Child C&C

K_user

I know that they aren't original, but I am looking for some honest feedback, any idea's opinions? Go on be brutal!

daycent

Nice pics, but looks like over exposure issues.

sNarah

I was thinking the same - highlights are blown out a lot. He looks like a wee happy chap, good images otherwise. Bring in some more contrast and up the darks I think?

kelly1

Did you use a flashmeter?

sineadw

High key alright, but the subject's not overexposed as far as I can see?

Edit: although a bit soft on closer (full size) inspection..

Xiney

The subject is overexposed in my opinion - of course some parents like that since it makes the kid look "angellic".

I'd have put at least one light a bit lower down as well... the eyes look a bit "dead" from lack of catchlight.

K_user

Thanks for the comments.

There is a touch of over-exposure, its something that I would fight against in my "normal" photographs, but here it seems unavoidable.

I don't know if it can be helped with the combination of a small room, a white background and both the subject and the camera being fairly close.

I've tried F11, but the background ends up gray with every fold showing, so I've gone for around F5, backgrounds better but the subject bleaches. I don't think a lightmeter will help, what I really need is a larger room and another flash head - ie a dedicated studio - but since thats not going to happen...

Here is a another try on an older child, any better?

K_user

Xiney wrote: »

The subject is overexposed in my opinion - of course some parents like that since it makes the kid look "angellic".

I'd have put at least one light a bit lower down as well... the eyes look a bit "dead" from lack of catchlight.

Unfortunately the lights are high and as far back as possible, might try a shot of fill in from my cameras flash?

daycent

The skin tones also look a bit off to me, too red maybe?

AnimalRights

all the photos look overblown or er too bright to me.

hbr

K_user wrote: »

I know that they aren't original, but I am looking for some honest feedback, any idea's opinions? Go on be brutal!

A bit overexposed and a little too much colour saturation.

smelltheglove

All are blown out in areas ok the 2nd child isn't as bad but still not quite right!

Firstly if you can't notice this then your screen is too bright, colours don't look great, mind I'm on the mobile but I think you have a callibration issue. I think the light on your background may have been too strong, had you lowered the power of it youshould have been able to use f8 or even 11. What lighting set up did you use exactly?

K_user

Thanks again for all the replies.

The skin tone comes from my processing, now that you’ve pointed it out, yes it’s a bit on the red side!
I went back and took a look at my layers and it happened when I was tweaking with curves.

My lighting set up was as simple as I could make it. Two lights, soft box/umbrella, both about 7 feet back from the “wall” of the background, but no closer than 4 foot from the subject. Both were above and pointing down at an angle. I was about four foot back too.

The problem being that F8/F11 tend show the background as gray with all the folds. I suspect that this issue might be resolved if I was further back - time to knock down some walls! So to compensate I have to go to F5.6/F6.3, this does help with the white background, but kills all other colours!

Its frustrating, but I’m sure that there is neutral ground somewhere, a useable sweet spot, I’ll just have to keep on looking…

stcstc

it might work better if you were to use one light to light subject and a reflector to fill the shadows on the other side

then use you other light to light the background.

K_user

I tried that before, unfortunately I ended up with one side of the background being well lit, but there was a shadow on the other side. I also found there was a problem with spill - again the tight space was against me

D*mned if you do and all that!

smelltheglove

I photograph daily in a space that I would put money on is smaller than yours.

So I have the entire area pure white. I use a variety of backgrounds but lets say Im shooting white background. Cant give a definite set up as I dont have the camera with me but today I took an image of a young girl with the white background. So afair it was around 160 and f8, I had my light at around half power, I prefer softer lightening for kids, and the light goes through a softbox. I only use one light as I dont have room for more, my walls being bright white act as a reflector, obviously if I had space I'd have another light to the side but I dont I have them turned slightly towards the light. When kids are low to the ground the light needs to be lowered too, lower than if shooting an adult for definite. I point it downwards towards the child. I have about 1 ft of space between child and background, maybe a lttle more, another 2ft and a half between child and light and maybe another foot between myself and the light.

You will not get a high key background without lighting the background, not properly anyway. When I want a bright white background I need to do a bit of tweaking in photoshop, otherwise you could light the child and light the background to get it perfect otherwise you have an overexposed foreground just to get the bright back.

example using the set up I have described

Heebie

This looks like a good amount of light on the background..but too much on the subject. I'd think about moving some lighting around.

If you've got 2 strobes, you could tone them down.. put one with a reflective umbrella.. or directly at the subject with a parasol.. and other pointing pretty directly at the backdrop.. but not pointing at the subject.

You could also tone down the strobes you're using in front for the subject, and put some other type(s) of flash(es) behind where the subject is to wash out the backdrop.

You'll probably have to play with the light a lot to get it right.

We once (in a place I worked in) tried to setup a small portrait studio.. but we just didn't have enough space to spread the lighting out to make it work.

K_user wrote: »

Thanks for the comments.

There is a touch of over-exposure, its something that I would fight against in my "normal" photographs, but here it seems unavoidable.

I don't know if it can be helped with the combination of a small room, a white background and both the subject and the camera being fairly close.

I've tried F11, but the background ends up gray with every fold showing, so I've gone for around F5, backgrounds better but the subject bleaches. I don't think a lightmeter will help, what I really need is a larger room and another flash head - ie a dedicated studio - but since thats not going to happen...

Here is a another try on an older child, any better?