C&C please... and no freaky eyes this time... (child photos)

~justsarah~

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Okay... still learning here. Last time it was rough, but I'm still trying! I got better feedback here than anywhere, so hopefully you guys can come through for me again. :)

I do appreciate any kind of feedback - even on the off chance someone thinks they look okay. :lol:

These are some of the pics I took for a friend.... 4 month old twin girls.


1.
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2.
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3.
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And if it is helpful for critiquing...
nikon d40, iso 200 with flash
 
I'm a little out of it, but: #1 got a (vocalized, I'm almost ashamed to admit) "Nawwwww, it's a baaaabyyy." And I really, really, REALLY don't like babies. So, well done. Very cute. (Did I mention I really don't like babies? Calling one "cute" just feels wrong. :lol: )
 
Was this onboard flash? Were you diffusing it through anything? If onboard flash, you really need to find something to diffuse through. The lighting feels a little harsh (though not as bad as a lot I've seen). The problem with onboard flash is that the lighting often comes back flat as it's not natural to have the light coming from the exact same source as your point of view.

These are getting better though. A little washed out, but not horrible. You still need to do a little reading on composition as these would have been better if framed a little different.
 
If you're using a hot shoe flash/Speedlite take a look at this web site. It's a good source of information on how to use on-camera flash so it looks like on-camera flash wasn't used.
 
Yep, it's pretty clear the flash was on the camera. The catchlights and hard shadow under the chin are the tell. Looks like youare using some type of a modifier though because the shadows have been softened a little.

It's easily seen in the other images as well.

As NateS mentioned the light just gets flat on their faces because the are no shadows at all to model and give them depth.

An even bigger light source would go a long way to making your light even better. A light stand, umbrella, and umbrella mount don't cost to much ($50) and are easily portable.

Light stand
Umbrella mount
Convertible umbrella

Just use a speedlight. You will need some way to trigger the speedlight off the camera. Both Nikon and Canon have a wireless system built into many of their cameras just for that purpose.
 
Yep, it's pretty clear the flash was on the camera. The catchlights and hard shadow under the chin are the tell. Looks like youare using some type of a modifier though because the shadows have been softened a little.

It's easily seen in the other images as well.

As NateS mentioned the light just gets flat on their faces because the are no shadows at all to model and give them depth.

An even bigger light source would go a long way to making your light even better. A light stand, umbrella, and umbrella mount don't cost to much ($50) and are easily portable.

Light stand
Umbrella mount
Convertible umbrella

Just use a speedlight. You will need some way to trigger the speedlight off the camera. Both Nikon and Canon have a wireless system built into many of their cameras just for that purpose.

Unfortunately it's only the D70(s), D80, D90 and on up that have the Commander mode built in. She has the D40 so she'll need to pick up either some cheap ebay triggers, Pocket Wizards, or an SU-800 to go with an SB-600. I'd personally recommend the SU-800 and an SB-600 as Nikon's CLS is a pretty kick butt system that is fairly easy to learn.
 
Thanks for the advice on lighting. I see what you mean. I will look into the different products you all mentioned. I do struggle with the lighting stuff and need to learn more about it all.

Composition is really hard with infants... they just move around so much... and I cropped out Mom/Dad's hands from several pictures. I was able to give her 30 out of the 300 that I took. But, it was good experience to actually DO it, rather than just read about it, and see what the final products looked like, what I could improve on, etc.

Thanks again for the C&C. Any more is welcome! :)
 
Regarding triggers, the Cactus V4's are built pretty darn well. Much better than their V2 predecessors for sure. You might want to consider those. A transmitter and receiver would be a heck of a lot cheaper than PocketWizards or an SB-800.
 
Yes, I was just looking up the sb-800 and am fairly certain I'd get a big fat NO from the hubster.

Thanks for some other alternatives to that! :)
 
I prefer outdoor children's photography... any specific recommendations for that as far as lighting/flash/triggers/etc?
 
i'm no good at these...too much of a sucker for the babies...i will say the lighting seems just a little harsh...but once again my first reaction was "awww....wook at thwere wittle faces..."
 
They look (literally) like dolls.


"Bad lighting" aside, I like them.


(doesn't look that bad to me...but everyone else seems to see something.)
 
(doesn't look that bad to me...but everyone else seems to see something.)
As KmH mentioned, the catch lights (pretty much dead center), the harsh shadows under the chin(s) and another tell for me is the dot on the end of their nose(s).

They are adorable (and I'm not much of a baby picture kinda guy). Just need to figure out your lighting and you're golden.
 

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