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Took some pictures of the Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law over the festive period. Would appreciate C&C on the outcome.







Cheers

What happened to colour? It's like intended to be artisitically faded/desaturated but it's not quite all the way there (ie. B&W). If you stuck some grain in, it would have that aged scanned slide look. At the moment it's like half way to nowhere, with contrast muddy in the shadows. A little too much depth of field for the lighting style - I think you could try a larger aperture.

Sorry if I come across as overly negative Matt. These are top shots, but from the past work you've posted on these forums (self portraits), I actually prefer those to these. A good variety of poses though, but I don't know if the composition was intentional (chopped off arms, etc)

I like #1 and #5 Matt. #1 for the graduating lighting effect It really focuses the viewer on the subjects face. #2 good too but the pose facial expression is natural but the arm needs dodging, particularly the arm pit which takes too much attention away from the face. Perhaps a little more of the effect you achieved in #1 but fading from face of subject to the elbow and armpit area adding more contrast. #5 (last) is jut plain cute and well lit. Great expression. Nice images.
cheers
marco

Matt,
They're nice, I like all your photos.

Nice series Matt. My Fave would be the last one. She has a great look/pose - looks very natural. If I had to be critical, i'd like to see a tad more light on her right side of her face.

Well done.

I like them Matt - the last one is cheeky and the first one is harsh and unflattering but works
Well done
Rel

Matt,

Nice series. I like the last one and no. 2.

Alex

matt - sharp as a tac and posed beautifully. I like all of them and don't think that the (? lack) of light on their faces is detrimental to the outcome....it has some artistic merit and shows a style to your shooting ways...well done, keep it up!

I think the ones of your sister-in-law are the strongest here, with numbers 2, 4 and 5 being the best.

You know, one day we're going to get you to shoot in front of a black background!

Matt

It's taken me quite a while and several revisits of the images to comment on these.

#1 - my first reaction was along the lines of "I sure hope she doesn't see this shot" since it is so unflattering, yet the shot appeals because it has a certain honesty to it. My only real complaint is the blown highlight on your MIL's cheekbone (but note that I obsess about blown highlights )

#2 - This is a really beautiful, natural shot. Having tried to take pics of your sister in law at the Christmas dinner and encountered her reticence I am in awe of this result. She is very photogenic and this is a great example. I really like the composition and the lighting, but would have preferred to see both arms.

#3 - The weakest. While she is photogenic I'd avoid profile shots.

#4 - Great composition again. I like the pensive nature here and the lighting brings this out really well. Was this pose a request from you?

#5 - Best of the lot - I like the cheekiness of this and the white top works well. I'd like a touch more light on the right cheek to bring back some detail there, but that's minor.

For me the desat works on these too, although the last one I'd like to see a high sat version too.

Thanks for the comments here people.

I realise that #1 is unflattering but I think that's why I like it - because it is so honest. I haven't PP'd her skin or anything, left it warts and all. This is one of my pictures that I am really happy with and I can;t really explain why. The blown cheekbone is annoying. I'd like to do a series of intimate honest portraits like this. I'm going to ask for some forum volunteers very soon I think, and hire out some studio space.

With the sister in law, she was very reticent to pose for me. I had to direct her completely, going so far as to position her arms and turn her etc which made it all the more difficult. I couldn't understand why she couldn't interpret what I wanted and act on it, and found myself doing the poses in front of her trying to get her to copy. It definately helped me learn a thing or two about how models might feel and encountering difficult ones.

Chi, the images have been desaturated by 50%. I like the way it looks. I don't know why, but I don't want them B&W and I don't want them full colour. At the stage I'm at at the moment I'm drawn to this colouring. Don't worry about appearing negative, I don't mind at all - it's all good feedback mate.

I haven't tried a black background yet Leigh, but it's on my list.

Thanks again for your comments people, all greatly appreciated.

I disagree with Chi and I think that this lessened-colour style is your sort of thing.

It may be that you're not a black and white processor yet or it may be that you've found a sort of processing that works for you.

Either way, it looks good.

I like these shots... the desaturation of colours works well for me. Here's some comments which I have drawn from straws.

#1: I like the honesty in this shot. Only distraction for me is the harsh highlights on the cheek bones.

#2, 3, & 4: Tad bit more contrast.

#5: This is the winner for me. You can see a bit of her personality in the shot. Again, maybe the highlights on the cheek bones are a bit too harsh.

Really like this series - what was the lighting setup etc?

First and last really do it for me - I feel I can see some of the personality's through them - first one is a "go away" but still playing along kind of feel.