Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Forever Families - Stories of Adoption

I photographed another family this past weekend. They have five biological children and have adopted two boys from the Philippines. These are the four children living at home - all of which are home schooled. I photographed the biological daughter and the older adopted boy together because they are very close - in age but also emotionally.This was my first visit with this family, so as I mentioned in Portraiture, the second visit is when I usually get the most successful images. I'm trying to be more aware of how the background plays into my composition. Please let me know what you think of these. Thank you!

10 comments:

Bek said...

I actually like something about all of these, Leslie. But I think my favorite is the one with the girl seated in front of the boys...something about their expressions...

I think you're starting to produce much higher quality images overall. Would you agree? I'm sure the family will love these.

Leslie McDaniel said...

I hope/think I'm producing high quality as I continue...but I do like for others to help confirm that. I'm trying to pay more attention to all the aspects of the composition rather than just the face, so thanks for your comment. I like the one with the girl in front, too. I talked to her a bit about what it was like to live as the lone girl among all these boys. Let's just say she's counting down to a Taylor Swift concert that she's going to with her much older sister. :)

Nubia Garcia said...

I don't want to sound repetitive, but I think your first one is the strongest one. It is not only because of their expressions, but your composition works too. I also like your composition in the second one. I think it has to do with how close you are to the subject and how you frame it. Plus the quality of the light it is really nice.

hunter said...

i agree with nubia, the lighting is really strong...coming along nicely...i want more variety though...

Leslie McDaniel said...

Hey Hunter. Thanks for the comment. Variety in what way? I haven't posted all of the images I will use here, but I will have portraits of the entire family, groups of siblings, individuals, close-up face images, whole body images that show more of the environment, etc. Also, I don't know if it matters but I will be presenting these in a multimedia slideshow with audio. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

hunter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
hunter said...

ok...yeah thats what i meant by variety i suppose...i guess also i just want to see more images...seems like a few of these are a just a little blown out in the windows and white clothing...maybe its just me

Marta Madden said...

Wow, you really have an eye for portaits, I am so impressed and jealous! I'm having such a hard time doing this project and you just crank out one amazing pic after another!! DARN YOU!!!

Leslie McDaniel said...

Wow, Marta. Thank you. I'm pretty sure I'm not quite there yet...always room for much improvement, but I appreciate your compliments. I have worked on portraits a lot in the past several months so hopefully it's paying off. I definitely think you have a great idea and a great start to your portrait project. Take your time to develop it and it'll be amazing!

Ian van Coller said...

You keep improving Leslie.