Outdoor portraits

[poker]

It's 100 degres outside but my nieces were game for some portrait photography. I did it outside so my 2 year old boy wouldn't destroy the equipment.

Lighting: the sun was pretty harsh almost being right above us. This was done between 11AM and 1PM. I used the a 32" translucent disc to create shade and soften the sun's effects. I also had my 430EX on its own tripod via off-shoe cord for fill in. I diffused the flash with bubble wrap.

Opinions are always appreciated....

[poker]

Just to add, I was using for the first time my Calumet BG support and 9ft wide polar white seamless paper. I rolled out the paper so much that it acted like a reflector on the ground with the harsh sun above.

[poker]

My boy

He is a character....

[poker]

Not sure why my kid started doing this....maybe cuz it was so darn hot!

All critiques are welcome!

[julsoph]

Manacsa...I like all of these. The one of your niece is beautiful. I really like her expression, and her eyes are lovely. The two of your son are also nice...although the one you most recently posted, while I love his position and the hands at his face, the crop feels off to me. Like I either want to see his whole head, or have it cropped even tighter...

They both remind me of my hubby's niece & nephew... VERY cute kiddos there...

Emily

[Alison]

I love what you have done with these manacsa.

However, the flash has created a shadow under the chin.

If they are sitting down, and head and shoulder shots are all you were ineterested in getting, then sitting them on a big white sheet to serve as a reflector would have helped your fill without the use of the flash.

Great shots though :thumbsup:

(I wish I could listen to my own advice lol).

[schrackman]

#1 & 3 are adorable manasca! I think compositionally you could improve upon them but I think they are great portraits nonetheless. Good work.

[poker]

Thanks Ray. I'm enjoying doing portraits right now but I know still need to work on it. Need to hit the books but this time at the library. Buying books takes away from gear budget

#1 & 3 are adorable manasca! I think compositionally you could improve upon them but I think they are great portraits nonetheless. Good work.

[poker]

I love what you have done with these manacsa.

However, the flash has created a shadow under the chin.

If they are sitting down, and head and shoulder shots are all you were ineterested in getting, then sitting them on a big white sheet to serve as a reflector would have helped your fill without the use of the flash.

Great shots though :thumbsup:

(I wish I could listen to my own advice lol).

LOL...I know what you mean

I didn't realize the flash cast a shadow until I saw it on the computer. Looks like I need lower the power on the fill, or maybe different angle instead? Thanks for pointing that out....I'll remember next time. Some shadows are ok but this shadow looks unnatural.

Many thanks Alison!

[poker]

The one of your niece is beautiful. I really like her expression, and her eyes are lovely.

She is a natural in front of the camera. She changes poses whithout coaching making my life easier. She is also a great photog at 6 years old. She is in charge of the pictures during their vacations! Seriously!

The two of your son are also nice...although the one you most recently posted, while I love his position and the hands at his face, the crop feels off to me. Like I either want to see his whole head, or have it cropped even tighter...

I think I see what you mean. The partial cut off on the right is not correct. It should either be a tight crop or not, as you said.

Thanks for the critique! I truly appreciate it.

[poker]

I've been really mad at myself lately because everytime I shoot two people together, one is obviously out of focus. I know it is an DOF issue and being spoiled on AF. For this shot, I used manual focus and the Av was at 5.0. Av at 5.0 probably should've been higher. I'm happy with the focus here.

What ya think?