Can I cry "uncle"?  Pleeeeeeeease?????? by northy

Can I cry "uncle"? Pleeeeeeeease??????

OMG! My kids are so hard to photograph... The trifecta of toxicity hits again:
(a) my kids hate to pose for the camera
(b) the chances of getting ALL of them looking at the camera at the same time are slim to none
(c) i sucketh at portraiture

This is from the third attempt... they boys are ready to toss me in the nearest dumpster... any suggestions for how to get a better shot out of them (or etsooi this one further into submission) will be most appreciated!

PS - i had to totally fake the catch lights in one of the boy's eyes... can you tell which ones and what I need to do to make it look more natural? tx!!
I think it's wonderful... I like how they aren't posed... its real! I'm sure it fits their personalities.
December 7th, 2012  
I think this looks great. Better to be more natural looking than all posed!!
(would love to see it in colour)
December 7th, 2012  
I like the natural pose. Shows their personalities.
December 7th, 2012  
tx @onie ... it doesn't really work in colour... or more to the point, i'm no good at editing in colour... so the light and dark bits end up all wrong...
December 7th, 2012  
I hate taking pictures of people. They all hate it and it is just too much pressure. I actually like how this turned out. They all look like individuals
December 7th, 2012  
Awesome shot
December 7th, 2012  
Hahaha!! I feel your pain, I have 3 boys...did you happen to see my Christmas card attempt? I love this because i think it captures all your boys personalities right?
December 7th, 2012  
This is lovely and I'm so pleased to have seen it! All smiles and natural composition. They are so good - even wearing the hats!!
December 7th, 2012  
Lyn
Ah, you continue to crack me up. . .so quit being so darn hard on yourself. Here's what I see: boys who are absolutely confident in their skins, who can be themselves, and who feel love and trust for the nutcase ragging at them! I would be HONORED to get this Christmas card!
December 7th, 2012  
I think it's an adorable photo.
December 7th, 2012  
giggle giggle.... I know exactly where your coming from! I have same issues. This is an adorable shot - their personalities are shining bright and it looks very cheery :)
December 7th, 2012  
What a cool and gorgeous bunch!!
December 7th, 2012  
Don't touch it!!! It's a great, relaxed, totally natural shot, fabulous!
December 7th, 2012  
Their smiles and joking atmosphere is perfect for the season... but I find the processing a bit dark for the holiday feel. But then you might be going for a different feel on purpose?
December 7th, 2012  
This is a lovely natural photo. As a mum of 3 boys I feel your pain. Chance of my lot all wearing a hat at the same time for me is zero! Love your tags and the bokeh.
December 7th, 2012  
I think it's a beautiful capture! Wonderful expressions on all their gorgeous faces. Wonderful processing and composition.
December 7th, 2012  
I like it with all 3 looking so natural :)
December 7th, 2012  
Fun capture even if it is work!
December 7th, 2012  
I think it's fun and expressive. Even if you're sick of those expressions! :P My guess for catch light would be the left hand side, because he isn't looking in the same direction, so it seems off that he has the same catch lights. But I'm only thinking about it 'cause you asked, wouldn't have thought twice otherwise. Love the hobbit-esque font!
December 7th, 2012  
@aspada tx Amy... my original plan had been for something bright and colourful... but i don't have a good backdrop to make that work and getting them into clothes that don't clash and distract horribly is next to impossible... :(

if we had tons of snow or something, that would be perfect... but we don't... it's just grey-green and yuck outside... and inside our house is chaotic.... the only good backdrop is the grunge cement wall in our basement (and yes, it's been used here on more than one occasion ;p)
December 7th, 2012  
I think it's a great natural shot, natural smiles.....looks great! Don't be so hard on yourself! And if I were to guess I'd say the middle boy has the tweaked natural light.....am I right?
December 7th, 2012  
Nice capture!
December 7th, 2012  
Love the snow flakes!
This has bags of character - which is all that counts in my book.

Oooh not sure on the catch lights. I did wonder if you'd edited the eyes in #3 (right) as the left one seems brighter than the other, but I have been staring at it for a few minutes so that might be my eyes rather than his. ;)
December 7th, 2012  
At the small size it looks great, you cannot tell the fake catch lights (the one in the middle) But never mind that, it is a great shot...it looks very candid and they are all smiling and natural looking...they don't all need to be looking at the camera for it to be a great shot. I love it!
December 7th, 2012  
As a mother of three boys, I can so relate. But I think this is super!
December 7th, 2012  
Haha, same story here..... I'll be lucky to get all 3 in one place at the same time...
This is great, who wants a perfectly posed shot anyway? I was the mother that told the Santa photographers to "take it anyway" if the kids were screaming....indicative of the day.
I think this is great, I'd guess the lights were on the left, the lighting on him is great, I wouldnt change a thing.
December 7th, 2012  
Should seasons be season's instead of seasons' ?
December 7th, 2012  
@rockinrobyn ha ha ha ha! Probably! Oops... And I am always so careful to remind myself that it is "greetings of the season" not "seasons" ... Gaaaaaaaak! (I haven't actually ordered any prints yet - tx for catching this!)
December 7th, 2012  
@northy I was a journalist before lawyer, so I'm sort of addicted to editing text. I doubt most people would notice, though. :)
December 7th, 2012  
I think this is a brilliant shot as it holds so much character ;)
December 7th, 2012  
@rockinrobyn I've done tons of technical writing plus public education writing - so I addicted to text too :)
December 7th, 2012  
Aww! Really great shot of the children!
December 8th, 2012  
Let their beautiful true selves shine through! This is a GREAT portrait.
December 8th, 2012  
I love this shot! So much better than having them all looking at the camera! Fantastic!
December 8th, 2012  
I love this - very natural!
December 8th, 2012  
Very cool group shot! Love the natural feel of it!
December 8th, 2012  
They are smiling :) very cute Chrissy shot
December 9th, 2012  
the epitome of c0O00OOOlness :)
December 9th, 2012  
@newbie @humphreyhippo @slang @archaeofrog

Stacey and Sean got it right... the middle kid's eyes have the fake lights in them... i cloned them off the eyes from his brother on the right... it occurred to me after that i could have cloned from another photo, but decided it probably wouldn't even be noticeable on a 4x6 print...

tx :)
December 9th, 2012  
They are adorable, and the look so naturally happy!
December 9th, 2012  
Sue
I think it's a great shot, very natural & you can see the mischievousness in their eyes! Wonderful!
December 9th, 2012  
Really funny shot. ;-)
December 9th, 2012  
I think you've done a great job. Portraiture is one area I suck at too so feel your pain ;o) xx
December 10th, 2012  
I think its a lovely shot, the natural ones are the best! and they all look so happy =)
December 10th, 2012  
I really like this -it's so natural and they all look like they are having fun...great strong B&W tones - you did a great job here
December 10th, 2012  
these kind of shots are the best... and you somehow got them to wear the christmas hats...
December 11th, 2012  
Nothing wrong with it at all! You have captured character. It's lovely
December 11th, 2012  
I love this shot. Fave. Well done, mother Northy!
December 12th, 2012  
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