My Son - CnC on lighting/editing please

[max3k]

Would like some tips on how to make this better.

EXIF ISO100 F2.8 50mm. 1/200sec.

Had 2 halogens placed on either side and used onboard flash to blow out the background. Edited in lightroom

 

[er111a]

that looks very good I really like the light

 

[JasonLambert]

The hair and eyes look great. Not crazy about the skin... Think it needs a little contrast. Just looks a little blown out to me.

 

[Ryan L]

Do you want the ears OOF? Your DOF may be a little too shallow. I would go 5.6 and see how it looks. Can you post the color of this?

 

[xstepone]

i LOVE this.
i love everything about this.
i find that the lighting is a little blown out, but i think it gives it a good look.

 

[sleist]

First off - focus is spot on. Well done. Technically very good.

Now, this is very subjective, but in my opinion the B&W renditioon is very harsh and may be why jason commented abou the skin. I might have gone witha dark background which might have contrasted less with the skintones on the face.

I might have gone with color too over B&W, but I don't know what the color version looked like.

Nicely done though.

 

[max3k]

Thanks everyone. I'll post up the color version in a few. I am wanting to get a black background for sure, just havent found one yet. I just got a sweet speedotron complete lighting system from my father in law that I will be using soon. For the shot above I just used 2 Walmart 500W halogens on either side of him.

 

[max3k]

The color version.

 

[AnaBo]

I too would have liked to see the ears in focus, but I have to say you did a darn good job. And by far prefer it in B&W. You managed the lighting beautifully

 

[max3k]

the only thing that bugs me about this shot is the shadow under his right eye...maybe its ok being there...

 

[Derrel]

I agree with your reservations about the shadow under the eye--that shadow does not look very good in the color version, and the shadow looks sub-par. It is being caused by the one light that is low and to the right. We can see the reflection of that light in his eyes. In the B&W version, the shadow is not really visible, and I prefer the B&W shot. The lighting effect is an odd sort of crisp, yet flat lighting. Flat, in the sense that the two lights are causing almost no shadows over most of the face, and crisp in the sense that the lighting is relatively a small light source in relation to the boy, and so the lighting is not soft, or diffused, but what I refer to as "crisp".

 

[max3k]

yup, you nailed it...one light was down and to the right.....Seeing how I used 2 $10 walmart lights to get it...im pretty happy with it overall. but the strobes are coming =)