Photographed My Niece... Comments and Critiques?!

[D-B-J]

My sister has been requesting photo's, so this weekend when they were over we set up a shoot. I will say that baby's are impressively tough to photograph. My sister was holding her and fixing her outfit, my mother was making sure she didn't fall over when she wasn't being held, my sisters friend was using toys to keep her attention to me, and then myself photographing. She didn't cry too much, and we ended up with about 20 minutes of shoot time, with maybe 5 of that being legit photo-shooting.

Definitely my favorite from the shoot:
Tilted by f_one_eight, on Flickr



And this one is just "her." She's always pulling up her shirts and munching on them, haha.
Belly Belly by f_one_eight, on Flickr

Jake

 

[tirediron]

You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din! Not bad; #2 has sort of an awkward crop, and both are slightly under-exposed/blue, but nothing that couldn't be cured easily in post

 

[KmH]

Like your bridge photo the other day, it has a distinct blue color cast.

I used Camera Raw and it's WB dropper and clicked the dropper on a white stripe on the child's shirt. I did no other edits.

 

[D-B-J]

Like your bridge photo the other day, it has a distinct blue color cast.

I used Camera Raw and it's WB dropper and clicked the dropper on a white stripe on the child's shirt. I did no other edits.

Maybe I need to calibrate my monitor. Or maybe, I think I have a tendency to give my photo's a slight blue cast because I like how they look. But I do agree that your edit fixed the blue-ness of her skin.

Jake

 

[robbins.photo]

Shot #2.. oh ya.. I know that face. That's the same face they all make, right before they engage in an act of bioterrorism. Worse yet when you send in the hazmat team, they generally resort to germ warfare while your trying to clean up the toxic spill.

Dangerous little blighters. That's why I bought telephoto, right there.. lol.

 

[D-B-J]

You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din! Not bad; #2 has sort of an awkward crop, and both are slightly under-exposed/blue, but nothing that couldn't be cured easily in post

The crop isn't ideal, I agree. She was so fidgety that this is the only one I had of her in this pose. As a photo it's technically imperfect, but it sums her up so well I decided to add it.

Jake

 

[D-B-J]

Edited original post to reflect a slight warming of each photo as well as a .25 exposure bump.

Jake

 

[D-B-J]

Shot #2.. oh ya.. I know that face. That's the same face they all make, right before they engage in an act of bioterrorism. Worse yet when you send in the hazmat team, they generally resort to germ warfare while your trying to clean up the toxic spill.

Dangerous little blighters. That's why I bought telephoto, right there.. lol.

I used the 85 1.8G for her, and it worked like a charm :thumbup:

Jake

 

[Braineack]

how did you light it? a umbrella for main on the right and a fill/reflector of sorts on camera axis to the left?

 

[frommrstomommy]

oh my gosh the squish! she's adorable. I like #1.. 2 is a bit awkward as mentioned.

 

[D-B-J]

how did you light it? a umbrella for main on the right and a fill/reflector of sorts on camera axis to the left?

46" Photek softlighter as main w/ SB700 inside. That's it.

Jake

 

[Braineack]

cool, thanks. How do you like those reflected umbrellas? would you say they are like in-between the directional light of a softbox and a shoot-though umbrella that scatters?

 

[D-B-J]

cool, thanks. How do you like those reflected umbrellas? would you say they are like in-between the directional light of a softbox and a shoot-though umbrella that scatters?

I've never used a softbox ( I bought these in lieu of), but I love them. Soft, beautiful light. simple to use. cheap.

Jake

 

[Derrel]

#1 is a really adorable baby shot. Cute baby, cute outfit, cute pose. I do not mind the slightly cool look of the original...reminds me of Ektachrome 64...cooler skin tones seem appropriate with the blue blanket she's posed on, and the red white and blue, and the baby blue eyes. I think the edits above went way too overboard on warmth, and on red...wayyyy over-emphasizing the red stripes, and stealing attention from the baby's delicate skin.

Baby skin changes color and is highly,highly susceptible to changes as the baby gets warm or cool....blotchiness, color flushes, color pallidness, it's all a part of real baby life. I think the original looks 100% believable as far as a cool, open shade look. In the original, the baby's eyes were blue, and the whites of her eyes were white, and the reds were there, but not clownish. The revised edit makes the skin look ruddy, which would be fine on an adult, but looks doctored on this baby, and the reds are just ridiculously vibrant.

You showed us an Ektachrome 64 Professional shot, and it has been doctored to look like it was shot on Fuji Velvia. One looks classic, the other one looks "mid-1980's".

 

[Braineack]

i agree, i don't like the skin tone on the edit.