My first child shoot in my studio

[Rebekah5280]

Its well worth the money to buy another light! I started out with one light and tried to layer mask, select levels and increase white etc... but its hard around the edges, and especially hard around the hair, as tirediron mentioned. Even buying a cheap flash that has slave mode so it fires when your main light fires will save you a lot of time and frustration. You can set it directly behind your subject on the floor pointing toward your background, so you don't really even need an extra stand or diffuser.

 

[tirediron]

Its well work the money to buy another light! I started out with one light and tried to layer mask, select levels and increase white etc... but its hard around the edges, and especially hard around the hair, as tirediron mentioned. Even buying a cheap flash that has slave mode so it fires when your main light fires will save you a lot of time and frustration.

and of course, you can just never have too many lights!

 

[Derrel]

#1. The lighting pattern here seems odd...the face is dark, and you seem to have light coming in from left and right. The light appears dull, and low in contrast, and simply unappealing for a child's portrait. This lighting creates slightly somber, almost sad feelings, and I find this photo not to my liking in any way. #1, and #2 both share a slightly "cold" white balance.

#3, #4. Here you've created a lighter, brighter lighting set-up, with nice catchlights in the eyes, and the overall mood is upbeat, happy, light, and positive. #3 has a decidedly warmer white balance than shots 1 and 2, and I think it looks better.

More depth of field would be nice. 1 and 3 appear to have slightly too-shallow DOF.

Keep working on your craft, and these sessions will continue to go better, and results will be better. For a first effort, I think these are better than many people might turn in. Shots #1 and #2 could be improved with warmer white balance and a bit more "sparkle" added in post-processing.