I took James' 2yo photos at a canyon near here this weekend.
Some of you may have seen these already.
I'm hoping for honest FB...all I get from dh is "Yeah,
they're nice, babe"
Now my babysitter saw them and has asked me
to take her to the same place and do her Senior portraits
for her I'm scared!
She doesn't have the $ to go to a pro around here,
and of course I would love to do it for free for her.
But...I am worried about my "caliber" not being high enough.
I am mainly using auto functions, okay...I am not using any manual focus because I am chicken.
Can you take a peek at these pics and give me tips on what you would have done with light, angle etc? I can totally take constructive criticism!
I'm thinking she will be easier to work with than a 2yo, but I really want to be able to give her some nice, useable shots.
Here's some of what we got:
totally cut his feet off...
a pic of the canyon bottom pics were taken around noon-one
Any ideas/tips for use of the space would be awesome, too!
I love #3 and #5 the best. I love the way he is looking off on #3. In post processing I would crop out some of the space above his head so he is more the focal point. I would also watch your exposure if the young gal is wearing white on a sunny day..easy to overexpose that. I love the composition of #5 which is key in a great shot. As for lighting on that one..he has shadowing on the side of his face and for your shoot..just make sure she is facing the right way to minimize shadowing if you don't have a reflector.
So things I would keep in mind...
Lighting
Composition (watch for things coming out of heads, etc.) Off center focus usually is most appealing, in my opinion
Choice of outfit..with a natural setting she probably doesn't want to wear something that will blend in too much. She will want to stand out a bit more than her surroundings
Depth of Field/Bokeh...use your aperture to your advantage so your subject is the main focus.
#5 is definitely my favorite..that's a cute picture!
HTHs at least a little
__________________
Just Breathe
Shilowe, getting my Master's in Pscyhology online, photographer, hairstylist, homeschooling, SAHM to Rayne Alexandra and Quinlan Eygji and loving wife to Dave.
I'm not an expert in any way shape or form, so take this for what it's worth Go grab understanding exposure, read that and play with your camera a ton before you shoot her. I think you'll notice a difference. But you could do it just as you are, and I'm sure she'd be happy, since she's already happy with what she's seen.
I would ask her to not wear white or super pale colors, it's really hard to get them not to blow, and not underexpose everything else. Remember the rule of thirds if you can - you can always crop to it afterwards if you forget, but you do lose some quality if you have to crop too much.
Shoot in RAW if you can. It makes it much easier to correct any over and under exposure issues, and correct white balance if you need to.
__________________
Allison mama to:
DH (lol), Chrissy 15, Mikhail 12, Kiera 10, Kivett 8, Aislinn 6, Alannah 3, and fresh from the oven Kian Oliver-Bell 11/15/07
Helps ALOT! I was going to have her wear neutral colors...but now I think she should wear what she wants, she dresses in alot of color/pattern usually.
She has black curly hair and is very fair...so we'll work on outfits!
I'm not an expert in any way shape or form, so take this for what it's worth Go grab understanding exposure, read that and play with your camera a ton before you shoot her. I think you'll notice a difference. But you could do it just as you are, and I'm sure she'd be happy, since she's already happy with what she's seen.
I would ask her to not wear white or super pale colors, it's really hard to get them not to blow, and not underexpose everything else. Remember the rule of thirds if you can - you can always crop to it afterwards if you forget, but you do lose some quality if you have to crop too much.
Shoot in RAW if you can. It makes it much easier to correct any over and under exposure issues, and correct white balance if you need to.
What is the rule of thirds? eek. Also, you are so right about the white/light colors...I see in a few of the ones of James in full sun, his shirt almost looks like it's glowing. I don't have photoshop yet- I think I need that- for what Michele said...post-processing.
ISn't RAW much larger files? I know my camera does it, I just haven't figured that part out...um, my camera only came wiuth #$%&* French and Spanish Manuals.
Okay, I have some work to do. I will start with your book suggestion, Allison.
Thank you all for your generous advice! I am so glad we have this forum. I have a lot to learn from you mamas
Location: Im standin at the crossroads, tryin to read the signs, to tell me which way I should go to find the answer.
Posts: 18,421
I think I would agree with the suggestion to read and study Understanding Exposure.
There are some cute poses and captures here however, there are several exposure and compostional issues.
Beware of the whites in clothing...you noted that they look to be "glowing" and that's apt. That is what happens when you overexpose the whites in clothing...your camera, operated in auto, will meter off of the best "grey" it can find in the frame and that often leads to it overexposing parts of your image. by operating in manual, you can control that.
there are some color casts too...they give the impression of underexposure however the whites are blown so i'm not sure why that happened.
couple suggestions...study the book. get off of auto. i don't want to be harsh...i'm just direct...but i would not ever consider shooting for someone else if i'm shooting in auto. i would also not shoot for someone else if i didn't have the basic tools for processing your images. that would be photoshop or at the very least, adobe lightroom.
a lot of time when we get a nice camera, folks ask us to shoot for them because our camera takes nice shots. in order to really be able to deliver quality images, it's important that we can make our camera produce consistent quality...we can only do that if we know our camera inside and out, know how to shoot manual and control all of the aspects of the imagery/technical and artistic as well.
not sure what your goals are, but while these are sweet captures of your own child, i see issues that would not be appropriate for images taken for someone else.
Yes, that does help Tracey.
I do appreciate your wisdom and bluntness!
I am not sure what my goals are right now. I think I just mainly really want to learn my camera and how to get the best results, yk?
I knew I'd get the right feedback and advice here!
clane- thank you! I have an olympus E510, so I will check that out- I didn't even thinnk of that, thanks!
I'm scared! 
Thank you all for your generous advice! I am so glad we have this forum. I have a lot to learn from you mamas 
]
Linear Mode
