My family is very supportive in as much as they did not report me to the police yet! :b_funny:

Kidding, but most of them would say "This is good, but I don't have that kind of money for a camera!" So they are very well aware of my camera's worth and if I thus follow their reasoning and buy a  more expensive cam, I will have improved as a photographer. LOL

Serious now: I do two things for family which I find extremely valuable.

First I make A4 size prints of my better work I want them to evaluate and I laminate them and throw them on the coffee table where we socialize. Here they pick it up, everybody has an equal opportunity to air his view and they don't feel I put them on the spot. Then I listen...

Secondly I use my grandkids (girls) who are teens now and they are live(ly) experiments. They tell me how a pose should have been done, lips, eyes etc and they would show me how to do it, while we page through the family photos. Alternatively we page through glamour magazines.

I know this is not a forum thread to show off pics but in all humbleness I want to show you the results of a photo Jolene and I did on Sunday afternoon. She chose to let her earrings and eyes take the stage here against a strong backlight - she was part of all the decisions. Bear in mind I am not in the business of taking portraits! You be the judge if her advice is worth a dime.

Happy shooting with the family, not at them...

Piet Vermeulen, South Africa