Wasn't sure about this one...

But I thought I'd show it here and get opinion.
I took this as a snap shot whilst the kids were playing, but when I looked at it llater, I saw something in it I thought I could use ( with the help of paintshop)




I don't know whether it is more of a family snap than a portrait.... What do you reckon?

Two reasons you shouldn't use your kids as subjects if you want to learn portrait photography:

1) the line between snapshot and masterpeice gets blurred, cause you love your kids.

2) it gets harder to accept criticisms...cause you love your kids...

I got hard drives full of images, I'd be mortified to have a wedding client see....but they're my kids and I can't bring myself to throw them out....(kids or photos).

I'd say if there's something about that one that makes it stand out over your average snaps..(and the expression is good) .GREAT! but too many technical flaws to compete with a professional portrait.

I like the bright colours against the very dark background but the chopped off arms :

I have to agree about the chopped arms...but by eck.. they move fast at that age and I couldn't keep up.

I hear what you are saying Don It was never planned as a portrait, but when I saw the face full of expression and the bubbles, I thought, "mmm. I wonder what paintshop can do to bring them up a bit?"

I can't tell you how many times, I've dove for a camera, bbq utensils be damned, miraculously not spilling a drop of beer, to get "THAT MOMENT" when the kids do something cute/silly/dangerous, and the resulting photo, regardless of how badly I could pick apart the compsition/exposure/etc...is just to good for me to delete!

it is a nice snapshot.

Thanks. I suppose I was looking at it from a biased perspective when I posted it.

Just after I took that, I got the wise idea of getting the kids to blow the bubbles over me whilst I lay on the floor and photographed them. You'll not be seeing them on here. Have you ANY idea how hard it is to focus on soap bubbles against a blue sky. 20 odd photos taken..none in focus

There is a serious crop to be done here, and that isn't an area I usually visit, but... you could consider a long thin horizontal eliminating the blown highlights. I would be seriously pleased to have a pic of my daughter in such an animated unposed pose. It is a really nice picture.

The trouble with taking photographs of people we're close to, is that our mental image of them is a composite of thousands of their facial expressions, all of which have meaning in the context we shared with them as observers.

So it's possible to see the composite, in almost any photograph we take.

This is not true of someone that only sees the one image.

To evaluate a single photo, it becomes necessary to see in a brutal way, to dissociate yourself from all that history, and see only the image at hand.

As one that has no knowledge of the child in question, and one of limited imagination, sadly I see mostly the teeth in this one.

Don, you have explained with beautiful sensitivity why this is a family snapshot rather than a portrait. Chris has made the same points in a slightly more straightforth way. I have to agree with them. It's a family snap that means something to you. As such, it's utterly irrelevant what others think. Keep it for the sake of you and your family, you have no need to seek approval from others.

Duncan

Yep, although she is due to get a brace soon.

Point taken folks, i'll keep the family stuff seperate.

don't tell people I'm sensitive...you'll ruin my reputation!
seriously, I can take a project with 400 images of (other peoples) children on it, pop it into Aperture, cull it down to 75-100 in ten minutes.
Photos of my kids? I'd be lucky if I could throw out twenty five.


also
don't keep your family stuff seperate....learn from it....why is it special to you?
apply that thinking to a "PRO" portrait.....
the end result is an image that is BOTH technically excellent, and emotionally connects with the client!
I've shot images that are similar to the one you posted......
Go with the family to a park that has special memories, wearing that dress that Mommy loves, capturing that quirky smile...

take all the reasons you love it, and get the lighting, composition, a retouching a little better...