Newborn Photography HELP!!!

Yes she's going to let me take some of her tomorrow so ill have a play around and try different things :)
 
caitlinjade95 said:
Yes she's going to let me take some of her tomorrow so ill have a play around and try different things :)
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Don't experiment too much, start with window light, 3/4 lighting short lit. Then gave a go with the softbox to recreate that. Have a think about a makeshift reflector too.

From my early days I reckon you could take a couple of hours just for that.
 
I have a reflector.

And when i said play around i meant with camera settings to get the right ones
 
Why on facebook is it a small business, if your just learning, you getting free training from all these kind chaps
 
Phil V said:
Don't experiment too much, start with window light, 3/4 lighting short lit. Then gave a go with the softbox to recreate that. Have a think about a makeshift reflector too.

From my early days I reckon you could take a couple of hours just for that.
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caitlinjade95 said:
I have a reflector.

And when i said play around i meant with camera settings to get the right ones
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As Phil says work simply and avoid the desire to change too much during each session as all too easy to lose track of what you have done for each setup & resulting images so I wonder if it would help to work from a planned structure.... as you setup your lighting and your mums position within the lighting configuration Make a simple plan drawing of it that you can relate to the specific image file, in other words if you do it too randomly without notes you will have very limited information to recreate the same shots. Yes no doubt as it becomes second nature the need for the drawings will diminish but for now as you agreed you need the practice and maybe the above would help to improve quicker?

PS pretty sure I gave you links to plans of lighting set ups ???
 
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Because thats the option i chose? you had to pick one and im not exactly a political organization am i it was the only one that fit...but thanks for asking there is your answer :D
 
Yes i want to just use the same set up and work on getting the lighting and focusing right. I don't want to mess about with anything wacky lol i just want some nice simple shots that are decent. No i don't think you give me any links for that, i did get some links to creative live courses (which im still looking into and deciding on one) but no lighting plans i don't think! I do like the suggestion of drawing it up, it'll help to remember what i did thats for sure, thankyou for the tip!
 
On smartphone now, when I can find what I was thinking of I will post link to give you the idea of what I mean by a plan drawing
 
On PC now :)

Not the one that I was thinking off but shows as they say some very simple setups to try at home (NB I cannot recall what lighting gear you have but think Phil arranged to send you some???) http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2...ly-simple-lighting-techniques-to-try-at-home/

This one shows some of what I mean by "plan drawings" i.e. as seen from above to show the positions of the elements and IMO is a rapid way to record the setups you create to recreate http://photography.tutsplus.com/art...door-and-studio-flash-photography--photo-4229
 
those two links you sent are perfect thankyou so much! As soon as im back from my theory test tomorrow im going to have a proper read and a proper go at getting some good photos and ill see what i can do! thankyou for those links!
 
caitlinjade95 said:
those two links you sent are perfect thankyou so much! As soon as im back from my theory test tomorrow im going to have a proper read and a proper go at getting some good photos and ill see what i can do! thankyou for those links!
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Fifth time lucky. Hope you pass.
 
Please can you stop reading my tweets haha i feel like you all have a 6th sense :') i hope so too im sick of re sitting the bloody thing lol
 
Well done on passing. Treat yourself. Shopping maybe?
 
It's not supposed to be private i just find it weird how your super interested in reading everything i write on my twitter blog account haha dont see what it matters to you but go ahead lol it dosn't really make a difference to me (:
 
caitlinjade95 said:
It's not supposed to be private i just find it weird how your super interested in reading everything i write on my twitter blog account haha dont see what it matters to you but go ahead lol it dosn't really make a difference to me (:
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Because we all want beauty tips...

As a Twitter member however I don't really see how it's weird reading people's tweets. Is that not the point of Twitter.
 
Yeah but if you look at my following 99% of them are female who do want to know about make up and beauty...you lot however dont :') I don't see the point haha if it related to me doing photography etc then go for it lol i just don't see how it benefits you lot but go for it :)
 
Hey, went out with a friend today and went for a little walk on the moors, took my chance to get some nice photos haha! I took them with my 50mm and wondered if you have any thoughts, far from perfect i know just wondering if im getting there with the focusing/sharpness the super light spot on her nose is bugging me so ill see if i can do that in photoshop and ajust the lighting, i havn't edited it yet but wondered if you had any thoughtsView attachment 34097
 
The bright spot on her nose is due to dappled light, you can see some on her hair too - it's something that very often happens when you take photos under/near trees. It's better if you can to watch for it before taking photos and move your model a bit, editing it in Photoshop is a real pain ;)
 
Yes it was from the trees, i'd realized and tried shifting her about a little back and forth over here and over there but i still wanted the blurred out trees in the background which was then my problem because i wasn't able to remove the light hitting her face. It is driving me abit mad, ill see what i can do on photoshop and try to correct it as much as possible! thankyou
 
I really tried today to make sure i got the images to be sharp and in focus and i hope that they are good enough. I know that the lighting isn't perfect i have never shot photos outside and i was surprised that i actually really enjoyed doing it and how much easier it is with a model that actually does what they are asked haha! It was really different and i really enjoyed doing it, keep practising now is my job to do!

Would like to know other the the light spilling in across her nose and hair if there is anything else that needs to be improved (hopefully it wont be a massive list lol)
 
caitlinjade95 said:
Yes it was from the trees, i'd realized and tried shifting her about a little back and forth over here and over there but i still wanted the blurred out trees in the background which was then my problem because i wasn't able to remove the light hitting her face. It is driving me abit mad, ill see what i can do on photoshop and try to correct it as much as possible! thankyou
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It's quite a bit better then you baby pictures, but...

This is how we shoot portraits outdoors:

Light first!

Just like we said about the position of the baby in relation to the window, get the right light, then compose, then shoot.

We tend to get wobbly and thrown by the less important issues, and then lighting suffers, but as you can see from the feedback, if the background was slightly less good, the picture would still be better with even light on your subject.

Then; centred subject, would be better on a third, think about composition.
There's nothing in the image to suggest it needs a horizontal composition, the subject would suit vertical.
The shoulder line is good, but a straight on portrait is generally less attractive. I'll bet within a metre, with a different angle the image is there for the taking.
 
Thankyou for the tips yes the lighting it something i need to get used to it was seriously sunny today and we went for the forest area because it was shaded but then light was spilling through the branches so we went for the open and the photos were coming out very over exposed ill find one i mean, i'd love some tips on how to reduce that i tried with alot of different angles and positioning to see if it would affect the super vibrant lighting so ill see if you guys have any tips on it! The first one i thought was too light against her face and the second one i moved into a different angle to have an experiment what it'd be like if i got infront of the sun and it facing her back (just to see) in the third one was with the trees again but it still has that haze to it. and the fourth one i got distracted taking photos of the water :')

Again, i know far from perfect but in your opinion which one is your favourite?

View attachment 34116 View attachment 34118 View attachment 34119 View attachment 34120
 
As in the previous pictures you posted you didn't spot that you'd left better work unposted.
These are better, but you can still see:
Central compositions, straight on posing...
 
What would you recommend, I move around more, different angles and heights?
I didn't want to post all of the photos I haven't edited any of them. Would you say they are getting sharper? I have a better understanding of lighting and it was interested to see today. I'm really excited to have another go and practise with lighting even more!
 
I will bow to those who specialise in portraiture to comment on the finer "portrait" elements but will put my 2p's worth on the compositions:-

#1 Too central and looking downwards to the subject also the bg is distracting. It might be better cropped portrait orientation to concentrate the point of view? NB if you have a second friend on the walk take a reflector that he or she can hold out of frame to the right to bounce light onto her face to reduce the shadows ;)

#2 likewise too central but if you crop a lump off the righthand side perhaps to the point where there second fold in the sleeve would tighten up the whole and give emphasis to the direction of her gaze :) I take it you were trying for the dreamy look in the post processing ?

#3 though also central I like this one as the tree trunks are helping to frame her and to a degree create elements of leadin lines to her as the subject.

I cannot recall which camera you have but most have controls that allow for selecting a single focusing point other than the central...............so think about the composition and select for example in #2 an AF point to the right of centre and slightly higher (hope that makes sense for you).

#4 OK more my subject as very low shutter speed handheld is something I do when the subject presents itself ~ nice competent go at slow shutter speed photography "frozen water" never looks nice!
 
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I know what you mean about the centre of the images now i do need to work on that, i did take some in portrait, would you say this would be better?

Ill try that when i come to editing it! I think i was just more trying to experiment with different angles of the lighting at least i'd had a good go at it then even if all my photos were bad lol i might have a better understanding but i do quite like how it looks so might see what its like after editing and tweeking a few bits!

I really like this one, i wasn't sure about the angle of how she was posed i just got the feeling it wasn't very natural next time i might just get her to turn her head more to the camera ever so slightly or get her to move her eyes down a touch

Yes i know what you mean by that ive been practising with it and i do have more photos i never know how many photots is 'too many' to upload onto here i dont want to upload all 20 of the ones i like lol! But yes i did try and experiment with different shots how about these?

It's my first time attempting to photograph water, i love the look of water and water droplets really interest me too i was just intregued so decided to snap a shot and i actually love how it turned out! not sure if it's any good lol ive no idea about that kind of photography!!

Maybe this one is better portrait im not too sure? Still got that light coming through!
second one still has that light! grr thats going to bug me lol!
number 3 probably not the most flattering angle but at least its less central!
Fourth one i quite like but her face looks a little too on the bright side!View attachment 34121 View attachment 34122 View attachment 34123 View attachment 34124
 
As my brains are addling with tiredness I hope this makes sense

#1 seems like a nice environmental portrait ~ however without checking the EXIF the aperture perhaps needs to be more open e.g. f2.8 not f8 to reduce the visual impact of the metal gate in the bg also I think cropped to remove the sky!

#2 head position interesting with the shadow that looks like a mask is quite effective but IMO her gaze should be at the camera or slightly downcast to add the to mystery of the masked appearance.

#3 hmmmm! possibly a 'marmite' image but I think too much whites of the eyes looks odd???

#4 compositionally quite strong and captures what I was getting at about direction of her gaze...............and the more I look at it she perhaps has an anticipatory smile of someone awaited walking towards her though out of frame. But is just me putting an arty spin on it :LOL:


PS if you want to look at some low shutter speed images there are a couple on the link in the signature on my profile page, information tab. Though neither are water based ones but people based ones :)
 
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caitlinjade95 said:
What would you recommend, I move around more, different angles and heights?
I didn't want to post all of the photos I haven't edited any of them. Would you say they are getting sharper? I have a better understanding of lighting and it was interested to see today. I'm really excited to have another go and practise with lighting even more!
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Specifics first:
1. Slightly hot on the highlights, I'd have avoided the stone pillar, it's not interesting enough to 'add' so it detracts.
2. Not sharp, your AF will sometimes struggle shooting into the light
3. Better.
4. I know nowt about landscapes, but to me it's a test shot to try out a technique, learn from it, don't show it.
Generally:
I'm guessing there's a cheap filter stuck on the front of a lens that's challenged. Shooting into the light is a great look, but you need spotless technique to pull it off, in 2 you failed because of the AF, in 3 it lacks 'ooh!', get rid of the filter, make sure your lens is spotlessly clean.
They're all still a bit central, but more importantly, your shooting angle is off. Your mate is much taller than you isn't she? The 'up the nose' shooting angle is really unattractive. If you have to shoot people from below (which we generally only do for a specific look) they have to look down, usually it's done as a dominant pose and they'd be looking straight down the lens.
 
The second set?
1. You've cut her off at the knees but left an acre of dead space above her head, there's rules on where we 'chop' into people, you need to understand them before you break them, suffering from the dappled light again. And the gate is marginally distracting, but it's not a deal breaker.

2. Lighting, our eyes are naturally drawn to the brightest part of the image, so we light what's important. Of course when we're not thinking 'lighting' we forget all about it. Moving her head forward 3 inches would remove the highlight. Again we're looking up her nose, I'm guessing she is scared of a 'double chin', so she looks up, but you're below her so it's a recipe for disaster.

3 the framing is better, but let down by the angle of view and then the light hitting that crappy filter (or mucky lens?), I didn't mention a lens hood earlier, get one if you're planning to shoot in this style.

4. The pose and composition are much stronger, but that harsh sunlight? What's the brightest part of the image? Is it what's important?

The other consequence of her 'looking up' is that we're missing her strongest feature. Her eyes are gorgeous, but the fear of showing 'faults' creates a weaker image. Play to your subjects strengths, the trick is to emphasise the good bits rather than trying to hide faults.

I knew a young girl once who wore tops that emphasised her bust, her reasoning being 'while they're staring at mi tits they can't see mi fat arse'. I'm sure in your makeup tips you advise to emphasise the good bits as much more important than hiding faults.
 
Thanks box brownie ill see what i can do about the gate in pp and ill crop it down a touch to remove the sky and see how it looks then. Yes I've noticed my error in the dappled lighting and i know to fix this error next time! Thanks phil.

two, yes im really not sure i like the positioning of the head i would have had her looking down and towards me some more. Yes lol she was worried about a double chin I'm not a fan of how far she's looking up.

I cleaned my lens before we did it and no, there is no filter i wouldn't even know where to start ha! I'm trying not to complicate things so my lens was clean and there is no filter but ill buy a lens hood and give that a go. Box brownie, i havn't edited the eyes i think it's because she's looking into the sun and it's highlighting everything. I kind of like it, kind of dont lol.

In number four we was just having some fun and she's loosened up a little and wasn't feeling so silly so i actually really like the picture and i'll see if i can adjust it in photoshop. I'd have preferred to have got it first time but i'll see if i can make an adjustment to correct it. If not, the sunlight will bug me but at least the composition's is better lol

I didn't tell her what to wear or how she was to do her make up. She called me 10 minutes before we wen't out and asked me if i fancied a walk to the moors, i didn't even ask if i could bring my camera i figure if she said no then i could just get some of the scenery to practise so i didn't ask her until we was actually together, maybe i should next time, it was very last minute. I'm going to try with my mum today. She hates photos and hates make up lol so i'm not sure how im going to go about it but ill give it a go, anything for some practice!
 
oops i forgot to reply to your first one phil, sorry!
1. Yeah that what i was saying about it being out in the open it was so bright!! But thanks for pointing out the stone pillar ill avoid it.
2. Another thing ive now certainly learnt lol! It was really hard to try and get it sharp and it was having none of it, especially with how light it was facing the camera.
3. This is probably one of my favourites but still not perfect so ill keep at it!
 
Only going to comment on the second shot as tbh, i quite like it. I like the haze also. But that's just personal preference. Crop the sky and put her on a third or at east off centre towards the right and it becomes a much stronger image imo. Add a bit of sharpening and it might be 'ok'. The arm looks a bit random i guess, but it's something to work on next time.

Most of all enjoy yourself. (y)
 
Thanks David, I'm going to have a play about with it now on photoshop and see if i can improve it all slightly. I really enjoyed getting the photos it was something ive never tried and i actually loved doing it!
 
I think David is making the same point I did in post 389

Yonks ago I recall reading a tutorial about how to reduce the appearance of double chins but this I think was more studio based and with hand/head/body positioning with the lighting setup to mitigate for it???
 
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Seriously @caitlinjade95. I swear everywhere I look you are haunting me :jawdrop:
:vulcan:

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