Cluttered background

LiquidAir

Sadly, cluttered backgrounds are a too common problem when shooting candids around my house. I try my best to work with them, but I am not sure how well I succeeded with this shot.

Richard

I think you did an excellent job with the DOF, and it's a very good shot. One thing you might try is to desaturate the background a bit. The clutter is taken care of by the blur but the bright colors are still a bit distracting.

Regards,

Elaine

I like the bright colors...toy bins and books in the background are nicely blurred and are appropriate for a child's photo, IMO. The lighting is nice and the eyes are great. I personally would like it better without the sippy cup, but I know that you get what you can get when you're shooting the kiddos!

Elaine

LiquidAir

rsinmadrid wrote:

I think you did an excellent job with the DOF, and it's a very good shot. One thing you might try is to desaturate the background a bit. The clutter is taken care of by the blur but the bright colors are still a bit distracting.

Thanks. Creating a realistic looking background mask for this shot is beyond my skills in Photoshop. I'll try playing with curves in LAB to see if I can tone down the background without messing up the skin tones.

LiquidAir

Elaine wrote:

I like the bright colors...toy bins and books in the background are nicely blurred and are appropriate for a child's photo, IMO. The lighting is nice and the eyes are great. I personally would like it better without the sippy cup, but I know that you get what you can get when you're shooting the kiddos!

Elaine

Generally, I like using an out of focus environment to set the stage for a portrait. I worried that in this shot the background was too strong. As for the sippy cup, for me it tells a particular story that I'd like to remember. Miles likes to walk around the house wielding his sippy cup a bit like Groucho Marx's cigar. That said, I would have taken a shot without it if I had gotten the chance. However, catching a shot with him looking at the camera took first priority.

Richard

LiquidAir wrote:

Thanks. Creating a realistic looking background mask for this shot is beyond my skills in Photoshop. I'll try playing with curves in LAB to see if I can tone down the background without messing up the skin tones.

It's easier than you think. Since all you are changing is the saturation, the mask does not have to be terribly precise. No need for a selection, just use a brush. Here's a two minute version:



I created a hue/sat adjustment layer. Then using a large soft black brush on the layer mask, I painted over the face, cup and hand. I decreased the saturation by 40% then set the layer opacity at 75%. You can use whatever settings look good to you--including not doing this at all, of course.

Cheers,

System

great shot of your kid-

and some good advise on pp from richard-

saurora

rsinmadrid wrote:

It's easier than you think. Since all you are changing is the saturation, the mask does not have to be terribly precise. No need for a selection, just use a brush. Here's a two minute version:



I created a hue/sat adjustment layer. Then using a large soft black brush on the layer mask, I painted over the face, cup and hand. I decreased the saturation by 40% then set the layer opacity at 75%. You can use whatever settings look good to you--including not doing this at all, of course.

Cheers,

Great job, Richard. That puts the focus back on the child and yet still maintains the background. I actually like the background in this because it is part of his world. It was just a little too bright and distracted from the subject. Cute shot!!! :saurora

DavidS

LiquidAir wrote:

Generally, I like using an out of focus environment to set the stage for a portrait. I worried that in this shot the background was too strong. As for the sippy cup, for me it tells a particular story that I'd like to remember. Miles likes to walk around the house wielding his sippy cup a bit like Groucho Marx's cigar. That said, I would have taken a shot without it if I had gotten the chance. However, catching a shot with him looking at the camera took first priority.

Nice shot. I agree with you about the sippy cup. I think it adds to the picture. I like the background in this one, but do think it looks better with a little less saturation. I like the lighting in this shot.