Newborn Session

jlykins · Jan 20, 2009

A few from a newborn session that I did today.

1

2

3

4

schumionbike · Jan 21, 2009

I don't know about others but they look oversharpened to me. I like the pose and the lighting though.

jlykins · Jan 21, 2009

It's probably the compression, I see what you're talking about though. The originals don't look look like that.

twocolor · Jan 21, 2009

I would brighten these up a stop or two. Especially the first two. He seems to get lost in all the black.

The third one is a cute idea, but I want to see more of his face. Prop some towels in the bottom of the little cup, and lay him more on his back, make sure the towels aren't showing of course. That way you get his face, and possibly have his little toes dangling over the other side.

The last one is my fave, but I would photoshop dad's bald spot (he'll love you for it!) it's taking all my attention! What was your lighting on this? It's a tad harsh. The shadows I'm seeing behind dad's head and to the right of his hand, from his glasses, etc., make me think this might be an on camera flash??

Anyway, just my .02!

twocolor · Jan 21, 2009

I hope you don't mind, I played with one of your pics. It says your pics are okay to edit . . .

Anyway, here it is.

jlykins · Jan 21, 2009

Good idea on the towels. He was little fussy and not really able to hold his head up. I did a couple of tweeks to the shots, and yes it was on camera for the last on, Sb800 angled toward the ceiling with a bounce card. Here's the redone shots:

jlykins · Jan 21, 2009

twocolor said:
I hope you don't mind, I played with one of your pics. It says your pics are okay to edit . . .

Anyway, here it is.

Nope don't mind at all. Your modifications look nice. What'd you do?

Big Mike · Jan 21, 2009

Newborns often have funky skin tones...this one is no exception. This is one reason I really like B&W for newborns. The parents think it's 'timeless' but I like to hide the skin tones.

jlykins · Jan 21, 2009

Big Mike said:
Newborns often have funky skin tones...this one is no exception. This is one reason I really like B&W for newborns. The parents think it's 'timeless' but I like to hide the skin tones.

Agreed. they all look like greasy old men... lol. believe me the tones you see here are the tones that he actually had.

twocolor · Jan 21, 2009

I ran a few actions that I've made. They sound pretty intense when they're listed out, thus the reason for making actions!!

I'll try to make sense out of it

1. Duplicate your background layer.
2. Filter>Gaussian Blur @ 9.5-10
3. Set blending mode of your blur layer to Multiply
4. Make a Levels Adjustment Layer and using the middle slider, slide to make your lightness a little more appealing (not all the way, you'll tweak more later)
5. Select you background copy layer
6. Grab your history brush tool, and paint over baby's eyes, mouth, nose, hair, and any other details you want to remain crisp.
7. Flatten these layers.
8. Now under Image>adjustments>levels, make your final tweaking.
This effect is usually used to smooth skin. I use it for my senior girls and my brides. It also makes baby's skin look soft and newbornish.

I also brightened baby's eyes - this is another action I have set up
1. Make a Curves Adjustment Layer and without making any changes, hit enter.
2. Set blending mode of your layer to screen
3. Invert your layer (ctr I)
4. Using your soft edged paint brush, with an opacity of about 35 and a pressure of 30 paint over baby's eyes.

I also used this action to lighten up the texture in the blanket, and lighten baby's face a bit more.

Any Q's??
I'm not sure if I explained that well or not!

I do like your edits a bit more. That last picture of dad feeding the baby is now my favorite!

jlykins · Jan 21, 2009

twocolor said:
I ran a few actions that I've made. They sound pretty intense when they're listed out, thus the reason for making actions!!

I'll try to make sense out of it

1. Duplicate your background layer.
2. Filter>Gaussian Blur @ 9.5-10
3. Set blending mode of your blur layer to Multiply
4. Make a Levels Adjustment Layer and using the middle slider, slide to make your lightness a little more appealing (not all the way, you'll tweak more later)
5. Select you background copy layer
6. Grab your history brush tool, and paint over baby's eyes, mouth, nose, hair, and any other details you want to remain crisp.
7. Flatten these layers.
8. Now under Image>adjustments>levels, make your final tweaking.
This effect is usually used to smooth skin. I use it for my senior girls and my brides. It also makes baby's skin look soft and newbornish.

I also brightened baby's eyes - this is another action I have set up
1. Make a Curves Adjustment Layer and without making any changes, hit enter.
2. Set blending mode of your layer to screen
3. Invert your layer (ctr I)
4. Using your soft edged paint brush, with an opacity of about 35 and a pressure of 30 paint over baby's eyes.

I also used this action to lighten up the texture in the blanket, and lighten baby's face a bit more.

Any Q's??
I'm not sure if I explained that well or not!

I do like your edits a bit more. That last picture of dad feeding the baby is now my favorite!

Very cool! I tried out the steps, and set them as actions as well. I hope you don't mind. This is what I love about this forum, people are willing to share tricks, actions, settings, etc... for others to try. Thanks a million!