Studio shots

[smison]

Hey guys, as some of you may remember, I've recently been lucky enough to purchase a studio lighting kit, oh and also the birth of my son

Here are some shots involving both, would love your feedback. If some of you can remember my earlier work I think I have improved dramatically, but always room for more..

here we go...

1


2


3


4


5


6

[smison]

Anyone?

[biggerry]

Congrads on the birth of your son, fingers crossed hes a good sleeper and and eater

onto the pictures.. not too much to critique really, the lighting is nice possibly diffusing a bit more to get some more wrap around may help, but it depends on teh look your trying to achieve.

2 4 and 5 are the picks for me, however that has nothing to do with the lighting, its more to do with the happy expression and pose.

The black background sheet works well and gives nice separation, however how about trying with a coloured rug in there as well? this may help stop the images looking like the little dudes floating in space.

what lighting kit did you end up with?

[smison]

Thanks Gerry, lighting kit was a cheap one off ebay, main problem I've found is that its very powerful even on the lowest setting, and I need to stop down to f11 or f13 on manual settings before the light isn't too overpowering..

Excellent point with the rug, I'm still in the process off getting props together so I'll add this to the list.

I was looking at the shots content with what I'd done, but kept thinking there must be something wrong that I'm not seeing, so thanks for your response it helped confirm I'm on the right track.

Steve

[biggerry]

Steve, taking pictures of kids is the most frustrating thing (for me anyway), often to get that perfect expression, or pose you need to take 100's of shots...wears out me shutter button finger

When he is young is the best time to take shots, he won't move fast and probably won't throw things at you when you point the camera at him Althought I have now noticed our bundle of chaos is actually interested in getting her picture taken and posing...and putting her greasy little fingers all over teh camera and lens..

Do you have a ND filter? I have never used mine in a potrait situation like this, however from my understanding it is common to use a ND4 or 8 to be able to get that aperture back up to 2.8

[the foto fanatic]

I've been thinking about what to say.

Firstly, I like the skin tones and the black background. The images are nice and sharp, and the colours look quite vibrant too.

One thing that I don't like is the perspective. I'm not sure which lens you used because flickr has removed the EXIF info.
Image nos 3,4 and 5 seem to have produced a big head on a little body, and I think that is probably a combination of camera placement and the lens you used.
Most horizontal images like this are taken from mid-point so that there is no distortion of body parts.

It looks like you will have plenty of photographic opportunities from now on.

[surenj]

Hi Steve,

Congrats!! As Gerry said, hopefully a good sleeper, eater etc... If not, that'll teach ya and discourage you to have another....

I think you have received good some feedback already.

I think you've done a great job first up. There is a few things you could improve.

1. Catch lights are everything. Try and get them in every picture. If they are missing and you like the picture otherwise, I would consider adding them in PS. babies look lifeless without them. For example compare #3 and #5.

2. Generally high key is better for babies which means a light colored background.

3. Also try BW for these lowish key pictures. You could accentuate form...

4. Think about adding scale. While they are so small and cute, you have your hands to add texture so that the babies appears even softer.

5. Look at Anne Geddes pictures. I quite like them and you will only get a few chances to do that sort of style. Once they grow up, you can get beaten up for even suggesting such things.

6. Have your light(s) set up and ready to go in the lounge. I find that others in the house can get used to having the lights being visible all the time. If someone asks you to pack it away, just move it to the garage for a day or and move it back.

7. Think about using a large light as on-axis-fill so that you have full control over those shadows. You could use an on camera flash turned backwords to a wall behind you.

8. Use a image cataloguing software to rate, tag the pictures now. Otherwise you will end up with 1000000 pictures and have to choose good ones each time...


hth.

[biggerry]

6. Have your light(s) set up and ready to go in the lounge. I find that others in the house can get used to having the lights being visible all the time. If someone asks you to pack it away, just move it to the garage for a day or and move it back.

5. Look at Anne Geddes pictures. I quite like them and you will only get a few chances to do that sort of style. Once they grow up, you can get beaten up for even suggesting such things.

change that to, 'you will get beaten up' at some stage irrespective and child will hit your over the head repeatedly when they grow up and realise the shame....

[gstark]

Ok, here's my $0.11 .....

First of all, you've done really well. You have great saturation and wb, focus ... the whole box and dice.

Well, almost.

I don't like the deep black backgrounds here, as they tend to make the subject matter appear as if it's floating in space. By using solid deep blacks, you've not given the images anything to anchor too, and while the surreal effect may suit some images, I'm not sure if child portraiture falls into that category.

Trevor has highlighted the issues with the use of wide angle glass. portraiture is best shot with a slightly long lens ... 85mm-105mm on a crop body tends to give very pleasing results. Of course, to use a lens of that focal length, you need to have some physical depth within the shooting environment.

Which brings me to the next point: you mention the apparent power of the lights, and that you need to stop down more that you were wanting to in order to shoot these images. Remember that if you move the lights further away from the subject, the intensity of the light hitting the subject will decrease. Double the distance between your light and the subject, and you'll only have a quarter of the original power available; if you have the physical space, that can work.

Or you can increase the distance the light needs to travel without relocating them: if you're shooting into a soft box, turn the light around so it faces away from the subject, and then point it into a reflective brolly.

And do pay attention to the placement of your lights. Suren (I think) mentioned catchlights, which are important, but so too are the shadows as and how they fall. Look at image #1, for instance. The lower part of the face is in somewhat deep shadows. Relocating the lights slightly so that they are closer to the axis of the camera's lens might help to alleviate this issue, but this again brings me back to your choice of the black background: here it may also be acting as a subtractor in terms of the light hitting your subject, and thus it may be helping to create those shadows. This is noticeable in images #1 and #3, and especially in #2.

A reflector could also be put to good use here, but if you're going to use a wall as a reflector, do pay attention to the wall's colour. A green wall will do wonders for your son's complexion.

[smison]

Thanks guys, a lot of tips to improve further.. just hope I can incorporate them all before he's too big!

Cheers again

[ozimax]

#4,5 are the money shots here, except for the little bit of shadow on the baby's left temple. Instead of stopping down, can you move the lights back a tad? I realize you may not have room to do this.

Whilst the orange outfit is cute, I found myself gazing at the T (for tiger) more than the baby. Most probably plain outfits are better. (Just my two bob's worth here.)

With little critters like this, expression is king. You've got a couple of very good shots. The folded hands in #5 is a classic.

Regards,

Ozi.

[zafra52]

4 & 5 are the best of the group. I don't think
the red gear does anything for the subject
because is distracting. In your next attempt,
try using a lighter background that compliments
the subject and does not absorbs light.