Family Gathering Snapshot "Portrait"

Thanksgiving brings a lot of my family together every year. Typically they blow in and blow out like the wind so there is little time and absolutely no chance of setting up a small portrait area. Photos are taken on the fly and under much coaxing of the subjects to allow a photo.

I guess we all have these type photo opportunities and make the best of them we can.

My intent here was simply to capture the best image I can with my skill level, as quickly as possible given the fast paced circumstances of the opportunity and compose and expose with as much "professionalism" as possible.

What I would like critique on is how does this stack up in the ratings of a "great" or "awful" snapshot type portrait? What did I do wrong? What did I do right? How can I make a much better image next time?

I am not thin skinned and want absolutely honest and frank comments.

Here is what I think is the best of my photos of the event.

Here is a link to another that I find almost, or of same quality, as the one posted for critique:
Thanksgiving Family Event - Nikonites Gallery


EXIF Data:
Camera: D90
Aperture: f/4
Lens: Nikkor AF 35-105mm f3.5-5.6
Focal Length: 58mm
Exposure Compensation: None
Flash: Sunpak PZ40X in manual mode at 1/2 power - Opteka mini soft box on flash bounced off ceiling
Shutter Speed: 1/60th
Camera Mode: Shutter priority
ISO: 200
White Balance: Flash
Post Processing: Levels, Unsharp Mask and Blur Tool
File Format: RAW

Nice shot I think. I've noticed you shot in shutter priority. Why did you choose this over aperture priority? And why use a softbox if bouncing off a ceiling?

FastGlass said:

Nice shot I think. I've noticed you shot in shutter priority. Why did you choose this over aperture priority? And why use a softbox if bouncing off a ceiling?

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I used Shutter Priority because I was unsure of my flash was communicating with my camera and I was a bit afraid the shutter speed would change and possibly go above high speed sync speed. Now that I have thought about it I don't think it could have done that under the conditions.

The soft box use, I dunno. I just used it to make sure the light was not too harsh. I am quite new to indoor flash photography.

Understand and was just curious. It's a nice shot. One thing i've noticed is that settings that work for one situation may be totally differant on another when the environment seems much the same.
Drives me crazy. I'ts enven more of a challenge when shooting in a situation much like yours. Not enough time to think about what you should do and hope for the best.

Its a good shot - caps are difficult as they get a shadow over the eyes, which are the ones you always want to see.

One thing comes to my mind, the pose of the guy: his nose looks uneven, this could have been hidden a bit, by having him standing not so straight towards the camera. And his arm looks like its holding the camera!

The Jesus figure in the back, could have been placed a little better, but thats just nit picking

Nevertheless, its a good image, I am sure they were happy about it?

Nice capture that could use some post processing. A little more exposure with shadows raised and a little less saturation. The contrast between their green clothing adds to the confusion of all the stuff behind them. I'd be curious to see a B&W version with some curve adjustments.

wud said:

One thing comes to my mind, the pose of the guy: his nose looks uneven, this could have been hidden a bit, by having him standing not so straight towards the camera. And his arm looks like its holding the camera!

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His nose actually is crooked. I think it was broken once before. I cropped his arms out. I will try another crop and repost.

Marcel said:

Nice capture that could use some post processing. A little more exposure with shadows raised and a little less saturation. The contrast between their green clothing adds to the confusion of all the stuff behind them. I'd be curious to see a B&W version with some curve adjustments.

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Thank you. I will do the conversion and a re-crop and see what happens. Part of the reason I posted this is to get an idea of what some do when there is literally no wall that has no clutter as a back drop. Do you choose to shoot or not shoot?

Mike d90 said:

His nose actually is crooked. I think it was broken once before. I cropped his arms out. I will try another crop and repost.

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Yes but if you photographed him a little more from the side, it wouldnt show as much - but maybe guys dont really care, lol.

Mike d90 said:

Part of the reason I posted this is to get an idea of what some do when there is literally no wall that has no clutter as a back drop. Do you choose to shoot or not shoot?

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I think I would get the couple (and yourself) further away from the background, same aparture, more zoomed in, this way you can blur out the background more.

Here is another crop and a conversion to B/W. Not a total desaturation. I also got rid of the Jesus figurine.

I cannot make his pose any better. Still looks like he is holding the camera. His arm was cocked out and hand on his hip as he bent over a little to match his height with his wife. He is much taller than she.

You need to be aware of your backgrounds...picture frames next to their heads isnt working..

wud said:

Yes but if you photographed him a little more from the side, it wouldn't show as much - but maybe guys dont really care, lol.

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I see what you mean now. Can't change it now though but I will watch for this next time (at Christmas) dinner.

wud said:

I think I would get the couple (and yourself) further away from the background, same aperture, more zoomed in, this way you can blur out the background more.

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That I would have loved to have done but that just couldn't be in that room. They were against the fireplace wall and I was backed up against the opposite wall just to get a few feet between us. Now a shorter lens, maybe my 18-55mm would have allowed me to get them closer to me and farther from the wall. Again, something to watch for next time.

ShootRaw said:

You need to be aware of your backgrounds...picture frames next to their heads isnt working..

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And again is exactly why I posted this one. If you just cannot take the shot without some clutter is it better to not shoot or would you move the clutter? There are no walls in her home that are uncluttered. Since it was not my home I did not move anything but I am sure I could have asked and been allowed to move it.

I guess I can spend the time and Shop out the picture frames. I just would not want to do that with more than one photo though.

Mike d90 said:

I see what you mean now. Can't change it now though but I will watch for this next time (at Christmas) dinner.


That I would have loved to have done but that just couldn't be in that room. They were against the fireplace wall and I was backed up against the opposite wall just to get a few feet between us. Now a shorter lens, maybe my 18-55mm would have allowed me to get them closer to me and farther from the wall. Again, something to watch for next time.

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Ah okay, no then you cannot get any closer. I dont know how the rest of the shell looks, if there are more framed images on the right side, but for me its only the jesus figure/the empty space this figure creates, that makes my eye go there. I dont have a "problem" with the right side, it just adds to the family feeling - for me.

Inside pictures are hard but you learn and next time you will think about so much more, when setting up for a shoot

I like the crop but not the saturation, I liked the green color!

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Mike d90 said:

And again is exactly why I posted this one. If you just cannot take the shot without some clutter is it better to not shoot or would you move the clutter? There are no walls in her home that are uncluttered. Since it was not my home I did not move anything but I am sure I could have asked and been allowed to move it.

I guess I can spend the time and Shop out the picture frames. I just would not want to do that with more than one photo though.

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It's the constant juggling act we do as photographers: Do we nab the shot on the fly to capture the moment, and subsequently deal with things like shi--y backgrounds, or do we sacrifice the spontaneity of the moment by doing things like moving the subject so we can take time to compose and control things like background, lighting, etc.?

There is no single, correct answer. Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you.

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This^^^ Sometimes if not always you gotta take charge of the situation..Do what you gotta do to get the shot you envision..

I much prefer the desaturated version. It's more quiet and quite less aggressive IMO.

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Remember people this is a quick spare of the moment shot. Carefully removing items in the background and fiddling with the poses is going to make the subjects loose interest. This is not a portrait studio.

Here's a slight adjustment to the nose.

FastGlass said:

Remember people this is a quick spare of the moment shot. Carefully removing items in the background and fiddling with the poses is going to make the subjects loose interest. This is not a portrait studio.

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And that brings me to wonder if these "quick and dirty" photos are worth taking? You got 20 people milling about, kids running everywhere, tables of food spread out and no room to actually pick a spot for better backgrounds. What to do?

What would a semi-pro do? This is the lesson I am trying to learn on this one. I don't see these people regularly. I guess these type shots are just keepers for personal memories and enjoyment. If possible, I would have set up a small area just for photos and may do so next time. There is a lot of work to do on these if they are to be made into something worth printing and sending out.