Ariana and Zoe Part Two

Corry · Oct 8, 2005

A few more from my shoot today.

Zoe did a lot of this today... :lol:

Alison · Oct 8, 2005

First and foremost it looks like you had fun, as did the girls and that's essential in portrait photography!

You've mentioned that lighting has been a challenge, and I'm not quite sure what your set up is. Overall the images are well exposed but a little flat for my taste. Using a main light and then a fill (which can be done by setinng up a reflector or adjusting the fill light so that it's further from the subject or adjusting the brightness if you can.

I'd also watch out for cropping. The props you have are cute, but for instance in the first one the bench is cut off on one side and a bit too much head room in my opinion.

Although it seems nitpicky, also watch your backdrop for wrinkles. Gentle folds in the fabric in the back aren't so bad, but it takes away from the photo when it's on the seated area. I use two clamps to pull the background taught to help avoid this. Also, consider moving your subject further from the backdrop to help blur it a bit, or use a smaller f-stop to get greater DOF.

I love that their eyes stand out so much, they are beautiful and help draw the viewer in. My biggest suggestion is to keep practicing with the lighting and you'll get there. Like I said, the girls are relaxed and having fun and after that's it's down to technical details which will come in time.

Corry · Oct 8, 2005

Yeah...the problem I was having with cropping on many of them is, I'm keeping the dimensions set for 4x6 for printing. I'm not happy with some of the cropping either, but I'm not sure what else to do. I was trying to use mostly natural lighting from the window, but I also had my onboard flash, diffused with a tissue I have taped over it.

And two peices of foam board on each side of where I was standing, that served as my reflectors.

ksmattfish · Oct 8, 2005

core_17 said:
I was trying to use mostly natural lighting from the window, but I also had my onboard flash, diffused with a tissue I have taped over it. And two peices of foam board on each side of where I was standing, that served as my reflectors.

I'd set this up so that the window lighting was coming from one side of the subject. I'd put the 2 pieces of foam board together to make 1 big reflector, and put it on the other side of the subject (as close as I can get it without being in the photos). I probably wouldn't use a flash at the camera at all, unless it was for catch lights, and for that I'd want some sort of big softbox or umbrella. If the window light is too harsh diffuse it with white cloth or paper.

I agree with Alison that your subjects need to be further from the backdrop; 3 to 4 feet at the minimum, more distance would be better. It may seem like you don't have enough backdrop, but when you compose nice and tight, you'll find that you do.

Corry · Oct 8, 2005

In a lot of the pictures they were about 5 feet from the backdrop...not all of them, because they were moving around, and I during a lot of the time I was basically shooting them while they ran around playing.

Corry · Oct 10, 2005

Anyone else have any comments?

Alison · Oct 10, 2005

What lens were you using and what was your f-stop? Kids are hard because they move so much, but if you shoot in manual or aperature priority you can blur the background a bit more.

Corry · Oct 10, 2005

I was using the kit lense...18-55? Can't remember, and I'm not at home so I can't check. I think I kept the aperature around 6 or so. I did realize some things I could have done to make this better....I really wish I would have used my boyfriends lens (80-300, I think) cuz I've always gotten awesome dof with it, and they are usually crystal clear. I didn't use the 50mm because they we moving around so much, it would have been very difficult to use.

ShutteredEye · Oct 10, 2005

Corry:

Do you mind if I edit?

There's a lot of post processing that could be done here.

Corry · Oct 10, 2005

mountainlander said:
Corry:

Do you mind if I edit?

There's a lot of post processing that could be done here.

I don't mind. Go ahead.

ShutteredEye · Oct 10, 2005

Just a quick shot through PS. I would have taken a little more time if they were for display.

Corry · Oct 10, 2005

Mountainlander...

after looking at my original, it could use a bit of saturation and contrast, but I think your edit is overdoing it a tad!

ShutteredEye · Oct 10, 2005

core_17 said:
Mountainlander...

after looking at my original, it could use a bit of saturation and contrast, but I think your edit is overdoing it a tad!

yeah, i was on the laptop. That is some orange shirt!! LOL

michelejo · Oct 10, 2005

I really love #s 4 and 5. To me, they really capture a sparkle in each of them. If these were mine, I would probably remove the shadow on the left of the girl in #5 and remove the upper parts of the step-ladder in #4, just leaving the part she's leaning on. Take it all with a grain of salt, as I'm new, LOL! Are they your girls? They're very pretty!

Corry · Oct 11, 2005

michelejo said:
I really love #s 4 and 5. To me, they really capture a sparkle in each of them. If these were mine, I would probably remove the shadow on the left of the girl in #5 and remove the upper parts of the step-ladder in #4, just leaving the part she's leaning on. Take it all with a grain of salt, as I'm new, LOL! Are they your girls? They're very pretty!

Nope, not mine. They are a co-worker's neices.