10 y/o modeling session...

kidzmom · December 1, 2009

So dd is into posing for the camera these days. No problem for me! I think she sees it as Mom and daughter bonding time because I just rave when I get some keepers of her. She also got a camera for her birthday and is now learning photoshop so she finds all of this a great big game!

These were from a few weeks ago. I'm UP TO MY HEAD in putting together Christmas projects at the moment (calendars and books). I'm also doing a book for ds #2's 1st birthday.

Anyway, these are for a calendar I'm making. She will get the month of November for these... Please cc to help me pick what is best---and let me know your impressions!! I value your thoughts, input and comments very much!

So without further ado....two sets--

The first set: the village shots

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

The second set: The lake

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

marikris · December 1, 2009

Nice! I love the set! #7 and #9 looks a little too yellow-orange to me, but other than that, I think they are awesome! #1,2,11 are my favorites!

Wil Davis · December 1, 2009

They all have the same "forced-smile" expression, with the exception of #7 & #11 which look much more relaxed and natural, and #11 is the best of the bunch.

Very pretty girl (when she's relaxed) !

- Wil

adbsgicom · December 1, 2009

Kidzmom, nice images. More votes on 7 & 11. #2 seems a bit too soft (not quite dreamy, and definately not crisp). Only nit is watch her hands. #3 only has 3 fingers showing, and enough of them that you wonder where here pinkie is, which looks a little odd (IMO). #5 has her holding her hands a bit too tight, I think. Still lovely images.

Wil (or anyone). Are there any sort of 'smiling' lessons out there? My kid tends to over-smile, and I try to show her how much better she looks when she doesn't force it, but somewhere along the way she engrained herself with some bad habits.

kidzmom · December 1, 2009

Thanks so much Wil and Kris for the fast input! Looks like 11 is for sure going on the calendar. I think I'll only need about 4 of them to make a nice spread...so a few more votes and I'll be all set

I actually have a few variations of 11 with that nice sky bokeh. Perhaps I'll look at a few others from that sequence. Wil...forced smile, perhaps. She has BRACES, lol! No way does she like seeing them in photos. They come off in March (hooray!) so we'll be back to the big grins then.

I think she was trying to come off as "serious" and "mature" in these. I guess not bad for a 10 year old though.... Just saw your input Andrew. YES, I am guilty of amputating...I'm working with the 50 mm and my feet are OFTEN TIMES much slower than my index finger,

! And in #3 I should have had her pull them out of her sweater (it was chilly so I think she was pulling down the arms a bit). As for the smiling...I think the best thing is to just try to make them laugh and be happy. I did snap quite a few when she was giggling (with the braces showing) but she said she didn't want the braces shots for the calendar....PRE-TEENS!!!!

lilmomma · December 1, 2009

no contest...1, 7, and 11 for me! very cute! Some do look a touch orange but i'm on my work monitor here. I try to get photos of my 14 year old sister who has braces and it is TOUGH to get her to smile naturally. she doesn't want them showing either.

I wish I lived by a village :cry

Cuong · December 1, 2009

Another vote for 1, 7, 9, 11.

Cuong

kidzmom · December 1, 2009

Okay Wil...a few with the metal

kidzmom · December 1, 2009

Thanks Lilmomma and Cuong....Looks like the calendar project will be a snap with so much agreement. They really are a touch yellow in reality. I can play with them more, but the sun was setting on the lake and there was SO much yellow everywhere!! I put up those braces shots for fun and to share her personality a bit. I made sure to get some so I could remember this "epoch" in her life. Cuong, btw thanks so much for inspiring me to make the switch over into manual. Ever since that day you pushed me to give AV a try I have been getting shots I like at long last. I really love this place!

rhondavid · December 1, 2009

Precious young lady you have there. Love those big blue eyes.

Be glad she is open to modeling for you and has some natural talent in that regard. One of my daughters hates to have her pciture taken while the other loves the camera. However the one that love to have her picture taken will not follow my instructions for a pose and does her own thing regardless of what I tell her.

Very nice series. I echo most of the comments above.

Tell her she looks precious in braces and to open those lips and smile!

adbsgicom · December 1, 2009

Second one with the braces is very nice.

Wil Davis · December 1, 2009

adbsgicom wrote:

snip…
Wil (or anyone). Are there any sort of 'smiling' lessons out there? My kid tends to over-smile, and I try to show her how much better she looks when she doesn't force it, but somewhere along the way she engrained herself with some bad habits.

I dunno about "smiling lessons" but I think the trick is getting the subject to be totally oblivious of the camera. A recent example of this was one of the pics in this thread. #8 was taken without the girl realizing it, and look at just how relaxed she appears to be. I think it to be one of the most striking pictures I've seen here in a long time.

So, perhaps the trick is to get the subject to be comfortable, ignore the camera and relax…

- Wil

PS: Just seen the second set…

Just tell her that the braces aren't forever…
…but those beautiful blue eyes are!

Wil Davis · December 1, 2009

Here ya go!

(I'll remove if you don't approve…)

- Wil

craig_d · December 1, 2009

I think most of these shots are great. 3, 4, 5, 8, and 11 are my favorites. #11 is just slightly flawed by not-great bokeh (looks like a 50mm f/1.8 lens -- bokeh somewhat rough and noticeably pentagonal), but it's not a big deal.

I kind of agree that there's a sameyness about her smiles in several shots, but the fact that she's concealing braces explains it. I do not necessarily agree that it should be your goal to make her oblivious to the camera. Candids and posed shots are just two different kinds of pictures; I don't think one is necessarily better than the other. A mix of the two might be nice.

kidzmom · December 2, 2009

Thank you Andrew, Wil and Craig.

Wil...I showed my daughter this a.m. your edit and THAT made her smile. Wow...what a difference those braces have made. That was neat

Craig, you sure are spot on with this being the 50 1.8 piece. It was open to 2...I hadn't noticed the hexagons until you mentioned it. So I guess a better lens would have given me more circular bokeh? Very interesting. Thanks for the input everyone. The page is now done... I'm working on another today and I'll post for more cc later. THANK YOU ALL!

Gary752 · December 2, 2009

#'s 1, 7, and 11 get my vote! I love those eyes!

GaryB

craig_d · December 2, 2009

kidzmom wrote:

Craig, you sure are spot on with this being the 50 1.8 piece. It was open to 2...I hadn't noticed the hexagons until you mentioned it. So I guess a better lens would have given me more circular bokeh? Very interesting.

Any lens shot wide open should have circular bokeh because the aperture blades are fully retracted. When you stop down, you get bokeh in whatever shape the aperture becomes. If the lens has curved blades (most don't, and those that do tend to be pro-grade), then you still get circular or nearly circular bokeh. Otherwise the bokeh are in figures with the same number of sides as the number of blades. In the case of the Canon 50mm f/1.8, five blades make for pentagonal bokeh. Canon's 50mm f/1.4 has seven blades for heptagonal bokeh. Most Canon lenses have 6, 7, or 8 blades. Some Tokina lenses have 9 blades, and some Zeiss lenses have as many as 12.

This isn't the only thing that matters for bokeh quality, but it is the most important influence on the bokeh's shape.

kidzmom · December 2, 2009

Wow Craig. THANK YOU for taking the time to explain all of that. Really fascinating stuff---I had no idea

and now feel so enlightened! It makes absoutely perfect sense!

WingsOfLovePhoto · December 3, 2009

I like them alot! I do think though that the white tights are quite a distraction with all the dark tones in the rest of the picture and also that they don't match the color of her shirt. Otherwise great job!

toddb · December 3, 2009

nice work
Great pics -- love the location in the first series. My favorites 1, 4 and 11. Great work. Great model.

CTUphoto · December 4, 2009

Oooooo....very pretty work. I love #1 (perfect!), #5 (love the pose and the background), and #11 (though not so much the crop). Great work all around. Makes me want to drag my daughter out this weekend!

~jb

craig_d · December 4, 2009

Looking at these again, one thing I notice is that most of the shots are clearly taken from an adult's eye level, looking somewhat downward. It might have been good to drop down to her level for more of these, to see the scenes from a 10-year-old's perspective.

kidzmom · December 5, 2009

Thank you Craig. I hadn't noticed that at all! She is about 6 inches shorter than me. Just enough that you "almost" feel at her height and forget that you aren't! GREAT suggestion. Just going down 6 inches will probabally make the world of difference. Thank you.

CTU, I hope you post those pics of your dd if you go out with her this weekend. I'm just ADORE seeing photos of kids.

Thanks again everybody. Wish we were having better weather so I could to out again. Oh and about the outfit...This was 100% the pre-teen choice of clothing

She marched down one morning (it was the weekend so Dad was home to babysit the younger kids). She was all dressed up and said she wanted to "do pictures". I noticed the hotpink lines on the skirt and the red bow...also the 2 cremes not entirely matching and opted to either ruin the entire idea by telling her to change....OR grabbing my camera and saying GREAT!

! Obviously the latter.

10 y/o modeling session...

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