Little Boo. CC would be appreciated

ive · Jul 5, 2008

these are from last week. and just wondering how to improve the pic's . Pls and thank you

tirediron · Jul 6, 2008

There's nothing overtly wrong with these images as-is. They clearly show a child playing in the mud, the exposure acceptable and the composition is good. Assuming you wanted to do portrait-type images of this nature, a few considerations would be: (1) Have someone (ideally Mom or Dad) to the right, and attract the child's attention. I don't think you want him looking directly down the lens, but maybe a 3/4 profile. (2) A reflector placed to image left would lighten up the shadows and make for a more even exposure, (3) A C-POL would have eliminated the reflection on the water and enhanced the overall colour of the image.

Hope that helps.

Early · Jul 6, 2008

The second one would have been better if we could see what was holding the boy's interest. Outstanding color.

ive · Jul 6, 2008

yea what attracted me most was the color contrast. as for mama or daddy getting attention. well that would be me

. lol so if I try to get he's attention he would be looking dead center in the camera, and I really have to many of those atm

. so was trying to figure how to make an outstanding picture w/o making it Look "composed" kwim??

quick question I guess i have is, tiredion said relection needs to be ellimated?Is all reflection bad? and if not what circumstance are reflections ok? and what is a c-pol... lol so sorry feel such like a newbie><. thanks again for suggestion Tiredion that is wonderful of you. And Early thanks for input on what should be added to picture to make it better

Emerana · Jul 6, 2008

I know what you mean about not the same old "say cheese" photo. I think when you take this type of photo it is still important to get quite a bit of face in it and also what the child is interested in. There is no hard and fast rule on that, but I think they tend to be more successful. You might know your little boo has the most beautiful eyes on the planet, but I dont, so I need to see them. You also might know what he is so interested in, but I cant see it. That makes me somewhat disinterested in the photos.

How old is your little guy? You might find that soon your kids dont allow their photos being done cause they are sick of you and your camera. Thats what happened to me!

ive · Jul 6, 2008

lol, my sister's son is like that right now photo shy. I'll be sad and probably bribing him like no other whenever he starts hating pictures taken of him. as for age he's 20months old. and don't know how i could show what was getting his attention, he was just having fun finding rocks in the water /shrug and was wondering is there a free software where I can show the pictures of him but people wouldn't be allowed to copy or save the picture?? love to show them but you know...

kellylindseyphotography · Jul 7, 2008

The best thing you could have done was waded into the water yourself and squatted down (yes, you would get wet and muddy lol)

He doesn't have to be looking at the camera for a good photo, but looking at someone's back is not too interesting.

Also, he is dead center in each of these. More environment would add very nicely to this portrait.

You could also open your fstop (lower number, such as 3.2 or 4 or if you are very daring try 2.8 or lower) This will give the background nice bokah (blurriness) and a good sharpness on your subject.

Look forward to seeing more of your work

ive · Jul 7, 2008

have a few pics of him, while I was in the water

, don't mind getting dirty or wet. but lol if I'm in the water he thinks he can go further in and then next thing I know I'm waist deep in water or else trying to keep the camera from getting splashed on.

though its a great point you brought up lol, I might think the side view is intresting rofl, but others see a back of a random child and thus not so yahoo about the pic.as I am.

tirediron · Jul 8, 2008

ive said:
<snipped>
...tiredion said relection needs to be ellimated?Is all reflection bad? and if not what circumstance are reflections ok? and what is a c-pol... lol so sorry feel such like a newbie><. thanks again for suggestion Tiredion that is wonderful of you. And Early thanks for input on what should be added to picture to make it better

By no means is all reflection bad, however in the case of these images, they both have a strong, un-natural blue caste to the images. This is something that I would prefer not have, however your tastes may be different. It really doesn't detract from the image, other than the colour-caste. A CPOL is a circular polarizer, a filter, which will attach to the end of your lens, and as you rotate the front element (Circular polarizers are two-element filters where the front one rotates) you will be able to reduce or virtually eliminate the blue reflection on the water (depending on the time of day, optimum performance is achieved when the sun is lower in the sky and and at 90deg to the axis of your lens). As well, it would have deepened the colours of the image overall.

Hope that clears things up.
~John

kellylindseyphotography · Jul 8, 2008

Oh, I also thought to tell you.. If you are very interested in child portraiture, a great resource is www.ilovephotography.com

It is a very large forum that ranges from those JSO (just starting out) all the way up to Pro. (though once you hit pro, you have to pay to be in that part of the website)

You have to register and create one post to view the forums, but it is invaluable in terms of seeing child portraiture done by people that have years of experience as well as mingle with those that are JSO too.