Tonight's Kiddos

~Jan~

I am so mad...I underexposed almost every shot. Luckily, I shoot RAW, but correcting them added grain. *sigh* Live and learn. WHY wasn't I checking my histogram? :rolleyes

Anyhow, here are a few...I'm only about 1/2way finished editing but it's 12:15 a.m.!
1.


2.


3.


4.


5.

heatherfeather

These are fabulous!
I love them all! Don't be mad! You definately got something to work with!
Very nice!

Chrissiebeez_NL

cute shots!

Dont worry about the grain, its the expression that counts! i'd rather have one grainy good shot than 10 clear bad ones

Cuties02q

Very cute kids I really like #2 & #5...great job!!!

~Jan~

Here are a few more...still kicking myself that I didn't get crystal-clear shots. I also forgot to switch back to my 85 mm at the end...blah.

5.


6.


7.


8.

Elaine

Very cute kids! LOVE #8!!!

urbanaries

that little redheaded boy is the CUTEST!!!

I also love #8, its phenomenal. You are very consistent, which is really hard to do~!

Cuties02q

Oh wow #8 is wonderful

Seneca

Number 7 looks like it was blown out by the sky. BUt I love the others.

ChrisOA

are you doing alot of touching up aftwards?
I am using almost the same setup you are using ( according to your signature ) but i always shoot on the preset portrait setting with autofocus .. oy

~Jan~

ChrisOA wrote:

are you doing alot of touching up aftwards?
I am using almost the same setup you are using ( according to your signature ) but i always shoot on the preset portrait setting with autofocus .. oy

I'm not sure what you mean by touching up...I ran noiseware on the grainy ones, but I don't normally due that to my photos (don't normally NEED to ). My normal workflow is to bump up the contrast & saturation a a bit, adjust levels, add screen layer to lighten if needed, add soft light layer at about 15-20%, sometimes vignette, and that's it. Half the time I forget to sharpen, but I did on these because they need it. Sometimes I sharpen & brighten the eyes, but on these I did not, because to be honest my focus wasn't good enough to even DO that.

To be honest I've never really tried portrait mode. The only "auto" mode I've used for more than a few shots is AV mode, but that chronically underexposes so I just shoot M. I like to CONTROL things.

DavidS

Nice series. I especially like #3, #5 and #8.

ShepsMom

Good shots Jan, you are too tough on yourself. Have you tried using Manual mode so you can set everything yourself? You can always go back to doing what you did before.

david_h

~Jan~ wrote:

I am so mad...I underexposed almost every shot. Luckily, I shoot RAW, but correcting them added grain. *sigh* Live and learn.

Jan, your pictures are great. I think you worry far too much about noise (grain). Did you have much experience with film before turning digital?

I shoot weddings with the noise machines, Nikon D2h and D2Hs and still find myself often adding grain in Photoshop to get the film like effects I'm looking for.

Having said that, yes, it's a great idea to use the histogram to check your exposures. If you don't use manual mode already, you might want to gravitate towards doing so to enable you to get your exposure how you want it then keep it consistent.

Edit - I didn't read all the thread so just noticed you are using M mode. Great, you are halfway there already - you might want to invest in a light meter as well to really be able to control things.

~Jan~

david_h wrote:

Jan, your pictures are great. I think you worry far too much about noise (grain). Did you have much experience with film before turning digital?

I shoot weddings with the noise machines, Nikon D2h and D2Hs and still find myself often adding grain in Photoshop to get the film like effects I'm looking for.

Having said that, yes, it's a great idea to use the histogram to check your exposures. If you don't use manual mode already, you might want to gravitate towards doing so to enable you to get your exposure how you want it then keep it consistent.

Edit - I didn't read all the thread so just noticed you are using M mode. Great, you are halfway there already - you might want to invest

Nope, no film experience. Well, except with a cheap 35 mm--no REAL film experience. I really didn't even ever edit photos, other than cropping them, until this past November when I bought my SLR. I took a bazillion shapshots of my son before that, but this past Nov. was when I got serious about getting "good" shots.

david_h

~Jan~ wrote:

Nope, no film experience. Well, except with a cheap 35 mm--no REAL film experience. I really didn't even ever edit photos, other than cropping them, until this past November when I bought my SLR. I took a bazillion shapshots of my son before that, but this past Nov. was when I got serious about getting "good" shots.

I was just thinking that if you'd experienced the grain in ASA400 (or even ASA200 in some cases) film, you wouldn't worry too much about a little in your digital images.

I use some of my favorite PS filters, such as Alien Skin Exposure, to add more grain to my images, just to get back to that film look. Well close to it anyway, I've been seriously thinking of getting a decent used film body so I can do it for real again

Grainy BW film is just sooo yummy!!

evoryware

You are worrying so much about unnoticeable and barely noticeable things. I hope it is not taking away the enjoyment of your hobby.

Erik

Photo # 8
Great shot on # 8.

Sometimes we tend to be much more critical of our own work.

Just remember to listen to kudos from your peers, focus your passion, and alays strive to take it to the next level!

~Jan~

evoryware wrote:

You are worrying so much about unnoticeable and barely noticeable things. I hope it is not taking away the enjoyment of your hobby.

Trust me, if they get an 8x10 or larger, it WILL be noticeable. However, one of the first sessions I did was for a good friend. I didn't get many great smiling shots of her two-year-old, so on one of the group shots I cropped his face because he had a really cute smile. She ordered that in 8x10. I was worried it wouldn't be clear, so I ordered her another 8x10 of him in addition. I explained why when she got them, and she couldn't tell the difference. I guess unless you have an eye for photography or even care you wouldn't know. From regular viewing distance, I'm sure these will all be okay...but you all know I get the microscope out when looking at my own work.