Christmas portrait

Elaine

After attempting way too many pictures for a five year old's patience, I think this was probably the best shot...and I think it was about shot number 5 (of about 90)! How are the skin tones here? I really don't trust myself with getting the color right yet, so I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

TristanP

Wonderful shot. Colors look fine to me.

Angelo

great all-around photo and colors look fine on my monitor.

Ted Szukalski

Spot on. When I read the title "Christmas portrait" I was afraid aI will see another "shopping centre" style photograph. It was a very nice surprise to see this stylish photo.

Elaine

Thanks, guys! That's a confidence booster! This is my son, and tomorrow I'm taking photos of a 9 month old in the same setting. I love the natural light here in my living room, but I know I won't get a baby to sit still, so I'm worried about getting a natural light shot at high enough speeds to be in focus. Any tips or ideas? The shot of my son was at 1/13 of a second...not exactly fast!! I don't want to end up with a flat flashed shot. I'd appreciate any pointers.

Thanks again,
Elaine

Ted Szukalski

Elaine, if you have an external falsh you can create a very similar effect with a bit of experimenting. Shooting in manual mode you would set your time to 1/50s or 1/60s and than adjust the apreture to get the right effect. At this time setting a lot of natural light gets in.

Also, I'd dial in a FEC (flash exposure compensation of -2/3).

If you dont have an external flash try creating an impromtu diffuser (semi transparent milk bottle or another container) to cover the flash and shoot few try shots till you get the right combination. Again, do this in manual so your values do not change on you. Only when you are happy with it, place the baby in the position.

The trick here is not to expose to the visible light but to set the camera for the flash/ambient light combination.

Elaine wrote:

Thanks, guys! That's a confidence booster! This is my son, and tomorrow I'm taking photos of a 9 month old in the same setting. I love the natural light here in my living room, but I know I won't get a baby to sit still, so I'm worried about getting a natural light shot at high enough speeds to be in focus. Any tips or ideas? The shot of my son was at 1/13 of a second...not exactly fast!! I don't want to end up with a flat flashed shot. I'd appreciate any pointers.

Thanks again,
Elaine

Seneca

Very very nice.

photocat

I will add to the general idea that it is a great shot. I like the fact that the little lights in the background are out of focus yet there to brighten up the photograph.
You can glue a piece of kitchen paper (the cleanex stuff) over your flash to diffuse the light, which would give you more speed to shoot.
Good luck with the baby tomorrow!

Elaine

Thank you Ted and photocat for the specific pointers on using flash. I don't have an external flash yet (it's on my Christmas list), so I'll have to make do with what I've got. We'll see how it goes!

Thanks again for the comments and help!

Elaine

Nordic

I love this shot! Geat lightning and colours, very well done!

Mitchell

This really is beautiful. I wonder if you could crop it a little tighter without losing all of the lights.

saurora

Very appealing shot with lots of warmth from the natural lights...colors look good to me, too, Elaine. I like it alot!!!

urbanaries

Ted Szukalski wrote:

Spot on. When I read the title "Christmas portrait" I was afraid aI will see another "shopping centre" style photograph. It was a very nice surprise to see this stylish photo.

I AGREE!!! This is beautiful, gorgeous, well executed. nice work!

Elaine

Thank you SO much, everyone! I really appreciate all the kind comments!

Elaine

urbanaries

elaine, looks like you used a one light setup camera left, would you mind elaborating?

Elaine

urbanaries wrote:

elaine, looks like you used a one light setup camera left, would you mind elaborating?

Actually, this is all natural light in my living room, coming from a large sliding door and window and windows high up in a vaulted room...and yes, all on camera left. I think my living room is turning into a Christmas studio! The light is great, so today I'm shooting for a 9 month old and her momma, and I may do a couple more families next week. Eeeks! I'm just learning here! My camera equipment consists of...my camera and a few lenses, but no external flash or lights or reflectors or anything else.

So, this shot was very simple in some respects...just trying to get my son to hold still for a slower shutter speed was the most challenging part!

I'm flattered you asked me to elaborate!

Elaine

urbanaries

Elaine wrote:

Actually, this is all natural light in my living room, coming from a large sliding door and window and windows high up in a vaulted room...and yes, all on camera left. I think my living room is turning into a Christmas studio! The light is great, so today I'm shooting for a 9 month old and her momma, and I may do a couple more families next week. Eeeks! I'm just learning here! My camera equipment consists of...my camera and a few lenses, but no external flash or lights or reflectors or anything else.

So, this shot was very simple in some respects...just trying to get my son to hold still for a slower shutter speed was the most challenging part!

I'm flattered you asked me to elaborate!

Elaine

it looked very natural, but a definitive light source, so that's why i asked! Congrats on all the jobs, I myself am swamped with Christmas requests and hope it will lead to more steady referrals post-holiday

Make sure you take note of the time of day! In my (limited) experience, window light changes dramatically by the hour.

I took a peek at your son's gallery and you have some mighty fine shots of him. This one in particular highlights your progress and prowess! Bravo!

bobcool

I agree with all the comments here - great shot! When I think of Christmas portraits, I think of an overall "warm" feeling, and this shot nails it. Warm skin tones, warm natural light, etc. I can almost sense a fireplace nearby from the feeling I get from this shot!

Great job!

Elaine

bobcool wrote:

I agree with all the comments here - great shot! When I think of Christmas portraits, I think of an overall "warm" feeling, and this shot nails it. Warm skin tones, warm natural light, etc. I can almost sense a fireplace nearby from the feeling I get from this shot!

Great job!

Thank you for the kind words, bobcool!

binghott

very nice portrait! good use of light. i was thinking it was too warm, but i it goes well with the christmas lights. very nice eyes!

manta1900

How about these colors?

thebigsky

manta1900 wrote:

How about these colors?

Too much green on my monitor.

thebigsky

Elaine wrote:

After attempting way too many pictures for a five year old's patience, I think this was probably the best shot...and I think it was about shot number 5 (of about 90)! How are the skin tones here? I really don't trust myself with getting the color right yet, so I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

Wow, great shot, I love it and the colours look good to me, excellent job.

Charlie

Elaine

thebigsky wrote:

Wow, great shot, I love it and the colours look good to me, excellent job.

Charlie

Thank you very much!

Elaine

thebigsky wrote:

Too much green on my monitor.

I have to agree...I think I'll stick with the warmer tones.