If... I could... ungh... only... reeeeaaccchhh... the... keeeeyyyyyy (C&C)

[Derrel]

I've noticed in my short time that lots of people here shoot babies, pregnant women and whatnot.
No one cares about your kids or a big pooched out belly.
This has no wow factor, it's not interesting, it's not challenging and the only peple who care are the parents.
Do not expect anyone else to.

Seriously, how is that helpful to her? I actually LOVE to see pics of children, babies, and pregnant women.

twinklytoes- I loved the edit you did with the first one, and it really is too bad the 2nd one isn't in focus because that would have been an awesome shot!

The second photo is not just bad focus; it looks, upon close examination in PS, like the camera was jerked...the exposure was done at ISO 100, at f/2.3, at 1/320 second...which is a bad exposure choice on multiple levels...the ISO value is too low...the shutter speed was not fast enough to prevent a jerky press of the shutter from killing the detail...the aperture is too wide to provide adequate detail over enough depth of field to "make" the picture...this shot is a total failure because the fundamentals of photography are not being followed!

The excuse that a 2-year-old is difficult to photograph doesn't wash with me...a 2 year-old child who is seated on a tricycle or a lawn tractor is 1) located in one location and 2)actively playing and 3)engrossed in his activity and therefor the perfect subject for a candid photo, or two, or three, or fifty. If you want better photos, improve your skills and your shooting technique; the reason you received 62 pages views and NO comments, until you bumped the post, is that the photos are simply BAD snapshots of a diaper-clad 2 year-old playing in his grandmother's yard.

I love kids, and I like photos of kids. But snapshots of somebody's diaper-wearing kid are really of very little interest to anybody except the kid's family; that's what snapshots are for...recording moments. If you wish to make "photographs" of your son, then put some shorts on him, or some pants, not just a diaper. Put him into a location, a setting, that has a clean, unobstructed background OR use a long lens to prevent subject/background poles growing from his head...look for a "clean" background, like the mom who shot the pics of the little girl on the purple-hued playground structure, not some cluttered yard with a donkey and cart and steps and junk in the background...you'll have to "work" at it sometimes..not every situation is golden. For either a 2- or a 20 year-old subject.

The excuse that a 2 year-old is harder to photograph than a 20 year old model really is a non-starter for me; what you're doing here is shooting a diaper-clad kid in a bad situation, a bad shooting environment, and are not working well enough or hard enough to elevate the pictures above the snapshot level,and then wondering why people are not commenting on your "work"...well, its not "work", it's a couple of poorly executed snapshots that are riddled with snapshot-like issues....diaper-wearing child...messy backdrop...poor chocies on ISO, f/stop, and bad camera-handling technique.

Sorry to sound so harsh, but this post (and the OP's specific comments) is being referenced elsewhere on this forum by another poster, who is taking exception with the OP's attitude about how "hard" it is to photograph a 2 year-old. No, it's not difficult, as long as some basic steps are followed. Ensure the ISO is adequate, the f/stop adequate for DOF to cover the subject and use solid, fundamental techniques like an adequately smooth shutter release motion, not a jab. Shooting at ISO 100 is a recipe for disaster unless you are very on top of your game, and the lighting is good, and neither of those prerequisites have been fulfilled.

So..look at the problems: too low an ISO, too wide an aperture, blurring due to either camera motion and/or subject motion, poor white balance, and a casual, diaper-clad kid in a family snapshot type of picture. Sorry, but the 62 people who viewed the pictures originally probably didn't know what to say, and now we're having people chastize others who were offering honest feedback.

 

[LCARSx32]

The second photo . . . was done at ISO 100, at f/2.3, at 1/320 second . . . the shutter speed was not fast enough to prevent a jerky press of the shutter from killing the detail...

1/320 second is too slow?! My god, I can freeze water fountains at 1/320.

I agree that the aperture is too wide giving very little wiggle room with the depth of field.

BTW: 2 yo are very hard to get good shots of. Unlike most situations, you can stop to consider how to compose the shot. Like others have said, it's literally 3 seconds or less. If you're new to photography, that's not even enough time to make sure you'll have proper exposure, lol.

I don't know where all this negativity towards moms (or uncles, in my case), practicing with a subject that is challenging and rewarding to shoot, has come from all of a sudden.

On a lighter note:

I has a donkey (in the background, it's the only shot I had):

 

[misstwinklytoes]

ISO 100 is too low for bright sunlight?

 

[misstwinklytoes]

The camera probably was jerked.... As he was on and off the donkey in about 3 seconds.

@mishele - Yes but if it is your kid you have a 24/7 photo op!!! So you should be able to get a good picture in there somewhere.

Are your kids clean/doing something interesting enough 24/7? Mine def aren't not to mention the 1M other things going on in my life, so I hardly look at it as a 24/7 photo op.

 

[mishele]

You are taking 24/7 a little too literal. I am saying that you are not under any time restraints w/ your own child.
1-Cute in the sense that he is on a tractor but other then that there is very little that is interesting. I would like to see his eyes in the picture. The background w/ a pole coming out of his head isn't the nicest. The wheel which seems to be a cool idea didn't work here for me. I would like to see you shoot him from maybe a different angle. Maybe from more below him so you could see his eyes and get rid of the pole in is head. Focus seems off

2-It looks like the only thing in focus in this picture is the wheel on the ground to the left. That being said, it ruined the rest of the picture for me. The background is also very distracting.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

I always have time constraints. I would have loved to see his eyes too! Unfortunately they were completely fixed on the key to the tractor for about a full minute. And then only looking up long enough to see if I would help him. I was very limited on my angle and length cause I had to be an arms length away in case he decided to try to jump the 6ft to the ground. Focus at 100% is good. Maybe it's photobucket.

Yeah, I've mentioned that focus being off a couple of times. Including in the OP. The background is distracting, but as I said this one was just for fun.

 

[Geaux]

I can't agree more with Derrell and others in this thread. You say, "the background is distracting, but as I said this one was just for fun". If it's just for fun, then why ask for CC?

I'd like to see you venture out and do some other styles of photography and not just your son. I know you love him, and he's around you always, but try and get out and shoot something else. I know you say, if you don't like my posts, don't look or comment, BUT .... I always come into your threads to see how/if you've advanced much, and it's always an OOF child with no thought behind the shoots. Don't get me wrong, I know he's a youngin and you can do what you can, but as Derrell said ... at least put some clothes on the kid (pants/shirt) and not just a diaper.

Look at it this way, you get more comments on your non-planned shoots than I do on my planned stuff where I actually work to make myself better. So maybe, I'm doing something wrong lol.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

Nah. I understand what you guys are saying. I dont' really get a whole lot of say when/what I can photo. I have my son 24/7. Literally. I get no break from him, so what I can photograph is fairly limited to him. I'm a stay at home mother with volunteer work at the school, house work, full time student, and trying to get my certification for pharmacy technician. I don't have a whole lot of time to take pics, but I try to when I can. It's usually when I step outside to smoke, go outside to switch a load of laundry to the washer/dryer, or go to my (ill) mothers and she can help watch them for five minutes or so! My husband works odd hours and is rarely awake during daylight hours. I'll limit my posts to photos that aren't MWC, but I'll likely not be posting much. Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[Geaux]

Nah. I understand what you guys are saying. I dont' really get a whole lot of say when/what I can photo. I have my son 24/7. Literally. I get no break from him, so what I can photograph is fairly limited to him. I'm a stay at home mother with volunteer work at the school, house work, full time student, and trying to get my certification for pharmacy technician. I don't have a whole lot of time to take pics, but I try to when I can. It's usually when I step outside to smoke, go outside to switch a load of laundry to the washer/dryer, or go to my (ill) mothers and she can help watch them for five minutes or so! My husband works odd hours and is rarely awake during daylight hours. I'll limit my posts to photos that aren't MWC, but I'll likely not be posting much. Thanks for the input everyone!

We didn't say to NOT post anymore silly, we (I, personally) want to see you venture out to shoot or learn from your mistakes and get better. I know you say you don't have time, but you don't need a lot of time to do something different. Example: Instead of going out on the patio to smoke and do shots (which you've had a lot of your childs shots with that railing behind him lol)... take a walk and smoke and shoot stuff on your walk. That way, you'll still be away for the length of your cig - as you would on your porch, but you'd have different surroundings in your shots.

I dunno, it's just a suggestion. Like I said before, at least you are getting CC on your shots which is good, and from many of the "Regulars/Stars" here lol. I wouldn't stop posting, just for that reason. (Some ppl can't get a good CC to save their life here)

 

[ababysean]

:lmao:

Really?
It is EASY to photograph 2 year olds?

Let's see some of your shots of a few 2 year olds.
They are busy, they are ever moving, and if you TRY to tell them anything, they could care less!

You do NOT Have all the time in the world to photograph your own kids, in fact, I've found it easier to photograph other people's 2 year olds, just because they are slightly interested in me because I'm a "new" person, but after the first 10 seconds, they are off....

The pictures were for fun, they are cute to share on facebook and such, and maybe you like them enough to blow them up 8*10 and frame it and put it on your wall? then it is a good picture to you.
Who cares if no one else likes it.

But saying shooting a 20 year old model vs a 2 year old model is the same is so totally FALSE!

Can both be difficult, of course, but you can tell the 20 year old to go jump in a creek if they can not listen to your direction on how to get the best picture and stand over here so the pole doesnt come out of your head and ok look up a little, ok....

anyways, I just came back from photographing an 18 month old little girl. It was 9am. I'm covered in sweat, my knees have bruises and stains from the grass and I am not even confident I got a good shot. The kid was all over the place. But what can you do? Nothing. Reshoot and pray for the best.

I shot a 18 year old girl yesterday, and can tell you it was MUCH easier, I took far less shots and got good results.

 

[Derrel]

The second photo . . . was done at ISO 100, at f/2.3, at 1/320 second . . . the shutter speed was not fast enough to prevent a jerky press of the shutter from killing the detail...

1/320 second is too slow?! My god, I can freeze water fountains at 1/320.

I agree that the aperture is too wide giving very little wiggle room with the depth of field.

BTW: 2 yo are very hard to get good shots of. Unlike most situations, you can stop to consider how to compose the shot. Like others have said, it's literally 3 seconds or less. If you're new to photography, that's not even enough time to make sure you'll have proper exposure, lol.

I don't know where all this negativity towards moms (or uncles, in my case), practicing with a subject that is challenging and rewarding to shoot, has come from all of a sudden.

On a lighter note:

I has a donkey (in the background, it's the only shot I had):

THIS SHOT SHOWS CAMERA MOVEMENT!!!!!!!!!!! Look carefully at it...I can see it at even this low resolution. ANd YES, 1/320 second is slooooooow.

And to the person asking if ISO 100 is too slow in bright sunlight--Uh, f/2.3 at 1/320 at ISO 100 is NOT "bright sunlight". Bright sunlight is the film speed, in this case 100, at f/16, at a shutter speed equal to the film speed, so f/16 at 1/100 second. f/2.3 at 1/320 second at ISO 100.....hmmm...go get your camera and click that off and see how very far you were away from "bright sunlight". It looks more like "open shade" to me than any type of sunlight. That also introduced a white balance correction,since open shade is much,much cooler than sunlight.

A lesson I learned many,many years ago was how to differentiate between a SHARP photo and one that was almost sharp. In the OP's shot of the boy on the donkey sculpture, look at his foot in the air--it is BLURRED. Then, look at his hair...it too is blurred. It's not sharp. Try this: shoot at 1/500 second for a few days. EVERYTHING at 1/500 second. Then, go back to shooting at slower speeds. Let the shutter free-run as slow as you'd like to. What you'll probably find, as in the OP's second photo, and LCARS shot is that you can accidentally jerk the shutter even a 1/320 second, and that moving subjects can easily turn out blurred, even at 1/320 second.

 

[ababysean]

I agree with kids you need at LEAST 1/500 shutter speed.

 

[Derrel]

:lmao:

Really?
It is EASY to photograph 2 year olds?

Let's see some of your shots of a few 2 year olds.
They are busy, they are ever moving, and if you TRY to tell them anything, they could care less!

You do NOT Have all the time in the world to photograph your own kids, in fact, I've found it easier to photograph other people's 2 year olds, just because they are slightly interested in me because I'm a "new" person, but after the first 10 seconds, they are off....

The pictures were for fun, they are cute to share on facebook and such, and maybe you like them enough to blow them up 8*10 and frame it and put it on your wall? then it is a good picture to you.
Who cares if no one else likes it.

But saying shooting a 20 year old model vs a 2 year old model is the same is so totally FALSE!

Can both be difficult, of course, but you can tell the 20 year old to go jump in a creek if they can not listen to your direction on how to get the best picture and stand over here so the pole doesnt come out of your head and ok look up a little, ok....

anyways, I just came back from photographing an 18 month old little girl. It was 9am. I'm covered in sweat, my knees have bruises and stains from the grass and I am not even confident I got a good shot. The kid was all over the place. But what can you do? Nothing. Reshoot and pray for the best.

I shot a 18 year old girl yesterday, and can tell you it was MUCH easier, I took far less shots and got good results.

Here you go...start here...I have THOUSANDS of photos of my two year old...Spencer Day By Day Photo Gallery by Derrel at pbase.com

The only thing is--most of them are snapshots,and I do not post them and beg people to C&C them, because they are my own family snapshots.

"What can you do? Nothing?" Uh-sorry, but to that I say---no, that is just an excuse from a beginner who wants to just throw up her arms in defeat. There is a LOT that can be done. I thought you were here to LEARN, from people with more experience at camera handling and many more decades' worth of experience at overcoming photographic challenges. There are DOZENS of things you can do to get better photographs of small children. No, let me correct that: there are HUNDREDS of things you can do to get better photographs of small children.

KODAK even has a couple of books about how to get better photographs of children and families. I'd suggest a library trip to find it and check it out.

First off, get the technical fundamentals right. ISO 100 at f/2.3 at 1/320 second is not "bright sunlight". You have a modern, autofocus d-slr camera that can lock focus is .4 seconds, not a single-shot glass plate Graflex that uses heavy,cumbersome glass plates and takes 5 seconds to focus and prepare for each frame. You have in-field on the camera LCD review of your shots. You need to learn how to 1) establish a good photographic situation and 2) how to "work" it and 3) how to use your own skills to overcome the challenges in front of you.

Hey, I bust my a$$ here to try and help beginners and intermediate shooters, and do it day after day after day. I want to see you succeed, but your attitude is one of well...you fill in the blank...defeatism might be a good word to start with though. Do not be resigned--take some action.

I'll ask a question: at what age does the subject become "easy"? At what subject age do good, even great photographs, suddenly begin to come, without effort? 6? 8? 10? 15? 18? 20? 21? 30?

 

[ababysean]

Derrel I believe you give excellent advice, and infact I have some of your threads to me printed out and bookmarked, so I'm sorry if I seem unappreciative, but I think your advice comes a bit strong, almost arrogant, and I know this is online and it is hard to put feeling to the written word, but almost at the beginning of your advice you put people on the defensive. that is just your style, and I understand that.
So again, I'm sorry if it doesnt seem appreciative or like I'm throwing my hands up in defeat, I'm not.

 

[ababysean]

oh and your son is so friggen CUTE!