Couple of portraits of my 7 month old. C&C Please!

[BTilson]

1)

2)

C&C is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[bace]

First one is cute.

Second one it shows you've got a sheet draped on a hard wood floor.

I would suggest putting some cushions or pillows underneath the sheet. Or maybe putting the setup on a couch.

Just a thought.

 

[BTilson]

Thanks for the input. You're close, it's a big piece of fabric (not technically a sheet) hanging off of our entertainment center. Best I can do with what I've got. What do you think putting pillows or something similar under it would add to the shot?

You should see my lighting setup. Two Quantaray MS-1 ($20 optical slaves) diffused with milk jugs! Works pretty well for someone on an extreme budget, like myself.

 

[manaheim]

Awful cute kid. The light seems a little harsh to me for some reason... not a ton, but some.

I think the framing on the first one could use some more interest... dead center is always kind of plain.

Personally, I hate seeing pictures of kids with pacifiers in their mouths... personal taste. I want to see him, and the pacifier is really distracting.

Just my opinions.

 

[manaheim]

Looking again... god he's cute. The look on his face when he's looking at his stuffed toy is priceless.

BTW, and this may be a sensitive topic so forgive me if so... you might want to CONSIDER cloning out his birthmark or whatever is on his face there. Depends on your perspective on what you want the shots to say and be about, but it is something to consider.

 

[BTilson]

I actually tried to do that, but couldn't get it to look natural enough. It's not a birthmark technically, but he was born with it. It's just a rough patch of dry skin. We talked to the doc about it, and he said it was fairly common, and nothing to worry about, and that it should clear up eventually. *shrug*

That is a good point about the pacifier. I'll definitely try some more without it.

Thanks for the input!

 

[manaheim]

I actually tried to do that, but couldn't get it to look natural enough.

ooo... that's a challenge if I ever heard one. How's this?

What I did...

1. Used clone tool to do a gross replacement of skin tone from surrounding areas.
2. Used a healing brush by clicking occasional spot areas (single click, not drag) to even the colors out a bit.
3. Used selective blurring to make it look a bit more natural.

It's not perfect, but I'm going off a smaller image and this was a 2-3 minute try. With a bit of work, you can probably get it perfect.

It's not a birthmark technically, but he was born with it. It's just a rough patch of dry skin. We talked to the doc about it, and he said it was fairly common, and nothing to worry about, and that it should clear up eventually. *shrug*

Yeah, both of my kids had various spots and rashes and stuff. Lots of kids have them and most kids have them fade away in time.

That is a good point about the pacifier. I'll definitely try some more without it.

Thanks for the input!

My pleasure!

 

[Dionysus]

my newest daughter is suffering from a bad case of cradle cap and some minor baby acne...no big deal.

anyway, i agree about the pacifier. It distracts so much from his obviously cute face.

for my taste on #2 the light seems kind of harsh on the right, but nothing that can't be fixed. awesome job though, and way cute kid, you should be proud.

 

[BTilson]

Hey Chris, that looks really good! Much better than what I got. I'll give it another try for sure. Thanks for the input everyone.

 

[stsinner]

I think the framing on the first one could use some more interest... dead center is always kind of plain.

Aren't closeup portraits always centered?

 

[manaheim]

Aren't closeup portraits always centered?

No, not really. Certainly see them but the off-center ones tend to be kinda cool.

 

[stsinner]

I thought that they weren't centered only of the subject was looking to one side or another of the camera and you'd leave a little bit of lead space.. But I'm new and have never done one. I'm just looking for clarification for when I start photographing my daughters.

 

[92sir]

ignore my post lol my monitor is totally messed up for calibration

 

[gbug46]

I know the pacifier distracts, but I think it will make a great memory! But, then again, I love babies with paci's! Either way, he's a CUTIE!

I also thought it might be good to crop a little of the sheet from the top of the pic, but didn't want to crop out your frame/logo.



Here's my try:

 

[BTilson]

That looks fantastic. Very natural looking. If he wasn't my boy, I don't think I'd ever have any idea that something had been edited out. I love this forum!

Thanks everyone. I'm going to try some more of these again soon.