Sisters C&C

michelleans

Took this photo of two sisters in the pub on Saturday night. They were hanging around waiting after their dads party so I snapped a few shots of them.

I was going for a warm happy atmosphere in the photo (lighting in there was horrible along with me only having a pop up flash) and trying to capture the girls personalities.

I, personally, would have preferred to see more DOF. It feels a bit flat to me?
Are the two girls together a bit much? I wonder would separate portrait crops suit better? Just some of my musings that would be nice to have a second opinion on I'd have preferred them to have been closer together as well...

Taken using a Canon EOS 300D, with a tighter crop, some darkness added and a slight tweak in contrast in photoshop.

Oriel

A diffuser would have been handy here, or the flash bounced, as the flash makes the photo more harsh and less cosy and "happy".
Considering that you think that they are sitting too far apart, I wouldn't have cropped so tightly.
How far was the background from the girls? It looks like a good few feet (6/7?), so the DOF appears grand enough to me.

michelleans

Thanks for the reply,

I will definitely try out a diffuser, I was a bit back from them (zoomed at 44mm on the EF18-55mm lens) trying to prevent the flash being so strong.

I'll try a wider crop also! I was thinking about grabbing one of them and pulling her over beside the other in photoshop. Though how well it would turn out remains to be seen..

The background was about 5-6 feet from the girls.

Here's another B&W conversion with the same background behind.

AnCatDubh

Hi Michelle - a couple of things that strike me;

In terms of a portrait (of classic variety), you would actually have brought the two together somewhat - maybe shoulder to shoulder or overlap. At that point you would need to have been careful about where the heads were - tendency would be for people to try regain their 'personal space' and you'd have an image with the two heads running at opposing 45degree angles! so you may need to provide instruction in this regard.

The lighting appears a little different - warmer on the lady on the left, harsher on the younger girl. If not lighting perhaps its just make-up(!) but your flash probably added to a 'tired' and pale complexion on the younger lady. Yes try to diffuse - if you are stuck try even a tissue, it can work wonders. Having said that I quite like the colouring of it.

In composition terms, the biggest problem i see is an oldie but goldie - cropping out limbs - either in camera or through PS. In the instances of both ladies their hands are gone which isn't good for the aesthetics or the expected form which the natural eye of a viewer would expect.

The pose(?) they've struck of 'arms slightly twisted' (probably stretching out) doesn't give a relaxed perspective which is a pity as they were both obviously enjoying themselves, and in good form - I'm thinking it just doesn't look natural.

You've a little depth of field captured but I'd be with you on that count - a little more would have been better. Hey - I'm a sucker for depth of field.

Nice catch lights in their eyes and no hideous shadows that can plague photographers from time to time - well done.

All of the above is appropriate if you were to have been the designated photographer for the evening. I think as a candid its quite nice and probably something that would invoke a pleasant memory for them.

Hope this helps (its just one opinion!) - Cheers.

michelleans

Thanks for the detailed reply! It really helps me out to know what I can do to improve next time!

I was trying to round up the whole family but you know how hard it is to get 5 people's attention and get them all together when each is busy somewhere else. The girls were the only two ready and waiting so they sat down and were chatting to some other people, when I got their attention for a shot. They look a bit shy, even though I know them, maybe camera shy? If anyone has any tips at making people feel more at ease in front of a camera it'd be really helpful also as I said, I'm new to this I tried just talking to them naturally but they always seemed very aware of the camera around my neck.

I was slightly closer to the girl on the left when taking the shot, plus there's stage lights slightly on the girl on the right's, face too, this seems to be what gave the difference in lighting. The tissue is a good tip I had never thought of! I was using my dads camera not my own, and was only getting used to the settings on it.

Unfortunately the hands were gone when I took the photo. (I didn't pay alot of attention to their arms at the time and just went for their smiles) I see what you mean about the natural flow of the photo though and will keep this in mind in future shots.

Thanks!