Cheetah Girl fun on a quiet morning

divamum

C&C always welcomed.

Been a while since I posted any of the offspring - in fact, been a while since I took any people pictures - no wonder I've been feeling bereft!

In any case....

Big changes this year - middle school started last week (remarkably smooth transition, I'm happy to say) but plus ca change, plus ca reste .... :rofl

She first latched on to the cheetah kitty ears when she wore them for Halloween in 2nd grade and never took them off again, adding plenty of complementary garments and trinkets en route (see avatar for details!). Even now that they've been (forcibly) retired, she's stuck to her theme. She asked for the hat when we were doing the all-important "New Clothes for Middle School" shopping, and given that I made her give up the ears hairband, how could I refuse? She paid for the cheetah-print Converse herself.....

When she came down the stairs in this outfit this morning, I simply HAD to grab the camera before we headed out.....


1.



2. Yes, Cheetah print skirt, hat AND shoes.... (did I boost it too much? Looking at it here, the blown areas bother me more than they did while I was processing.....)


3. I had some MAJOR problems with flare which, sadly, I didn't realise while I was shooting - I didn't think I was pointed anywehre near the sun, yet almost the entire series (with both lenses) had a haze over them and you can clearly see it in this one despite my choosing processing to minimize it. What're the "rules" for flare (avoiding it and/or using it to one's advantage?)


4. Yeah, I know, it's soft, but I'm hoping I can sell that as "artistic use of focal point" rather than "incompetent" (ok, so maybe not. But I like it!). And oh boy does this look make me worry for the future.... :rofl

adbsgicom

Cute pix for the first day of school!! My first reaction to the second one was that I didn't like the processing, but when I scrolled back a second or third time, I liked it much more. The blown background didn't bug me. Couldn't get to the point of artistic use of POF on the last one, but its a sweet picture and very much worth keeping. I like the 3rd one a lot, it's really my favorite in the group. The blur from the flare isn't bugging me since her face is so sweet.

Nice set, and enjoy having a middle-schooler... I have one more year...

Scott_Quier

For me it's #1 and #3 FTW - lot's of personality there.

#2 not so flattering.

The last one isn't working for me ... for the reason you mention.

VayCayMom

Your time to prepare to worry is very short! She's got style and personality galore, look out !

sweet caroline

I'm loving that first shot. The smile is real, and her hair looks very cool the way it's framing her face under that hat. From the title, I knew it would be your daughter, even before
I saw that you were the poster!

divamum

adbsgicom wrote:

Cute pix for the first day of school!! My first reaction to the second one was that I didn't like the processing, but when I scrolled back a second or third time, I liked it much more. The blown background didn't bug me. Couldn't get to the point of artistic use of POF on the last one, but its a sweet picture and very much worth keeping. I like the 3rd one a lot, it's really my favorite in the group. The blur from the flare isn't bugging me since her face is so sweet.

Nice set, and enjoy having a middle-schooler... I have one more year...

One more year before middle school, or before high school?

Thanks for the feedback!!

divamum

Scott_Quier wrote:

For me it's #1 and #3 FTW - lot's of personality there.

#2 not so flattering.

The last one isn't working for me ... for the reason you mention.

Yeah, I know... I keep seeing something in it, I just can't figure out what.
Thanks for the comments!!

divamum

VayCayMom wrote:

Your time to prepare to worry is very short! She's got style and personality galore, look out !

Yeah, she's definitely her own girl... Thanks for the comments!

divamum

sweet caroline wrote:

I'm loving that first shot. The smile is real, and her hair looks very cool the way it's framing her face under that hat. From the title, I knew it would be your daughter, even before
I saw that you were the poster!

Heeeheeeee! Yes, she IS known as the Girl With Cheetah Print (some friends even brought her back a pair of mouse ears as a gift from Disney... in cheetah print )

#1 was actually the first shot of the day, on the other side of the house (thus no flare) and I like that one too. Thanks!

adbsgicom

divamum wrote:

One more year before middle school, or before high school?

Thanks for the feedback!!

One more before middle school, but luckily she will stay at a small school that is K-8, so the whole MS craziness is not as amplified. Even now as a 5th grader, she has a kindergarten buddy that she works with a couple of times a week. Keeps them grounded and connected to the younger kids.

Also your daughter exudes a lot of confidence in her sense of self, and that should make your MS years much more pleasant!!

michswiss

divamum wrote:

Yeah, I know... I keep seeing something in it, I just can't figure out what.
Thanks for the comments!!

It's the eyes. They mirror the leopard spots from the hat. Personally, I like #2 and #4 best, although #2 is a little hot on the exposure.

WingsOfLovePhoto

#1 is great! And even with the flare I like #3... Shows her middle school personality! Ahhh I remember those days.... Hormona will soon be in da house! Good luck with that!

cindieye

Personally lovin' #3. Her head tilted, over exposure and sun flairs can sometimes be good. I like that "look". It gives the picture a "sunshinin' day" look.

Kinkajou

Actually, I'm with you on that last shot. There's something I like about it as well... and I'm cool with chalking it up to "artsy"

The first one is simple and lovely, well done.

The second - it's the pose that doesn't do it for me... It doesn't seem to complement her much, but I think I'm ok with the treatment.

Third - Yeah, I know nothing about how to deal with flare, sorry! Cute pose, though!

divamum

adbsgicom wrote:

One more before middle school, but luckily she will stay at a small school that is K-8, so the whole MS craziness is not as amplified. Even now as a 5th grader, she has a kindergarten buddy that she works with a couple of times a week. Keeps them grounded and connected to the younger kids.

Also your daughter exudes a lot of confidence in her sense of self, and that should make your MS years much more pleasant!!

Awww.. you're so sweet! School started with zero drama last week, so here's hoping it continues as peacefully... (and kudos to the school - they REALLY go to considerable trouble to help the 6th graders transition comfortably, but without actually mollycoddling them too much. Impressive.)

Mischswiss wrote:

It's the eyes. They mirror the leopard spots from the hat. Personally, I like #2 and #4 best, although #2 is a little hot on the exposure.

Ha - I didn't even notice that! Good catch....

WingsofLovePhoto wrote:

o #1 is great! And even with the flare I like #3... Shows her middle school personality! Ahhh I remember those days.... Hormona will soon be in da house! Good luck with that!

Yeah, I know... she is SO preteen these days compared to the Little Girl of 18 months ago. But I can't complain - she's such a great kid.

cindieye wrote:

Personally lovin' #3. Her head tilted, over exposure and sun flairs can sometimes be good. I like that "look". It gives the picture a "sunshinin' day" look.

Thanks! It was a beautiful day, so glad some of that came across

Kinajou wrote:

Actually, I'm with you on that last shot. There's something I like about it as well... and I'm cool with chalking it up to "artsy"

The first one is simple and lovely, well done.

The second - it's the pose that doesn't do it for me... It doesn't seem to complement her much, but I think I'm ok with the treatment.

Third - Yeah, I know nothing about how to deal with flare, sorry! Cute pose, though!

Thanks!!

I think the stiff elbow and slightly fixed smile in #2 don't really work; the pose emerged because with that lens it was the only way I could get all of her in frame, and I wanted that excess of cheetah for posterity...

Thanks again everybody!

Mitchell

I love her style!!

That first shot is a keeper.

bendruckerphoto

#3 is my favorite. The flare isn't so bad. Maybe you could have used the sun artistically to place on the edge of her hat as rim light.

divamum

Thanks so much for the comments, everybody!