Portrait of Brother and Sister
 

I have been commissioned to do my first oil portrait, of these two children. These images are from the first photo shoot where I took over 100 pics. I am only happy with one or two, and the first one here our favorite. Question: Can I lower her shoulder without it looking fake? Or am I destined for another photo shoot?

This is what the other 96 pics look like, more or less! The kids were adorable, but they were very typical sister/brother and brother did not want to be so close to his sister!!!

Re-shoot!

I agree on another photo session.
Try to think before you go there what pose and composition you want. Then, when you arrive, you make them pose like you want ( more or less) and if you can have someone just behind you reading or telling a captivating story you will see them begining to relax, stop grinning, and forget your presence. This way, you will obtain much more interresting facial expressions.

Patricia,

Two person compositions are very tough. Try introducing an third element, as in this Allan Banks composition. Also, my preference would be to come inside where you have more control over the light.

Best of luck.

I agree with Marvin. Re shoot.

But figure out 1 or 2 compositions before hand, and control them (IMHO)

Re-shoot. Here's what can help you next time:

Many parents offer "incentives" to their kids for good behavior during portrait sittings. Sometimes they offer a treat, or going out to a movie later, etc. Even my own kids wouldn't pose for me unless they knew they were getting ice cream afterwards!

If the kids are really young or particularly unruly, another option might be to set up a portable DVD player on a table behind your shoulder.

Mike's suggestion about going indoors is a good one. Decide ahead of time where they will pose in relation to the light. Use the mom or other person as a stand-in to see what the light is like in various locations. If you decide to go outdoors, know what the lighting will be like in certain locations and plan for that.

Plan some poses ahead of time. Look on the Stroke of Genius artists pages to see how other people compose two-person portraits.

Don't go for the toothy grin look. Though sometimes it's hard to avoid (strong client preferences, etc) a pleasant, more relaxed expression gives a more classic feel.

As Sharon Knettel often says, planning is the key. A successful portrait sitting/photo shoot requires lots of advance work before you take any pictures.

In answer to your question about lowering her shoulder in the first shot you posted: I don't think it would work at all. There's no way of knowing what her chin and neck look like behind that shoulder. Perhaps a much more experienced artist could attempt it (I wouldn't) and especially not if it's your first oil commission.

Patty, here are a few suggestions:

1) Definitely have another photo session! I don't mean this personally, but It puzzles me why artists would rather work from bad references than GO BACK AGAIN! :bewildere If I can, I try to schedule more than one session, just because people are usualy much more relaxed with me the second or even third day. Of course that is not always feasible, but if these people live in your area there is nothing stopping you. It is not a sign of being unprofessional; rather, it is an indication that you are taking the time to get it right.

2) I agree with the advice to avoid toothy grins. Tell them not to smile. But get them talking and talk to them. As they listen you might get some interesting expressions.

3) Try other poses in different lighting conditions. Sometimes you can start with one or two ideas and end up preferring another, completely different idea. What about inside, next to a window or open (glass) doorway? What about under a porch, with one side of them lit by daylight?

Going for session two, after reading your helpful suggestions.

Mike, I love the idea of including a third element and will think about options. I wish I had more confidance in taking indoor pics, but if they have the right window I will give it a go.

Marina, I like the idea of someone captivating them, or, as Michele suggested putting a DVD behind me (the incentive with this sounds like a good plan to me, can I have ice cream too?)

Alexandra, I would love no smiles but I will have to convince mom and dad, and the boy, by nature seems to hold a scowl, which is why a DVD may work good. He is young and his attention span is typical for his abe, I lost him completely after 30 minutes. The girl, however, loved to be in front of the camera.

Will post the next slew when I get them. Thanks for all the advice.

Now, I am off to look at SOG paintings...

Mike:
Nice example of Allan Banks.
"Banks" rhymes with "Shanks". It is interesting to compare these two masters.

Patty,

It's typical for younger children to grow tired of cooperating in a photo shoot. One suggestion is to employ the help of the parents. A simple interview with them to find out what would work best for holding the boy's attention will help.

Make sure the parents understand it is typical for these type of problems to occur and get them to expect a possible reshoot again. This will help you by taking some of the pressure on you.

In my previous life I worked with models. When children were involved it is normal practice to double book, that is we had two children for every shot in case the first one happens to be uncooperative.

I hope this helps. Good luck and be confident. You can do it.

That sounds like really good advice, John.

Patty, I can SO identify with the difficulties you had with these two.

I'm really frustrated. The parents wanted to retry outside again (I dragged all of my indoor lighting and backdrop equipment) before shooting indoors and they had set up a TV for the kids to watch on the porch where the light was actually good. Howevrer, it was only 50 degrees, both kids were sick with colds...you guessed it, I did not get one decent image.

They really like this one. I am going to reveal my ignorance about these things, can you tell me why I shouldn't use this image? If I have to a third shoot I may suggest bringing them to my studio, maybe the kids will a bit more interested and interesting...

To me the problem is the teeth more than anything. Especially at this age, they don't have attractive looking teeth. Also, as you mentioned earlier her shoulder blocks her lower face. I wouldn't try to invent what may be going on behind that shoulder.

Patty,

How good are you in judging the lighting conditions that this shot was done under? If you have a good idea of what type of light you were working with you could try along with other poses of both children a bunch of shots of just the girl in the same light and orientation (direction of the sun). This should be easy if you shoot at the same location, same angle, etc. as the first shot. Then you might have an option of putting two photographs together using the best of both kids.

I do agree with Michele, I would avoid the teeth if possible but if you are careful you could get a good painting from the boy's current photograph but the girl is beyond as a good reference.

Remember, you are the pro. Don't settle for 2nd best and politely stay confident in getting the best resources possible. To accept less will doom you to a painting you may not be proud of.

Everytime I asked the boy to close his mouth he just wouldn't. I don't think he every does close his mouth, except to make faces, and he makes allot of them - he is adorable!

I have requested another photo shoot. Maybe third time's a charm.

third shoot
 

these pics were shot in my studio with mom and grandpa. My camera is giving me fits, I'm sure user error. The pics are better quality than what you see here because whenever I shring them they looks all fuzzy.

Anyways, I think I like some of these and would like your response. the boy has bad allergies and when he closes his mouth looks like he is suffocating...

some more

Patty,

It's up to you and your client as to which represents the personality of each child. Your responsibility is to lead them to pick the best for a portrait.

Without knowing your clients and the children I believe your best shot is the first. I have attached a sample cropping that looks appealing but one of the other items I don't know is the place where the portrait is to hang.

I hope this helps.

Yes, I think the third time's the charm! (I often find that to be true myself.)

For the sister, I would definitely choose the first one of your last batch.
For the brother, my top choice would be the second one of "third shoot," but a couple of others would work as well.

I hope now the parents see the possibilities. Often they get stuck on one idea just because they can't imagine others. Good luck with this, Patty. I feel optimistic now that you'll enjoy painting these children.

Oops, I forgot to add the attachment.

I like these too. The color got very pink when I opened a shade to let in more light, but I think I can adjust color in photoshoot. I like the first one very much. I like the girl in number two and the boy in number four, and I think I can put them together since they are shot very close together in the same pose.

Thanks for the input Alexandra. I am getting very excited about painting these kids! I think I will do a value painting first, to learn o their faces and work out composition, value pattern, edges, etc.

Their coloring is very interesting. She is a real peaches and cream complexion with freckles (yeah!) and he is definately an olive complexion. This will be my biggest challenge, but if I pull it off can be awesome. I will be definately seeking help when the time comes! ;)

Thanks, John. This is good cropping. I'm curious what you think of these last one, too.

Just because you asked, I like the 3rd one.

All of the others of the last post had the subjects looking in different directions from each other. This seemed to be distracting.

The 3rd one has them both looking in the same direction with an interesting body position especially for the boy.

Please keep in mind that we are getting down to personal tastes in which their can be many good choices.

I agree, John, I do not like the eyes pointing in different directions, which is why I thought I could combine two and four because the kids are looking at the camera. But am I making it harder on myself to combine two photos? I do like your choice a well

Like I said, It's getting down to personal tastes. If you are comfortable using something like photoshop you can pick up one head and place it in another picture to see if you prefer it over others.

Use your best judgement. I assume the parents haven't made their pick yet. If not, you can cull out the ones you don't like and show them only the ones you like but be prepared to show them your culls with explanations as to why you decided against them.

Remember, you are the pro and you know what works best for you.