My first shoot...with a cute model

DeCall · Jul 1, 2008

I've always taken candid shots of our kids and grandkids, but I have never taken the time for an actual photo shoot. I've been reading and learning so much lately that I decided to give it a try. Sooooo, I grab my little granddaughter for a couple of hours and put her to work. :lol:

She is seven years old and I thought she did a wonderful job. She was really a trooper and loved what she was doing. This is Jessica. Please, give me any and all C&C on these shots. I'm here to learn.

!. I hate that I cut off her right thumb.

2. This one needs more PPing

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MeesterMichael · Jul 1, 2008

All the shots seem a little soft. Did you do that on purpose? If so what method did you use to acheive that? Overall all they are very cute and she is very photogenic, I can tell she likes being in front of the camera.

cjkriebel · Jul 1, 2008

#3 and #4 are my favorites. she is really cute. You did a good job. I have a six year old and she loves to ham it up too. great job.

DeCall · Jul 1, 2008

MeesterMichael said:
All the shots seem a little soft. Did you do that on purpose? If so what method did you use to acheive that? Overall all they are very cute and she is very photogenic, I can tell she likes being in front of the camera.

It wasn't on purpose and it could be from reducing the size of them, I'm not sure. I used a 50mm 1/8f prime lens, so they should have been sharp. I appreciated the comments though and will have to look at the EXIF file to see where I can improve on them. Yes, she's very photogenic and I need to work with her more.

De

DeCall · Jul 1, 2008

cjkriebel said:
#3 and #4 are my favorites. she is really cute. You did a good job. I have a six year old and she loves to ham it up too. great job.

Thanks for looking and thanks for the nice comments.

DeCall · Jul 2, 2008

Any other comments, critiques, or advice on how I can improve on these kind of shots?

De

DragonHeart · Jul 2, 2008

#3 is my favorite. #1 would have been if her thumb wasn't cut off nor her elbow.

DeCall · Jul 3, 2008

DragonHeart said:
#3 is my favorite. #1 would have been if her thumb wasn't cut off nor her elbow.

Thanks DragonHeart. I will try and not chop off any body parts in the future. I didn't realize how hard these shoots were until I actually took the time to do it. Now I just need to do them again, and again, and again.

Tinstafl · Jul 3, 2008

Ok, number one is too hot on her hands and the board fence. Number two is too soft. Number three is spot on. Nice color exposure and sharpness. It is nicely framed as well. Number four has a blown out upper corner on the right but other than that it is right there with number 3. Nice job and I would jsut keep practicing and get her to do some more modeling. I have a 6 yo grand daughter and am starting to do the same with her. I did have a few years of practice as my dads assistant, he was a wedding photographer.

kellylindseyphotography · Jul 3, 2008

Did run unsharp mask on these? Looks like they need it. (in photoshop- filters- sharpen- unsharp mask)

Also, take care to avoid pop up flash. Its harsh and unflattering.

I think you did a good job at filling the frame and gettign down to her level (which a lot of people forget to do when shooting kids!) , but they could use some negative space in some. Angles, composition, etc. The colors could pop if you post processed them. TFS

Robin · Jul 3, 2008

I don't like her expression in the last one, it looks very awkward and #2 in particular looks soft. Other than that they look really good!

DeCall · Jul 3, 2008

Thanks Tinstafl, Kelly and Robin for the C&C. Kelly, I'm a big fan of your work, so I really appreciate your help. I need to work on my PPing, as well as my lighting. I did not use the pop-up flash, but I was using my SB 800 on the camera. I don't have a way to mount it off camera yet. I will work on the pics that I posted and I also took some more tonight of my other granddaughter. It was dusk and we didn't have much time, so the SB 800 was used again, and more directly, so I'll have to download them to see if any are salvageable.

mmcduffie1 · Jul 5, 2008

Your subject seems happy enough to be there but a few of them seem a bit oof

Early · Jul 6, 2008

Too much cropping on #1, but #2 is perfect. Please don't ask me why.

DeCall · Jul 7, 2008

Again, I appreciate all of your feedback. I did a little more PPing to them and decided to post them again. I have lots to learn about PPing, so any comments on that would be helpful, and appreciated.

De

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