Learning to photograph babies.

jwbryson1 · May 25, 2011

Any C/C on this recent photo? Shot at high ISO with no flash. I think it's a bit "orange" but overall not a bad capture. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks. :mrgreen:

Rebekah5280 · May 26, 2011

I agree its a bit orange. I would try fixing the white balance.

The background is a bit distracting, though the blur is nice.

But, you just can't go wrong shooting babies IMO. They are all precious!

Rebekah5280 · May 26, 2011

Oh, and I am not a professional! I just take a lot of pictures of my baby girl, and my sisters baby, and my friend's babies...

Bgagnon127 · May 26, 2011

I think it's cute. I like the fact that the light is coming from behind her to outline her head, but I'd like to see a little fill light on the front of her face too. Cute image though.

dallasimagery · May 27, 2011

White balance is off, lighting is way off and it's not very sharp. In general, always shoot at the very lowest ISO setting you can get by with.

jwbryson1 · Jun 1, 2011

Thanks for the comments. I think I shot this in cloudy WB which probably would be better in flash WB. But I've read (and seen on my own) that baby shots are better when shot without flash. Skin tones are more accurate with no flash. Thoughts?

dallasimagery · Jun 1, 2011

jwbryson1 said:
Thanks for the comments. I think I shot this in cloudy WB which probably would be better in flash WB. But I've read (and seen on my own) that baby shots are better when shot without flash. Skin tones are more accurate with no flash. Thoughts?

Completely false. Has nothing to do with anything...

Shoot raw and adjust your white balance using a custom wb card - in consistentl ighting like flash, you'll be spot on every time and it'l be easy to do to 500+ images

Aye-non Oh-non Imus · Jun 1, 2011

jwbryson1 said:
....... But I've read (and seen on my own) that baby shots are better when shot without flash. Skin tones are more accurate with no flash. Thoughts?

Even the built-in flash can render nice lighting if used properly and in the right conditions. You may want to use more reliable sources for information.

The_Traveler · Jun 9, 2011

jwbryson1 said:
I think it's a bit "orange" but overall not a bad capture.

It is way UNDEREXPOSED. and the wb is off.
why use cloudy wb?
This looks like a mixed light situation, typically horrible for decent color reproduction.
The baby isn't moving, set the ISO a bit higher and exposure for the face to insure that you get that.

jwbryson1 · Jun 9, 2011

@Traveler - Interesting change to the shot, but I think she looks a bit green now. I prefer the original shot, but think it still needs some work.

Is the lighting considered to be completely "off" on this shot if her entire front facing side is in the shadows but the background is lit? :meh:

The_Traveler · Jun 9, 2011

jwbryson1 said:
@Traveler - Interesting change to the shot, but I think she looks a bit green now. I prefer the original shot, but think it still needs some work.

Is the lighting considered to be completely "off" on this shot if her entire front facing side is in the shadows but the background is lit? :meh:

She does look a bit green but If she doesn't look very orange on your screen, I'm pretty certain your screen is off

One of the major problems with indoor lights is that different bulbs put out different spectra, not just color temperature but different shapes. That makes it difficult if not impossible to color correct them for a picture. Your brain adjusts but the camera can't.
Second, any area that is in the shadows, if lightened in post processing will show more color noise. This is exacerbated by increased iso which has a tendency for more noise anyway.
Third, the totally shadowed side has none of the micro-shadows that provide detail and make skin look alive.

So, to get decent pictures of a baby's skin in mixed lighting is tough enough and the shooter needs to get enough light on the baby's skin to get a good exposure, caught in raw to allow playing with the WB as much as possible.

jwbryson1 said:
Is the lighting considered to be completely "off" on this shot if her entire front facing side is in the shadows but the background is lit? :meh:

The shooter should worry about getting good lighting on the center of interest and let the background do what the background will.