do they look "professional" to you? what could be fixed(or done) to make them better? is a retake in order? I need to send the order out no later than the 10th of oct and Im not sure if i will right now or not.please help me decide if i really want to pay the price for these or just redo them again

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/29/2005 10:01:23 AM · #2

I forgot to mention that I did not take these photos...just trying to decide wether they are woth paying the high price for them or just do them myself. for my oldest daughter the photographer told her to "take a deep breath and hold it" :/

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

09/29/2005 10:10:21 AM · #3

The lighting isn't "amateurish". You can tell where the strobes were placed (look at the catchlight in their eyes and look at the shadows). So from that perspective these are fairly well done.

They do, however, look like poor quality scans of proofs... a double negative to me. You probably scanned the photos so what we see here isn't all that great. And being proofs means that the photographer will likely fix things up before the final print (enhance sharpness, contrast, crop, etc).

Are they any good? I think so. I'm not sure what the "high price" is that you're going to pay. They are decent but I wouldn't expect to pay a premium for them.

If they were to be re-shot ... I think I woul work on a little more natural looking expressions.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/29/2005 10:28:56 AM · #4

$50 for 1-8x10,2-5x7,2-3x5,8wallets
$75 for 2-8x10,2-5x7,2-3x5,8 wallets,16 exchange
$100 for 2-8x10,2-5x7,4-3x5,8 wallets,16exchange
these are school photos done by a small company in the area. the photos are not worth that price to me. they arent in sharp focus at all. these are scans posted here but the focus is sharper here than on the proof. I dont care for my oldest "pose"(chosen by the photographer) my youngest ones is ok but like you said not really natural looking at all. I could understand the "production line" style of portrait if this was a large school and they were pressed for time.but that is not the case here. it took them 5 days to do 800 students(K-8th grades) photos.(very small school)
Im thinking i will start putting some finances back to purchase a more professional lighting set up and maybe try to get the "gig" at school in a few years..who knows what life will throw my way someday

Bebe

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

09/29/2005 10:42:06 AM · #5

Wow! That's really expensive! To me, they don't look any more special than the standard school (e.g., $15) photos. For the amount of time they spent and what they are charging, I'm very surprised not to see beautiful natural expressions, and perhaps outside rather than the backdrop there.

(cute kids btw!)

moswyn

Canon EOS-7D

Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC for Canon

09/29/2005 10:46:10 AM · #6

Those prices seem really expensive to me too. I often take portraits for schools and groups, and to give you an idea, I have a comparable package (8x10 group, 2 5x7 individual, 2 4x6 individual, 8 wallets) for $20. The group your school has chosen appears to be looking to make A LOT of money! On the other hand, I don't make much more profit than it takes to pay for my truck and run my business, which is more like a hobby for me.
As far as the posing goes, it's difficult to get kids to act naturally when you are only working with them for one minute at a time. Heck, it can be hard to get kids to act naturally when you have half an hour to work with them one-on-one in studio. In all probability, not only were your daughters a bit anxious and excited about a change in the routine of their school days, there was also a line of fifteen of their friends and classmates standing there hooting and hollering and trying to get them to make stupid faces :) Anyhow, that's what I've seen happen.
If you think you will do better, by all means take your daughters' pictures and have them processed yourself! There are lots of online photo companies that print wallets and mini-photos (which I'm guessing your photographer's calling "exchange"). You are much more likely to get them looking natural and relaxed!

LeeD

Canon EOS-30D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

09/29/2005 10:50:05 AM · #7

OK, just checked your portfolio. IMHO you can do a much better job yourself and for a heck of a lot less.

peecee

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/29/2005 10:51:03 AM · #8

As said the lighting is good, but to be honest I wouldn't pay for these at any cost, very unflattering,awkward looking poses,out of focus, overall not very well done.I'm sure you could do a better job yourself.