How about these??

jackieclayton

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not too much feedback on my last set of pictures of the lil man, so what do you think about these? I tried to get the color cast on his skin better this time (not so green, hopefully!) I hope they are good, because he was making a diaper revenge for me as these were being taken... hope I got a good shot for what I had to clean afterwards! lol! Thanks for lookin!!

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Don't take it personally, but after years of being a member here (and elsewhere) people are weary of giving feedback on shots of people's loved ones, esp. children. Too often those threads misfire. Ask for specific comments (cropping, DOF, exposure) and you'll get an occasional answer.

I like No 1, No 2 is too far leaned back, he looks like he's going to fall. No 3 would be cuter if his mouth was closed... but if he's anything like my three sons, it will NEVER happen... They talk non-stop.
 
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hey thanks for the feedback! it's totally cool... I wish I could say I understood why some people feel shy to comment on people's kids, but this is a photo forum so I would hope comments would be about the photo in itself... I would get ticked if someone said "hey your kid's ugly!" or something but hopefully no one would say something mean like that, especially on a forum like this. If someone were to say "sorry, these are crap, fix your WB and aperture next time" or something like that, I wouldn't take offense.. that's why I'm here is to learn. But I'll take your advice and ask more specifics next time... thank you for being honest!

Hmm... I guess with these, I realize my focus was VERY soft, I thought I had that figured out last time... I think if I had set a smaller aperture perhaps it would be able to set the AF better? I guess when I think of portrait I think to have it on the largest aperture your lens can get so you have a nice DOF... or is it because I had it on AF-C focus mode? I put it on AF-C (continuous autofocus mode) and used the 3D Tracking dynamic area mode b/c jr likes to move around a lot... I was studying this last night but still, a lot of my shots came up so blurry. I posted the sharpest ones (but still the top is soft IMO). I also tried out the Picture Control settings on my camera but find they really didn't change the look from the last set of pictures... it still initially had the green effect on his skin... and my son doesn't have red hair and in all these pictures it turns out reddish/orange looking... i'm not sure why! He has brown hair. I used a makeshift reflector this time to get rid of some of the shadows... so i think that helped... any comments on the lighting and some of the other issues I had iwth these would be great.

And you're right... he actually was falling over!! lol! he can't sit up on his own yet so I propped him... between him drooling and falling over and pooping... these shots today were not very easy! lol!!!
 
I wish I could say I understood why some people feel shy to comment on people's kids, but this is a photo forum so I would hope comments would be about the photo in itself... I would get ticked if someone said "hey your kid's ugly!" or something but hopefully no one would say something mean like that, especially on a forum like this. If someone were to say "sorry, these are crap, fix your WB and aperture next time" or something like that, I wouldn't take offense.. that's why I'm here is to learn. But I'll take your advice and ask more specifics next time... thank you for being honest!

I can't say why other people don't comment on kid's pix but I rarely do just because the OP usually has some emotional connection to the subject and its too hard to tell where the line is that will hurt their feelings. On top of that, many posters will respond to positive comments and ignore negative ones because they want to hear good stuff about their kids.

These pictures are memory snaps of a cute kid but not good pictures by any measure. These pictures are oof, poorly exposed and badly composed. Shoot in raw so you can correct wb and get some light on the subject.
 
I can't say why other people don't comment on kid's pix but I rarely do just because the OP usually has some emotional connection to the subject and its too hard to tell where the line is that will hurt their feelings. On top of that, many posters will respond to positive comments and ignore negative ones because they want to hear good stuff about their kids.

i understand, but my son is the only thing I have to take pictures of while I practice. Its 100 degrees and humid, my husband has worked everyday for the past 2 weeks thanks to the military and I haven't had an opportunity to go out and shoot (because i don't want to take my son out when its so hot). Also, if I can get the opportunity to take pictures of other people, I take it (like when my sister was here visiting and when my friend wanted maternity pictures) because it doesn't happen often, and I love taking pictures of people... I just don't have much choice when it comes to what. And since i'm on maternity leave and i'm home alone with my son all day, I find its a great time to practice and get some pictures of him at the same time... when I go back to work i wont have this much time to spend on my hobby. So... i guess what i'm saying is that I take pictures of my son because #1, i want pictures of him but #2, he's all i have to practice on... if I'm going to practice I'd rather get some shots of him rather than a bowl of fruit or something, KWIM? I guess I just get bummed when I spend a lot of time studying and reading into this stuff, try it out, and don't get much feedback on here because I really want to improve my work... this is something I really enjoy. I can post these on facebook and friends and family will just comment what great pictures, but i want to learn what I can improve on from a photographers standpoint.

These pictures are memory snaps of a cute kid but not good pictures by any measure. These pictures are oof, poorly exposed and badly composed. Shoot in raw so you can correct wb and get some light on the subject.

THANK YOU! this is what I'm looking for... anyone can take a good memory snap of their kid... I want to learn to take "good pictures." Can you help me with what I did wrong for exposure? I set my camera on manual and adjusted the SS and aperture to read a correct exposure... did I misread something? I think my ISO was somewhere between 300-400... too low? I actually did shoot these in raw, went and edited them and converted to jpeg to post here. When I'm practicing I try to always shoot in raw so I can also practice post processing. I was reading a website (Ken Rockwell) and he said that the D700 auto WB does not work in manual exposure... so is that why my WB is off? I tried using the available light from my window and a makeshift reflector for fill... did I just not have enough light coming through to get a good exposure? I agree about the composition, I think my framing could have been better. Thank you for your honest feedback, that is exactly what I want to hear... it makes me ask questions about them so hopefully I can get some answers and try again to get better.
 
For one it looks like your camera locked onto the shirt for it's focal point, as it seems quite a bit sharper then the eyes are (which is where you want the focus).

The skin tones are also blown out, notably the left arm on the last shot.

How did you light this?
 
He is adorable. I actually like the pic with his mouth opened because it looks like he's laughing and babbling. I just read some info about getting clear sharp images. In a nut shell they suggested using a remote trigger so that you don't get any shake when you press the shutter release. They also said you should turn off your stabilizer on your lens if you have one because of the vibration it causes. If I can find the link I will post it for you.
 
i'd love that, thanks mom2eight! ya, i am having a HARD time with the focusing issues... all my stuff came out soft... and Dominately was right... the autofocus was focusing in on the parts that i didn't want. This happened last time and I read parts and other discussions on my camera's settings for area and focus mode: I put it on AF-C (continuous autofocus mode) and used the 3D Tracking dynamic area mode... i thought since he moves around a lot the 3D tracking and continuous focus would help. I have a VR lens and I had the VR on... (is that what you mean by stabilzer?) should I turn the VR off?
 
If you are shooting on a tripod with a remote, then yes you should turn it off.

I recommend using dynamic point, not 3D tracking, and AF-A. Put the focal point on the child's eyes using your control pad.

With the black background I would stop down a bit to ensure you are getting the baby in focus. I mean are you really worried about getting unsightly background in the shot, if it's solid black? Probably not, so maybe shoot at f/8 that way if your focal plane is broken by the baby, you still have an acceptable margin of error.
 
Hey Jackie. I think your son is an awesome subject and since he is your only model I think you are doing the right thing to practice on him.

I have never photographed babies so take this with a grain of salt.

To overcome the awkward pose what if you just lay him on the floor. I think if you put him close to the window on the floor on your backdrop, maybe even with a large pillow under the backdrop. Then shoot straight down at him, you might have to get on a chair. Use the reflector on the side away from the window, maybe.

Just an idea but then your son would be comfortable and probably fascinated with you above him on a chair. (wondering what the heck you're doing)
 
Is your kid super pale skinned? Like really white? I have to ask because the exposure of the shirt is better than his skin. Maybe you need to dress him in lighter colors so that both can be exposed properly.

Then, you need to make yourself some reflectors. A few sheets of foam core are great to have around for that purpose. One of which you can leave plain white and another you can cover with with aluminum foil for more reflection.

But as was pointed out, those photos are a miss focus wise. You need to choose a different focus pattern or just do it manually.
 
Hey Jackie. I think your son is an awesome subject and since he is your only model I think you are doing the right thing to practice on him.

I have never photographed babies so take this with a grain of salt.

To overcome the awkward pose what if you just lay him on the floor. I think if you put him close to the window on the floor on your backdrop, maybe even with a large pillow under the backdrop. Then shoot straight down at him, you might have to get on a chair. Use the reflector on the side away from the window, maybe.

Just an idea but then your son would be comfortable and probably fascinated with you above him on a chair. (wondering what the heck you're doing)

Thank you Keith! I'm so happy for feedback.. it's discouraging to know that people are afraid to comment because its my son when he's the only thing I have to practice on. I've definitely got tough skin and I wouldn't post here on the forum if I didn't want the truth. You can even say that they just freaking suck, it won't bother me... all I ask is to give me some pointers on how they can 'not suck' next time... lol!

That is a GREAT idea, i didn't even think about putting him on the floor and taking in a chair... I'll try that out this weekend and see how it goes. Maybe then instead of me having to put my camera down every 30 seconds to fix him I can get a clear, focused shot!

I don't have a reflector yet, but I used my car visors (the ones that you put in your front windshields.. not the accordian metallic silver kind but the dull silver kind with the black back on them that you coil up in a circle when you aren't using)... I read on a DIY site that its a good way to make a free one. I put it on the other side of the chair but I don't think I had good enough light coming in for it to matter... perhaps I'll try either a different room or different time of day.

Thank you for the tip!!!
 
Is your kid super pale skinned? Like really white? I have to ask because the exposure of the shirt is better than his skin. Maybe you need to dress him in lighter colors so that both can be exposed properly.

Then, you need to make yourself some reflectors. A few sheets of foam core are great to have around for that purpose. One of which you can leave plain white and another you can cover with with aluminum foil for more reflection.

But as was pointed out, those photos are a miss focus wise. You need to choose a different focus pattern or just do it manually.

lol! actually ya, he is super white... it was the first thing i noticed about him when he was born... i thought most babies were like yellow or red or something... he had the smoothest palest skin... he must get it from my husband because i've always had a slight olive tone complexion, where as he is very fair skinned. Everyone tells me he needs to get a tan so he'll fit in (b/c i live on Guam, everyone is dark skinned... either Chamorro or Filipino)... lol! Good idea though... dressing him in something lighter might help the metering too, i'll try that next time. Do you think white would wash him out though?

As mentioned in my post above, i used a makeshift reflector from my car visor... but thinking back i think my main lighting could have been better for it really to be used as a good fill light source. I'll stop by the craft store this weekend for a foam board to have a white reflector... thanks for the tip!

I think that was the most disappointing is that the colors were off and the focus was poor. I'm gonna practice more with the focus, but did the lighting give it a poor color cast or settings on the camera? I used Auto WB and used standard picture control setting.
 
And its actually not a black backdrop... i havent ordered a backdrop set up yet (its on my wishlist) so i drooped a chocolate color blanket over a chair. When I went to edit them I boosted the color and when I did the background turned black. I'll get on my desktop later and post a couple of the unedited shots... it will show what they really turned out like
 

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