First Family Photo ever

I am trying to make a name for myself locally as a professional

photographer. I am hoping to make it an official business next year. In

the mean time I am practicing away. I have done several toddlers and

newborns but this weekend had the pleasure of photographing my first

family shots. I love how the pictures turned out but would love to hear

some other feedback. Thanks!

Certainly an eye-catcher. They act in a very friendly way, a pleasure to see. On the technical side some points to take care of. The highlights are blown and the trees in the background are distracting. A shallower dof would help. I also would try to not cut of the hands of the persons.

Jessica,

I think this is lovely family portrait.  Your subjects' body language and facial expressions look genuinely relaxed and unforced--probably the hardest element to get right in a portrait and even more difficult when you have 4 people--and 2 kids--in one shot!  I don't have any problem with the highlights in the hair, given the strong morning (evening?) light.  My eye doesn't *expect* to see full detail in those areas with that kind of lighting.  What I would object to would be if any of the faces/skin had blown areas, but those areas look perfectly exposed.  The white shirts may be a little over-exposed around the shoulders, but I doubt the family would even notice a detail like that. 

The background looks good to me, too--out of focus enough to bring your subjects forward, but with enough detail to give a nice environmental element to the composition.  The colors are great--love the way the family's clothing is coordinated without being cliche (e.g., everyone in matching outfits that make them look like co-workers in uniform, LOL); the pink against the bright green of the trees is so lively and playful.

The only slight quibble I can come up with is that I might prefer to see a very slight crop from the RH side, to make the space to the right of the dad more similar to the space on the left hand side of the boy.  I agree somewhat about the cut off hands, too, though that aspect doesn't bother me too much--maybe because the little girl's hands are not cut off, and they are the most critical to the portrait. 

Overall, I think this is a very successful shot, and far better than a lot of family portraits I've seen from professionals.  The most important thing, I think, is that your subjects seem very much at ease with you as the photographer, and I can sense your own enthusiasm in the portrait. I'm sure they are very pleased with it!