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The daughters mother in law want a family photo for xmas. So I took these on the weekend, the treatment is Sues the daughters is B/W. I ask want they want, this is want the wanted, all good lets do it. Looking at them on the laptop later (had the camera tethered to the laptop for review as we went along mind you) "but we want them in portrait format". But there are in landscape, this is what you ask for!! Who do this for a living.

Anyway all good.

Good job Tony. There is a certain patience needed for family shots. I don't think I have it! Merry Christmas.

I like the technical quality, the lighting and the poses Tony, but I find the background far to distracting. It keeps sucking the energy out of the portraits themselves. I think the background would have work beautifully if it was completely out of focus. I also would have liked to have seen the material they are sitting on used as a background. In my experience, portraits seem to work best when the subjects are about 4 metres in front of the background, a lens of around 50 to 105mm is used and an f/stop of around f4 or so. This usually works to keep the subjects off the background and the background nice and misty.

I like the composition and how you arranged your subjects. I would prefer the background a bit blurred because I also find it distracting.

There is a certain patience needed for family shots.

Specially when it's your family, after 40 minutes that was it. Merry christmas oz and to the family.

I find the background far to distracting.

Thanks for the comments Matt and zafra. The mother in law wanted a white background and everyone wearing white shirts and jeans. Kim and Daryl wanted the rock wall as the background (They were taken at their new house currently being built) and as you can see the white shirts didn't happen either.