My Family Portrait - Need Feedback

**AmberBella** · 12-13-2010, 03:59 AM

Hey all!

So we went out this evening to (hopefully) get this year's family portrait. I set the camera up and handed it off to my mother to get a few shots. We had a heck of a time getting Nathan to cooperate as usual. This is one of the only usable ones.

How is the post processing looking?

IMG_2854_pp 2 WEB by amberbella, on Flickr

**sweetalienchick** · 12-13-2010, 08:13 AM

nice! I like it!

Love your hair! I love how your photos are always so warm and the colors just pop! Do you saturate your photos in some way?

**sadieruth** · 12-13-2010, 09:31 AM

I 2nd Loida's post. I always love your processing! I would love more info on how you do it!

**leighanndolin** · 12-13-2010, 09:37 AM

Absolutely Gorgeous.
I am always jealous of how bokeh-licious your images are. How do you do it?

**acarbo99** · 12-13-2010, 02:06 PM

processing looks AMAZING! and had you not said anything, I never would have known you struggled with Nathan.

that's just what kids his age do!

I think you got a wonderful shot and personally, I wish my own family shots had come out this nice.

TFS!
GiGi

**acarbo99** · 12-13-2010, 02:07 PM

one thing ... I keep coming back to the one weed that crosses your arm. You might consider trying to clone that out, at least where it hits your arm and above. It's such a contrast in color to your dark clothes, that it keeps drawing my eye.

Just my $0.02 worth. I still love the shot and were it me doing the editing, I'm not sure I'd remove that weed. :P

...GiGi

**AmberBella** · 12-13-2010, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by acarbo99

one thing ... I keep coming back to the one weed that crosses your arm. You might consider trying to clone that out, at least where it hits your arm and above. It's such a contrast in color to your dark clothes, that it keeps drawing my eye.

Just my $0.02 worth. I still love the shot and were it me doing the editing, I'm not sure I'd remove that weed. :P

...GiGi

Yes, I've been back and forth on the weed. I kinda like it, even though I know it's distracting. I may play with it at some point.

My processing is pretty consistent. I happen to love Nichole Van's Outdoor Color Pop action. I have tweaked it almost beyond recognition, but it's still the basic: saturate background colors, boost contrast, darken background, add very slight vignette, and mask almost everything off skin and hair.

The bokeh is no secret....it's the lens. I'm convinced that the Canon 70-200mm 2.8L is magic. This was shot at: ss 1/160, f4.5 ISO 1600 (thanks 5D Mark II!!!) and Focal length was 115mm I placed us quite far in front of the background.....the length of about half a football field. Then had mom placed relatively close to us and with a focal length above 100mm. Chose 4.5 for the ap to maximize the bokeh and tried to keep us on a very close plane with one another to get us all in focus. Sadly, Nathan had napped too long, and the light dictated such a high ISO. GRRRR!