abigail (1 year) and co. --7 img--

urbanaries

Shoot from last weekend. C&C welcome, I am trying for a more saturated, punchy look but am not sure if I overdid it in some places. Also the skin tones were tough on this one (Dad is very olive, mom is freckled & fair), so any feedback appreciated. Thanks!

1.

2. In BW


3.


4.


5. I need to instill a "no grandparents or relatives on set" policy. As if there isn't enough to manage with a one year old. :rolleyes I'll PS out if they order.


I really love the interaction in these next two, but do the angles of the adult noses bother you? I can't find the words to direct subjects in these situations without killing the mood. Suggestions welcome!

6.


7.

Swartzy

Ya know Lynne
I always love looking at your work. Such cools expressions/angles/processing. The first two colored versions need some correction (maybe my morning eyes...). First one is green hued. 2nd is close but maybe a bit green/yellow on her hair/upper forehead...it isn't so much evident as the eye moves down to the white dress (but that could be the tricky illusion).

Yes, I'm borrowing more from you (changed from stealing ). Very nice.

Cuties02q

You got some great shots. What a cutie that little one is...I really love #1

Scott_Quier

These are great - love the inclusion of B&W
#1 - In addition to the green cast, it appears you blew the highights on the side of her head and a good portion of her dress. Was this intentional (ref: your desire for a more punchy look)?

#4 - This is a wall-hanger. The parents are going to love this one. I know do. The interaction between the parents and the child is just priceless. Well done! How did you get them to laugh so much? Nit - looking at mom's face, there is the illusion of a circle across her forehead, down past her right eye and into the laugh wrinkles (much more than just lines) at her chin. Looks almost like she's wearing a Halloween mask.

#6 - The only thing in this image that bothers me is the view of the top of his head. To make this better (direction suggestion here), suggest the father come around mom just a bit so that he doesn't have to lean so far to see daughter, thus being able to keep his head a little more vertical.

#7 - Is just cool. Again, love the interaction between mom and daughter. And the bubbles - too bad the big one in the foreground wasn't just a touch higher to a touch more to the left (her right).

A large portion of your B&W images are blown. Was that intentional (again, see reference to "punchy look")?

Your clients are going to love these images. Did they express an interest in B&W or was that your idea? Either way, I like the B&W!

urbanaries

Scott_Quier wrote:

#1 - In addition to the green cast, it appears you blew the highights on the side of her head and a good portion of her dress. Was this intentional (ref: your desire for a more punchy look)?

I think the original image was blown, unfortunately, but I felt like the image was cute enough to include. The grass however was very brown and in "greening" it up, I think I've screwed up in my eyes what the image should look like. I personally don't see any green in her skin (obviously it is in her eyes, and the grass) but I believe you guys when you say it is there, I think I've just looked and fiddled with this shot too much.

#4 - This is a wall-hanger. The parents are going to love this one. I know do. The interaction between the parents and the child is just priceless. Well done! How did you get them to laugh so much? Nit - looking at mom's face, there is the illusion of a circle across her forehead, down past her right eye and into the laugh wrinkles (much more than just lines) at her chin. Looks almost like she's wearing a Halloween mask.

THAT IS SO WEIRD about the mask. I did not notice it before you pointed it out. How weird!

RE: interaction, I had the mom lift the baby up and lboth parents look at her, and mom kept messing it up, she wasn't getting what I was saying, and so even though she finally did get it some of the shots along the way were actually better as far as interaction.

#6 - The only thing in this image that bothers me is the view of the top of his head. To make this better (direction suggestion here), suggest the father come around mom just a bit so that he doesn't have to lean so far to see daughter, thus being able to keep his head a little more vertical.

RE: the dad, are you suggesting he stand behind mom, between the baby and her? Or do you mean stand slightly in front of the mom? I totally agree with you the angle isn't great on him.

A large portion of your B&W images are blown. Was that intentional (again, see reference to "punchy look")?

I overexposed a handful of candids (like #1) in the direct sunlight but most of the group shots were fine before I went in on a high contrast buzz. Thanks for the feedback. I tend to get skintones and blacks how I want them first, and I see now I tend to blow the highlights in the process.

Your clients are going to love these images. Did they express an interest in B&W or was that your idea? Either way, I like the B&W!

Thanks Scott! They are very happy with them so far, but the test will be if they actually order them.

I tend to convert images with strong emotion to BW (just my personal weirdness), color can be detracting and distracting if the backgrounds are varied like this shoot. I'm also trying out converting the best of the bunch several ways for clients, as opposed to including inferior shots to "fill" a gallery. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for your helpful input as always!

Mitchell

Lynne, these are great!

I really like #1 and #3.

#1 does have a bit of a green cast. I often have this same problem when taking portraits in a grassy area. I think you need to selectively tone down the green on your subject which is reflected off of the surrounding grass.

#3 is really superb. I love your dreamy PP. That shot really has a nice punch to it. It would be a great wall hanger at 20x30!!

#2 is just too overdone for my taste. I prefer a softer approach to these young girls.

Awais Yaqub

Beautiful photos and cute baby loved the 3rd a lot

hamster

I love #3 and 7. Your work is always beautiful!

ShepsMom

I like all the B&Ws! The last shot with mom lifting a baby is really nice. Good work

fehlinger

Lynne,

I Love 2 & 3! Looks like the first one cought a lot of reflection from the grass as I see the green cast on my display too. If you think you might have cuased the shift by greening the grass, I'd just use a soft layer mask to remove the effect there. Either way, it looks awesome in B/W!!!! I predict they will buy them. Take care.

Cary

jeffreaux2

Awesome as usual.

1. Beautiful composition and great eyes. This is a tough one in terms of exposure and wb. I can see that you used a fill on this which was a good choice, but beware of white clothing. I usually will go with -1/3 EC if someone is wearing white just to be sure that it doesn't blow. It still may have blown in this situation, but it is something to think about. Were you dialed all the way back on the flash? A bit less in the form of FEC may have helped here as well. You are working with two different temperatures of light here also. Direct sun and the green under tree shade. Without doing some funky selective adjustments you either have to pick your poison, or split it the best you can. For the record though, I would buy this photo.

2 I like the color one better this time....green and all.
3. Again, I love the composition. The only problem I have with it is that her feet keep drawing my eyes away.

4 This is a classic photo IMO. I am pretty surprised you didn't give it a classic treatment.

5. This one has some hotspots in it as well. I am not crazy about DAD being the only one looking at the camera, and the two gals looking straight ahead. Of course the people in the BG need to become shrubbery!!lol
6 The negative space to the left does nothing for it. Maybe a tighter crop losing the empty to the left and some from the bottom. I am thinking that then the angles of the parents arms and noses would all point to you know who.
7 is adorable. This is also a tough shot. Your background is blurred yet the faces and bubbles in sharp focus. Very nice!!!

OK I nitpicked your photos, but I think overall they are very well done.

urbanaries

Swartzy wrote:

I always love looking at your work. Such cools expressions/angles/processing. The first two colored versions need some correction (maybe my morning eyes...). First one is green hued. 2nd is close but maybe a bit green/yellow on her hair/upper forehead...it isn't so much evident as the eye moves down to the white dress (but that could be the tricky illusion).

Yes, I'm borrowing more from you (changed from stealing ). Very nice.

You guys are too kind, this shoot was pretty sloppy given the intense heat (11am 90F) and the unpredictability of a one year old! I appreciate the feedback on the first one. I reworked it and it is still stumping me. I started over, selectively colored the grass, didn't do the previous contrast adjustments (so its a little flat, but the dress isn't blown :grin) and did a very minor curves adjustment on her pupils to bring out the detail (aren't they just gorgeous??)

Next step, looking at the skintone to remove any yellow cast. In CMYK edit below, her forehead skintone measures 18, 27, 55, 0. What would you guys do from here? Any adjustment I did to lower the yellow channel or up the red channel made her look sunburned.

urbanaries

Thanks also Steph, Awais, Marina, Cherie, Mitchell for looking, and for your kind words!!!

And Cary, this was shot in Holliday park, I am not sure if you are familiar or not! Howdy neighbor

urbanaries

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Awesome as usual.

Ahhh, whatever, you're buttering me up, I can tell!

1. Beautiful composition and great eyes. This is a tough one in terms of exposure and wb. I can see that you used a fill on this which was a good choice, but beware of white clothing. I usually will go with -1/3 EC if someone is wearing white just to be sure that it doesn't blow. It still may have blown in this situation, but it is something to think about. Were you dialed all the way back on the flash? A bit less in the form of FEC may have helped here as well.

My EC was -2/3, and my FEC was zero, it seems. Dialing back and shooting directly at her would have helped, I was at an angle and missed the left side of her forhead.

For the record though, I would buy this photo.

Thats the spirit!!! rofl

3. Again, I love the composition. The only problem I have with it is that her feet keep drawing my eyes away.

Wow, you're digging deep here (teasing!) talking about her cute feet that way! I agree they're distracting from her face, but I'm actually shocked they are so neatly placed....like a little butterfly.

4 This is a classic photo IMO. I am pretty surprised you didn't give it a classic treatment.

not sure what you're trying to say here? give it to me straight!

5. This one has some hotspots in it as well. I am not crazy about DAD being the only one looking at the camera, and the two gals looking straight ahead. Of course the people in the BG need to become shrubbery!!lol

yeah, this was mostly included to prove my case about annoying grandparents!

6 The negative space to the left does nothing for it. Maybe a tighter crop losing the empty to the left and some from the bottom. I am thinking that then the angles of the parents arms and noses would all point to you know who.

Very good point, I am cropping much looser these days so I don't get the dreaded 8x10 scolding.

7 is adorable. This is also a tough shot. Your background is blurred yet the faces and bubbles in sharp focus. Very nice!!!

Thanks! I think it's too dark, but that can be fixed. I could also move the bubble (or add more) as Scott suggested. I loved that the mom was so expressive!

OK I nitpicked your photos, but I think overall they are very well done.

Thanks for taking the time to nitpick! I really appreciate it, helps me get better. It's no secret I have a lot of work to do in the technical arena. And, what fun is it to dish it out if you can't take it!

Thanks Jeff!

jeffreaux2

By classic treatment I meant......monotone, a bit of grain etc. I see it in a nice soft sepia!!! It is nearly a monotone anyway.

The mom's mask could be fixed very easily in monotone as well.

ps. Some 40yo femme footsies in stilletos would REALLy get my attention!! Actually I might find it equally distracting if I saw no feet. I was only telling you where my eyes drifted while viewing. Take it w/ a grain of salt.


oh and for the record, I still like the original headshot better than the rework. IMO the color looks more naturally occurring than in the rework. If that makes any sense.

DavidS

Nice photos. I love the conversion in #2 and #3 is just precious.

saurora

A truly wonderful set of poses, Lynne!!! These are awesome. I like them all, but #1, #3 and #4 are my favorites. You commented that you do not see any green in her skin in #1. I was aware of the green the instant the first shot came up (before seeing the entire frame!) and I was on my work monitor. I am wondering about your calibration? Your re-work still shows a pretty wide spread between yellow and magenta on my monitor. I would up the magenta, but your grass is probably going to need masking. She does appear (in all the shots) to have one of those cute little red noses babies often have. It's not terribly red, though, and I wouldn't be concerned if it shows up a bit. I can even see it in the B&W's. Does she have hazel eyes???? Just curious. Here's my thoughts on your processing:
#1) ok, we know it has some green issues, but I do love this shot!!! I like punchy PS, I use it myself. But I find it works better on kids who are older and wear the bright primary colors, etc. It really shines with bright colors. Babies are so delicately colored and unless their clothing is brightly colored, they just seem to look washed out.
#2) I like B&W alot, but this seems a little harsh for an infant. I don't know if it's the sharpening or the action. Beautiful for the eyes, though.
#3) I love this one, too. I might desat her little red feet so they don't distract quite so much. (This is a minor nit!)
#4) Like Scott said, this is a real wall-hanger!!!
#5) Dad looks great, wish baby and Mom were looking the same way, but it's still a pretty cute shot. (yes, clone in some bushes!)
#6) Not Dad's best here, but still for a group of shots, I like it.
#7) A fun shot

Something to think about along with the punchy processing. I imagine it would be wise to consider the clothing the child is wearing before going that route. That looks to be an especially nice eyelet dress Abigail is wearing, and Mom (or Grandma) might be disappointed not to see the detail, especially in the close ups. Just one more piece of info to keep track of!!! Overall these are excellent and I would buy them all if I were the parents/grandmother!!! (And no, I'm not just being nice!)

Scott_Quier

RE: the dad, are you suggesting he stand behind mom, between the baby and her? Or do you mean stand slightly in front of the mom? I totally agree with you the angle isn't great on him.

In the image he's behind mom and having to crane his neck around her head to see baby. I'm suggesting that he take a step to his right, a step forward. From this position, dad can see baby without having to crane his neck so much, thus allowing his head to assume a more up-right position and the camera would be able to see some/all of his face.

Doing this, though may mean that camera position would need to move just a touch to camera right. Or, to keep your background, the three of them to rotate, as a body.

DavidS

I love the emotion. How did you illicit that?

Seneca

Agh the one on the bench is just precious....just beautiful

fehlinger

urbanaries wrote:

And Cary, this was shot in Holliday park, I am not sure if you are familiar or not! Howdy neighbor

Lynne,

Sure am. In fact, I grew up in that neighborhood. I worked at Meridian Hills CC (one block North) in a previous life and we spent many an afternoon there (Holliday Park). We live in Fishers now, but I leave Indy in my sig since nobody knows where Fishers is located. Nice to meet you!

Cary