A few shots of my boy for C&C

Jabfinger

It has been a while since I posted anything here and I hope I have improved at least a little bit. I read DG probably every day and every day I see amazing photos from the people here. Anyway, I shot a few pictures of my son the other day at around 2 pm or so and would like to know where improvements can be made. Small adjustments were made to the raw files with viewnx2.

thanks

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anonymouscuban

Comps are pretty good, especially the first one. White balance and skin tones are nice. Focus is good. Exposure is good, a tad on the darker side for my personal taste but OK. Contrast is nice and your post work is good as well. Posing is well done, only nit there is he has the same expression in all shots but I suspect he's at that age where he's just too cool to smile. No biggie.

My big nits are both related to your off camera light.

1. Light is quite harsh. By the catchlights, looks like you're using a speedlight head with no modifier or maybe just a stofen diffuser. It's a small light source so you have to bring it in super close. Basically just outside the frame to soften the light.
2. Second issue is that your light is too low. That angle is very unnatural. It's almost horror style lighting. Bring the light higher but not too high. if the light is causing the brow to cast a shadow over the eyes then it's too high. Just below this point. A good guideline is to have the catchlights at 10 or 2 o'clock.

I think you're on the right track. Keep practicing with your lighting. It's probably the most difficult thing to master for portrait photography but once you get it, it's what makes the most dramatic impact in your photos so it's all worth it.

Jabfinger

Thanks for the great feedback anonymouscuban. I certainly enjoy looking at your pictures. All your ladies are lovely and, as has been said more than once, your pictures have a certain clean look that truly inspires.
I am glad to hear all the good points in your CC and agree with the nits as well. The light source was the silver side of a 42 in. 5 in one reflector and I had to place it low to catch the sun as the ground in front of him was a down hill slope and I did not have an assistant. The white side did not seem to have enough power to light him or I would have used it instead. I agree that lighting is a difficult aspect to master and I have a ways to go, probably because I am stubborn and want to force the light to do what I want it to do. I think for me it is going to be people skills that will be the hardest thing to master as you pointed out with his expressions. But I guess technical skills first, a little confidence and people skills will come. I hardly ever hear any one talk of what they had to do or say to get a person to smile or express a certain emotion. I think that would be interesting. Anyway thanks again for the CC.

anonymouscuban

Jabfinger wrote: »

Thanks for the great feedback anonymouscuban. I certainly enjoy looking at your pictures. All your ladies are lovely and, as has been said more than once, your pictures have a certain clean look that truly inspires.
I am glad to hear all the good points in your CC and agree with the nits as well. The light source was the silver side of a 42 in. 5 in one reflector and I had to place it low to catch the sun as the ground in front of him was a down hill slope and I did not have an assistant. The white side did not seem to have enough power to light him or I would have used it instead. I agree that lighting is a difficult aspect to master and I have a ways to go, probably because I am stubborn and want to force the light to do what I want it to do. I think for me it is going to be people skills that will be the hardest thing to master as you pointed out with his expressions. But I guess technical skills first, a little confidence and people skills will come. I hardly ever hear any one talk of what they had to do or say to get a person to smile or express a certain emotion. I think that would be interesting. Anyway thanks again for the CC.

Glad you found it helpful. It's funny that you actually used a silver reflector because after giving your photos a second look at home, I did get the feeling you may have used a reflector.

I do understand the limitation when shooting by yourself. Kind of hard to hold a 4' reflector above your head, with correct aim and composing, focusing and shooting. You master that and it good be a road show.

You had the right idea putting him in shade but aside from the first one that is a tight comp, I think putting him against the wall made for really dark images with little depth. Next time, try finding an area of open shade, like under a large tree. I have found that finding a spot where there is nothing in the immediate background works best. Regardless, you want some light hitting the background. Dappled light works best. This will add depth to your photo. Then you just have to find a way to bring light on your subject up to the same dynamic range of your BG. Basically, balancing the light on your subject in the foreground to that of the light in the BG.

As far as working with your subject, it's just about making them comfortable. I noticed that as I became more comfortable myself shooting people and gained more confidence, the people I've shot also were more comfortable. With the added experience and confidence I've learned to slow down. Before I always felt rushed. Not sure why. That caused me to seem out of control and I often had to explain things to the person over and over. Now, I'm much more relaxed. I just talk to them. Also, instead of directing them through words, I ask them to mirror what I do. If I want them to move to my left (they're right), I move left. Move their left foot forward, I move my right forward, etc. etc. Again, just learn to take your time. I think people appreciate it because they see that you want to make things perfect to get the best shot possible.

Hope that helps. There are plenty of others on here with much more experience that I that will chime in with their techniques.

Bryce Wilson

With boys that age, never underestimate the power of "Fart Humor" to get a smile.:D

Jabfinger

I'll try that Bryce...What else ya got?