Some fall and some birthday shots

[jowensphoto]

C&C if you like.

 

[mommyof4qteez]

The last two are my fav

 

[jowensphoto]

Thank you I love the first and last... the last one makes me laugh. I love her little mullet in the first lol

 

[Derrel]

Very cute! This is a classic First Birthday shot! The faded processing look is nicely-done,and is very popular these days, but I think it could also look good in full,glorious RGB color as well. This shot could stand on its own with any of a dozen different processing approaches. I like the way there's just a little bit of the birthday hat showing!!! All of it is not needed...your edge is great--it shows that elastic band, and JUST enough hat base! Very subtle!

 

[jowensphoto]

Thanks, Derrel (yep, spelled it correctly!)!

Your right about the processing, I tried several different ways but I really love this look. Really glad it doesn't seem to be overdone. I have a habit of shooting really tight and like to fill the frame, guess it works sometimes! I wish I'd not chopped her fingers at the bottom, but it's not totally distracting.

 

[jowensphoto]

Here's another from the birthday party. I am really working to learn bounce flash to better my "on-location" shoots.

 

[Derrel]

Thanks, Derrel (yep, spelled it correctly!)!

Your right about the processing, I tried several different ways but I really love this look. Really glad it doesn't seem to be overdone. I have a habit of shooting really tight and like to fill the frame, guess it works sometimes! I wish I'd not chopped her fingers at the bottom, but it's not totally distracting.

One of my fine art photography professors, Professor J.T. Kirk (for real), taught us that this style of composition is called "as in a painting". That is a style in which the subject touches at least three sides of the frame, or at the very least, comes very close to the edges. In other words, the subject almost TOTALLY FILLS the compositional area. So, you see, you are actually working within a well-understood "type" of composing, and one that has been used for literally centuries. And you are totally correct..the hand being cropped at the edge of the frame is NOT even remotely a distraction in this photo...it's totally,utterly a non-factor.

What your composition does in this instance is to focus our attention very closely on the baby's face, and the details are all very subtly implied: the granite countertop...the matching birthday hat in the background echoes the one she has on...the baby's head shown against the countertop height suggests "high chair"...the entire background is all subtly shown...we do not need to be SHOWN the background, we can almost intuit a lot by the subtle clues...the BABY is shown large, in the entire compositional space in the "as in a painting" style of framing.

 

[jowensphoto]

Good info, Derrel. I'm really interested to research that type of composition more... perhaps my journey to find "personal style" could benefit. Thanks again