All Dressed Up!

CowgirlMama · Nov 12, 2012

It's been a couple months since I did pictures of my two year old, besides the regular candids, so I dressed him up and brought him out for pictures. The wind picked up suddenly, so I ended up taking pictures for a total of 15 minutes. Oops. But I got some I really like in that time. It was fairly late in the evening, so I was able to try using my flash for outdoor pictures, without having to find shade in all the open spaces. This is basically my first time with outdoor flash.

revenater · Nov 13, 2012

#2 is my favorite. I love his pose I also like the lighting.

AlexanderB · Nov 13, 2012

Seriously dressed! All three are nice.

tirediron · Nov 13, 2012

A couple of thoughts; whether the subject is 2, 22, or a cockatoo, shooting at their eye-level is almost always the best perspective. Your flash is a bit harsh; this is something that could be overcome with a diffuser, even a piece of tissue-paper would help to reduce the "hot". Lastly, and most importantly, IMO, is your choice of background. The alternating bright and dark of the fence is visually very jarring, and as the eye is naturally drawn to bright, the fence is actually competing for attention with the subject.

CowgirlMama · Nov 13, 2012

I'll try the tissue paper. I couldn't figure out how to soften it.

MLeeK · Nov 13, 2012

His expressions and exuberance are AWESOME! He totally shines through in these!

A little - compensation on the flash and a little softening would definitely help, but these are damn adorable! He's an awesome practice subject to have! Problem is they usually grow out of it and start running when you pull the camera out after a few years of this.

cannpope · Nov 13, 2012

You are EXTREMELY lucky to have a child (especially a toddler boy) that lets you take his picture and does it with a SMILE ON HIS FACE!!! My son at that age would tell me he was tired of the camera and run the other way...really. They all three look hot to me. Back down on the flash like the others have suggested and they would be better. Very cute little guy!

Derrel · Nov 13, 2012

#2 IS SUPER-CUTE!!! He looks like such a little,tiny man! Yeah...a bit of diffusion on the flash would help. Some people use home-made craft foam diffuser/bouncers with decent results, especially at close ranges. Heck, even the Sto-Fen diffuser "cap" thingie works okay at CLOSE ranges. I dunno though...if these were converted to B&W, the hard light would not be so bad...and in fact, the shadows on the third shot are close to acceptable...I think today we have grown accustomed to very SOFT, almost shadowless lighting on flash shots...I'm not so sure that that is always a good thing. Like I said, shot #3 is pretty close to being,well, quite acceptable....and I am pretty sure that if it were to be converted from color to B&W, that the degree of shadows, and the catchlights, would look quite good!

CowgirlMama · Nov 13, 2012

cannpope said:
You are EXTREMELY lucky to have a child (especially a toddler boy) that lets you take his picture and does it with a SMILE ON HIS FACE!!! My son at that age would tell me he was tired of the camera and run the other way...really. They all three look hot to me. Back down on the flash like the others have suggested and they would be better. Very cute little guy!

I have to catch him at JUST the right moment.

That day, I had my mom with me doing ridiculous things behind me, so he was laughing through most of it.

I'm definitely going to experiment on flash. I couldn't figure out why it was SOOO hot on some shots and didn't have materials to experiment (or time, considering the subject) on the spot. If I don't have a warm day soon, I'll experiment inside. The background won't be perfect, but it will let me play with my flash.

I did actually convert one shot to black and white. I can try converting these and come back with them in a bit. I'm using another from that day for Christmas cards, more for personality than anything.

My family will love it, technically perfect or not.

slow231 · Nov 13, 2012

background doesn't bother me, especially in something like #2. the kid completely steals the focus. I actually didn't notice it in the least until i read tirediron's comment. The flash is hot, but you did a great job at capturing some attitude and expressions. he looks like a little man. don't go b+w, you got all this awesome color in his eyes, hair, cheeks, and tie. why would you want to lose that? the fence is probably also going to pop out more if you go b+w.