My latest portraits

Big Mike · Aug 28, 2007

These are from my latest portrait shoot with my 'portable studio'...what do you think? C&C welcome. I'm a little biased, as this is my Sister/Niece & Nephew.

#1

#2

#3

#4

Kanikula · Aug 28, 2007

LOVE the second one!! What a cheeky little face!

Christie Photo · Aug 28, 2007

Man, that little guy is a hulk... especially compared to his sis!

I'm wishing for a longer focal length on the first ones. I'm getting the feeling his melon isn't really so big.

I LOVE the one of your sis! I wish her left hand was posed differently somehow... I don't know HOW, but that's my knit pick.

Good stuff, Mike!

-Pete

NJMAN · Aug 28, 2007

Excellent work Mike! The first 2 are my favorites because of his expressions. What a happy little (relative term here) guy.

My only crit is with the wide angle in #3. It seems to be giving them "big feet syndrome", especially with your niece. Also, this may be very minor, but it looks to me in #2 as if his forehead is more in focus than his eyes. I would try to sharpen up the eyes just a touch more in this one.

What did you use for lighting in each setting?

Great shots overall.

NJ

Big Mike · Aug 28, 2007

Thanks for the comments.

I would have liked to go a bit longer, I was in their living room and I was already back against the wall (while laying of the floor). I guess I could have framed a bit closer as well.

He does have a huge head, that's not an illusion. His sister has more than a year on him, and they are just about the same weight. Once he starts crawling & walking, he should thin out...but ya, he is a little hulk.

My only crit is with the wide angle in #3. It seems to be giving them "big feet syndrome", especially with your niece.

Good point. I usually like to be level with them when shooting, but it may have helped if I moved up a little and shot down, so that their feet are not so close to the camera. Really, I was more concerned about keeping them in that sitting position...and the position of their feet didn't occur to me.
Also, I wish he wasn't pointing at himself. I have a few shots of this pose (where he isn't' pointing) but the facial expressions are not as good.

I LOVE the one of your sis! I wish her left hand was posed differently somehow... I don't know HOW, but that's my knit pick.

Hands are always tricky aren't they? I agree, it could be better but, exactly how to position them is harder than it sounds. Hopefully the rest of the image will carry the weaknesses.

Big Mike · Aug 28, 2007

What did you use for lighting in each setting?

For all of them, I have a softbox to camera right. I wish I could have gotten it lower for the first two (or I should have put him up on a table). That was my main light. My fill light was a bounce umbrella just behind and to the left of the camera. I had a background light with a honeycomb grid, off to the left, pointed at the backdrop. I was constrained by the space, I would have liked to place the background light so that it was more even on the backdrop...(and not lighting them up, as in #3).

In #4, I obviously switch backdrops and changed the background light. I was trying to use it as a kicker light (hitting the back of them, to give separation) but it didn't quite work well in this one. I have a few others where it works better, but the direction is still a bit too sideways, rather than behind them...again, a limitation of the space. I think I need a studio

DeepSpring · Aug 28, 2007

The expressions you got on the first two especially are priceless but they all look great. I like how you have the lighting set up for the last one and the others just seem to be pretty good considering your tight space.

CrazyAva · Aug 28, 2007

OMG #2 is great! Love that expression and that one little tooth peeking through. So stinkin cute. Great job on lighting and stuff on all of these, but that's the one that really stands out because of the expression :lol:

NJMAN · Aug 28, 2007

Big Mike said:
I had a background light with a honeycomb grid, off to the left, pointed at the backdrop.

Thanks for the info Mike. 2 more questions, what did you use for a background light and did you control it all with a pocket wizard?

I think I need a studio

Me too!

Seven7109 · Aug 28, 2007

REALLY nice photos !!!

PNA · Aug 28, 2007

Really fine shots.....wonderful expressions!

Big Mike · Aug 29, 2007

Thanks for the info Mike. 2 more questions, what did you use for a background light and did you control it all with a pocket wizard?

All three lights are Alienbees. The Key and the fill are B800 and the background light is a B400.

I use a cheap radio trigger, just like THIS. It's essentially like a pocket wizard but not nearly as reliable etc.

I put the transmitter on the camera and the receiver plugs into one of the lights. Alienbees, like most other studio strobes, have a built in optical trigger...so that when one light is fired, the rest of them also fire. So even before I had the radio trigger, I would just plug into the main light with a long cord and the background light would still fire 'wirelessly'