Brody - 6 months and sitting up!

acaldwell · Oct 2, 2007

This is my nephew. I was hanging out with him on sunday and we played around with some shots in his nursery. I did this with just the window light. Please give me your c&c. :blushing:

1.

AprilRamone · Oct 2, 2007

He's cute

But, I think you got the wall behind him focus instead of him.
(Happens to me all the time!)

acaldwell · Oct 2, 2007

Here's a couple more.

2.

3.

NJMAN · Oct 2, 2007

Not bad, but I have a few crits.

I will have to say that the texture on the wall is distracting. The focus is really clear on the bench as well as the wall behind him. There is also some blowout on the white shirt in #1 and #3. Also, the color is a little mutated on #3. Was that from white balance adjustment or for an effect?

On the plus side, the subject is very cute. The expression is good in #1, and he is looking right at the camera!

If only we could see the crisp clear eyes. I think a tighter crop would have been more beneficial here.

Keep posting!

NJ

acaldwell · Oct 2, 2007

thank you April and NJ! yes, i thought the eyes were suffering some. i mentioned that in another post this moring. *sigh* working hard on that. of course, NJ you are one of my inspirations with all things eyes.

NJ, ok, i'll keep the texture on the wall in mind in the future. we'll have to try a different home as all their walls are like this, hmmm.
#3 was just me playing with sepia and obviously getting it wrong! i will reverse that one back to original.

And lastly, I agree the subject is cute. thanks for the critiques on my first indoor go at a baby!

Taralyn Romero · Oct 2, 2007

Really love your composition on these and the simplicity of the shots -however, I would agree that the focus on the baby seems off in all of them. Still precious.

Christie Photo · Oct 3, 2007

acaldwell said:
This is my nephew. I was hanging out with him on sunday and we played around with some shots in his nursery. I did this with just the window light.

VERY good use of available light! And, what a cutie! Yeah... the focus problem, but still.... very nice. Just don't print too large.

-Pete

acaldwell · Oct 3, 2007

Taralyn and Pete - thank you for the comments. I really appreciate the encouragement! Mom just wants some 4X6's for a new frame so hopefully that will be ok.

I'm reading my manual again trying to figure out my focus issue with these. I might get my eyes tested as well as I notice blurry signs while driving and I am squinting an awful lot looking at computer screens and books. Last appt. I was told I had a slight astigmatism, maybe it got worse

wildmaven · Oct 3, 2007

I like #3 the best. Such "natural child" curiousity.

How is your focus set? Are you using manual, continuous, or another setting?

stellar_gal · Oct 3, 2007

I think you have a great subject there and he is so adorable. I photograph alot of babies and kids and here's what I suggest. First, get him as naked as the parents are comforatble with. Clothes are so binding and get bunched up, as you can see. Even just a diaper or diaper cover and blanket at most. The look is timeless and great in black and white or color too. If you look at professional sites, you'll see most babies in the birthday suit. Look at Images of Grace Photography there in Ft Worth. Very inspiring stuff.

Also, at that age, keep on snapping. Once they can sit up - the images can get harder since they are so curious and they rarely look at the lens without help from someone behind you and once they start crawling- it just gets worse, haha.

As far as the wall, you can easily work with it. Just pull the bench away from the all a couple of feet or more to throw it out of focus with the right f/stop- or put the baby on a nice looking floor. You may need a helper if you have them off the floor though, so baby can be caught if they try to fall.

As far as the focus, your manual can be very helpful. I am not familiar with an Xti, but you may have different focusing options, like One Shot or Ai Servo, ect. I find with babies/kids that move alot- shoot in burst/ continuous mode so you can get several frames per second- especially great when they laugh, giggle or give you that nice gaze.

Always Always focus on the eyes, then you can recompose the camera some if its in single shot mode- other wise it will focus on something else when you hit the shutter button. You may have a dioptric dial near the eye piece that can help with poor vision. Otherwise, pratice shooting an object that isnt moving and see if its really your sight, or camera shake from not holding steady enough. Just keep practicing- you're doing good.

wildmaven · Oct 3, 2007

stellar_gal said:
I think you have a great subject there and he is so adorable. I photograph alot of babies and kids and here's what I suggest.

Very helpful to me, too! Thanks! What kind of lighting do you use?

stellar_gal · Oct 3, 2007

I am 100% all natural. Yes, challenging at times, but it's my niche. Fancy lighting can be very intimidating for many youngsters and I took a studio lighting class in college and it definatley wasn't my calling, so I work with available light, no backdrops or props. I have used black velvet with babies or rug-looking fabic, but that's it. For outdoors, I just love the pre-sunset glow and it's so flattering in photos. I try to book an hour before sunset or so. Very worth while if you ask me. It does take practice, but I love it.

acaldwell · Oct 3, 2007

Marion, I was set on one shot AF and had my drive mode on continuous. So, I think I was just not concentrating enough on him (maybe rather him falling off that bench!! haha). Anyway, I did change my AF point setting to where just one point lights up instead of random ones out of nine. I think that was distracting to me. I made my hubby pose for a few at lunch and it seems from quick review that the eyes are better. I didn't have near as much trouble with my previous sessions, so maybe I just had a rough day. Whatever the matter, I'll learn from the mistake and move forward!

Stellar Gal, WOW! thanks for all the input and advice. I will definately keep that in mind. I'll see if I can visit this weekend and re-shoot with limited or no clothing and the bench farther from the wall. I did have continuous shoot on with him and that does prove helpful for the little guy.

Also, I played with the dioptic dial before, but looked at it again today and made a minor adjustment.

thanks to you both for your time!

wildmaven · Oct 3, 2007

You may initially focus on the child's eyes, but when you go to compose your shot, the camera thinks, "oops...gotta focus on what's in the middle again" and changes it. My camera has 5 focus settings: Single Shot AF, Automatic AF, Automatic with Manual fine tuning, Continuous AF, and Manual AF. I only use continuous focus when I'm shooting flying birds, fast moving cars, etc. I love the Automatic with Manual fine tuning, as it brings the focus close to the area quickly, and then I can fine tune it any way I want. It's much quicker than manual alone, for me at least.