First try at a person

[h.r.ford]

Ok so I've never really been one to photograph people. For one thing the greatness of people like Diego makes it a bit daunting. But I was going to take my son today to have photos taken for the grandparents and decided I could give it a try myself and always take him later. I have no studio which puts me at quite a disadvantage so these are taken on a white sheet in my dining room with light coming in from a window.

I think I could fix the shadows on PS but for the life of me cannot figure out how so some help with post processing would be great! I know it is my son but please feel free to offer critisism I'm pretty tough.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/749/Keegan1-resize.jpg

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/749/Keegan3-resize.jpg

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/749/Keegan6-resize.jpg

[Dena]

I shoot people, especially the little versions. Good for you for giving it a go, it's not always easy. I do not use any studio lights whatsoever, so really, you are NOT at a disadvantage. It can be done, and done really well. In the future: If you want to use a backdrop like this you should consider moving the child at least 2-3 feet in front of the backdrop to avoid the shadows and wrinkles in the sheet (five feet is ideal if you have the space.) Shoot with a large enough aperture to minimize the backdrop and anything distracting in the background when not using a drop.
I try to have the window light coming in at 45-90 degrees to get good modelling on the face and to put catchlights in the eyes. Also, when there is direct sunlight coming in, it is a good idea to have the subject just at the edge of that light, where the shadows begin, to avoid the hotspots or you can diffuse the window with a sheer white curtain.
I don't have ps open right now to play with the photos you have here, but I think you could probably play a bit to get them where you want.
Thanks for sharing, (he's adorable by the way!)
If you are interested I can copy you on some great tutorials on using window light. email me.

[Pete E]

I think the grand parents will be over the moon with those pictures!

In the spirit of learning, I would say that the light source was a bit harsh and that maybe a reflector on the shadow side would have helped...

What I really don't know about is how close should the subject be to the background...I suppose it various according to the circumstance, but if any of the memebers have a rule of thumb for setting up portraits, I'd be very interested to hear it..

Regards,

Pete

PS How old is your son?

[Diego Garcia]

Lovely images. :)

[sue]

Really like number two personally.

[h.r.ford]

Dena,

Thanks so much for that info. I never would have even thought to move him away from the backdrop but as soon as I read it I went "doh!".

Pete,

The light source wasn't quite as harsh as I made it as I was trying to blow out the backdrop it also affected the light on his face. (he's 2 1/2 by the way)

Thanks Sue and Diego my husband likes #2 also.

[Dena]

ah, to blow out the background (high-key white) it is best to light the backdrop separately. It can be done in ps but is tricky if you aren't good with the extract tool.

[h.r.ford]

I am good with just about nothing in PS. I usually use Lightroom to do basic fixes. Today I attempted to use PS and you see my results. Well here is the original (there is a white balance problem) which has had nothing done to it other than a resize to get shown on here.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/749/IMG_2290.jpg

[Pete E]

At 2 1/2 I'm surprised he sat still long enough for you to get any pictures! :D

Are you sending the grand parents prints or emails of the pictures?

[Dena]

Renee
I got your email and will send some stuff your way tonight or tomorrow.
Here is a quick play I did on your web-size file. I opted to not completely blow out the background, just because I feel the shadow helps to ground him and eliminate the "floating in white space" aspect. Now I think I have forgotten how to attach a file, let's see if this works.
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/753/Keegan1-resize_copy.jpg

[h.r.ford]

Now how precious is that!

I really think I need to spend less time taking pics and more time learning how to fix the ones I take.

Pete,

Actually my son is an aboslutly fantastic model. He loves getting his pic taken as well as taking them. He also takes direction pretty well and will look in different directions. As long as he isn't doing his fake smile (usually I pretend to take a couple and then that fake one goes away) he's pretty easy to take pics of.

I almost started him as a child model when he was about 18 months but the trips to London were more expensive then what he would be paid. So he is just my little model.

Renee