Exercise 6: The best of a sequence

I probably should have chosen a different model for this exercise as I know exactly which pictures would be best of my Mum whilst shooting and on later viewing.  The poses she is most comfortable with always come across best (but, interestingly, this maybe because I am very keen to always take flattering pictures of her...) and my notes at the time tallied closely with my choices now, a few weeks later.

With the lighting in the shady pergola, shots with her looking directly at the camera always work well and three quarter (45 degree) turns.  Mum's eyes are beautifully green and very penetrating.  The head and torso shots looked better in retrospect than I had thought on the day.  This exercise served as a good reminder to be very proactive about trying a wide variety of poses and shooting angles (which makes me wonder why the course notes suggested using a tripod?).  I would be really interested to see how Mum's expressions caught in this shoot would compare with those from a portrait session shot by a stranger.  Could someone that didn't know I was her daughter see the love (and maternal indulgence) in her eyes, I wonder?