Portrait

[Hades]

I'd like you guys to give it all to me here! I need it!

I wanted to take a simple, "normal", portrait picture of my son.

The background was awful (it was taken in a messy room) and so I took that out with Paintshop Pro CS. Its the first time I had tried to do this. I then put in a new background with a bit of a lighting effect.

To be honest, I love this picture. So it works. For me. But, I would like to know how I could have made it better! I see the shadow under his chin and think thats bad.

So your opinions, as ever, would be mostly welcomed. (And thanks! in anticipation! )

 

[deb]

Cute kid!

My only complaint is that the lighting is straight on, is too bright on his face and is too harsh (this is what caused the shadow under his chin).

It looks like you used an on camera flash and didn't get down to eye level with the child before shooting, making the light come at the subject from directly in front of and above him.

If the on camera flash is your only option, try diffusing it with a piece of tissue or cloth. You can also redirect the on camera flash light with a small piece of white cardboard. Another option is to use something like the silver sunshades for a car as a reflector if you don't have a lot of studio equipment.

 

[Hades]

Actually this was taken with my 350D and yes, on board flash. Now I have the 20D and a 580EX and so can direct the flash away, although I would like to invest in a good diffuser to see the difference (and use with macro shots too!)

Thanks for the comments though, much appreciated

 

[Corry]

I agree with what was said about the lighting. As you said, a diffuser would help give more even lighting...and it would be nice if his hair wasn't in so much shadow, too.