Photos of My Granddaughter - C&C Please!

Hi All -


I am babysitting my granddaughter for a few hours this afternoon and took a few quick photos (of course)! She is not one to sit still for too long so I did not bother setting up lights on stands or backgrounds or anything like that. I am using a 580ex II on camera.

Here's a few of what I was able to take so far. Am I on the right track at all? Does the lighting look ok?? It seems alittle "washed out" to me. I changed the setting in post processing to Canon's "Studio" setting which is the first time I used it.

She'll be here for a few hours yet and I am hoping to have at least one printed before my daughter picks her up. Well, gotta go ...I don't get to see her too often since she lives out of town. I'll check back in a bit ...I'm off to watch Shark Tail!


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/...9b153966d3.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/...dca56c5c_z.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/...c48cc32b35.jpg


http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/...00f8cb7f_z.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/...9d2404d7_z.jpg

thanks for viewing and commenting!

Denise

Hi Denise, great job, beautiful little princess.


C&C from a rookie, probably not too helpful but,


The last two are my favourites. Good eye contact with the last and then thecontemplative stare on the second last one is thought provoking.


Her jumper does not contrast enough with the sofa she is lying on. Something that makes her "pop" would have been more eye catching.


Have you got any sort of filter/stofen on the 580?


Very nice portraits.[Y]

She

Great shots!. I would just add some post processing to soften them slightly and possibly warm them up just a smidge.


She has got some great poses!


I like the 4th adn 5th the best - great expressions.


My only other thought would be that when she looks away from the lens to not look above but to the side - IMO :) It works for me on the 4th but the others not so much.


Please take my suggestions with a grain of salt - im am far form a postiion to judge. overall nice shots.


what lens and body?


MattG

Thanks, guys!


Thank you so much for the advice! I asked her if she wanted to change her shirt and take more pictures but I got a very polite "no"! I made it sound like it would be the most fun thing in the world to do but still ..."no"! I think photo time is over! [:(]

All shots were taken with a 7D and 35mm f/1.4L except the last one was with my Canon 85mm f/1.8. I did not have a stofen on the flash but I did bounce it off the ceiling. Slight light coming from the window and a lamp turned on low camera right.

Ok, now on to legos!!

Denise

Great pics, Denise! I like the first and last ones the best.


Have fun playing!

Nice job Denise! [Y]


She is too cute not to like them all, but if pushed, I would pick the the fifth one. Personally, I do not care for the fourth, pretty little girls should always be smiling.[:)]


Chris

Should have guessed it was a 7D!!!! Very nice!

Here's one of my favorites so far ...


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/...3dd77024_z.jpg

Well, her mom came to get her and I ended up printing the last one above. She loved it! I think she was alittle shocked her mom actually took it!!


Anyway, thanks so much for the C&C! Next time, I think I will tell her mom to dress her in anything by tan and I need to work on where I position myself to where she is looking at the moment.


With the one photo being taken with the Canon 85mm, that Sigma #2 is going to have to be pretty darn good when I get it to make me part with this one!


Denise

Great shots! I have to say the last one is my favourite because the lighting is good and she

Nice shots, Denise!


I would say that the first 3 are my favorites. The last two, in my opinion, do not have the nice impact that your first 3 have. You may have benefited from a little more light on her face in the last one. The composition of the 3rd shot is excellent, well done! I also like her expression in that one (and the direction she

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BogdanD

The shadows under the chin (in the third picture) and just above the eyes (in the fourth picture) are throwing me off a little, but I'm just nitpicky that way.

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Thank you for being nipicky! I truly appreciate honest critiques and to be honest I didn't even notice it until you mentioned it. I have a problem eliminating shadows still but I'm working on it! I think I'm going to have to wait until she is alittle older to have more patience with me getting the lighting just right. In the meantime, it's back to my youngest daughter to practice on!

Thanks much!

Denise

I applaud those that work photographing toddlers on a regular basis! It is quite the challenge! Once she realized she had choices, look at grandma or NOT, she chose NOT just because she knew I wanted her to look at me! Also, the time frame you have in keeping their attention and interest in being photographed is very, very short!

Hello Denise,


I like the first and the last and they are absolutely adorable pictures. The eyes and expression in the last one are pricelessly fantastic and by far my favorite. The color and/or lighting also look best to me compared to the others. I do not care for the fourth photo, sorry. The single image as you like the best is good as well. I cannot put my finger on it but maybe needs softening, especially cheeks? Also, I am not sure how close you were in that shot but be careful not to get too close as the face can become slightly distorted. Like they do with newborns at hospitals. It just seems that is occuring somewhat in that picture but I could be wrong?


Take care, Ralph

Hi Ralph -


I am going to try softening them today when I have more time, that does seem to be the consensus here that it is something I should do to them. Also, yes I think I tend to get too close when using the 35mm just because I can and I try to fill the frame.


I have others that I took of her, I

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

I am babysitting my granddaughter for a few hours this afternoon and took a few quick photos (of course)! She is not one to sit still for too long so I did not bother setting up lights on stands or backgrounds or anything like that. I am using a 580ex II on camera.


Here's a few of what I was able to take so far. Am I on the right track at all? Does the lighting look ok?? It seems alittle "washed out" to me. I changed the setting in post processing to Canon's "Studio" setting which is the first time I used it.

She'll be here for a few hours yet and I am hoping to have at least one printed before my daughter picks her up. Well, gotta go ...I don't get to see her too often since she lives out of town. I'll check back in a bit ...I'm off to watch Shark Tail!

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Nice little granddaughter you've got there! She must be just a bit younger than my daughter.


Now, I'm no pro, but I really like the photos! Perhaps her clothes are a bit distracting, something more plain would be better, and for this kind of picture I personally prefer the head not to be cut off at the top...


Since you mention the backgrounds and lighting, the background doesn't distract me, and for me the lighting looks remarkably good for an on-camera flash!


Btw, when I want to take some pictures of my daughter, I always ask her whether she wants to participate, even a year ago at age 3. If she wants to pose for a few shots, she often takes some gadget or toy, and if I agree to take some photos of the toy, and her with the toy (in front of the face), then we can always squeeze some "serious" shots in, too.


Ciao, Colin

Hi Denise,


I like the 2nd, 5th, and6th the best. Your little Model looks adorable. I think the lighting looks wonderful. I like her hair and wardrobe as well. I also like the playfulness of the poses. I think filling the frame is nice, but be careful about shooting too tightly. I would also try to avoid perfect centering in the frame if possible, however I don't do portraits, so I'm not sure if this is standard or not.


The last tip is for your little super model. I know she is young, but see if you could teach her to connect with the camera and look right through the lens without squinting, and into your eyes, just like the camera wasn't even there. I think she is looking up too much, I'm not sure if someone was distracting her behind you, if so, then have that person get lower. If you want some posed candids then have her look straight out slightly to the left or right instead of upwards, as I feel that looks more natural, but that's just my opinion. I like #5 the best, because her eyes are looking through the lens and connecting with the viewer. I think #6 is the prettiest though.


Rich


Edited due to my numbering error.

Hi Rich -


Thank you for your comments! You are so right about the eye contact. We are getting the poses down and she comes up with most of them all on her own but the eye contact needs work! She knows where I

Of course, I understand. You may also want to try a tripod with a remote cord, so you won

Great shots Denise! My only question is what did you medicate her with to get her to slow down and pose like that?[:D]


Got in a fight with my 5 year old just last night because he wouldn't let me snap some shots.[:@]

LOL! She loves being the little model and she

Denise,


What an adorable subject she makes! Good portrait shots - I like the framing in them, did you crop any?


Paul

Thanks, Paul! It was alot of fun!! Only the 5th one wasn

I don't have anything bad to say about the couch she was posing on. With kids, you learn to just work with what ya got. It just seemed the colors might have run together a little too much with what she was wearing. Here is a semi-poor attempt to show what I'm talking about. I did a quick gradient (not completely sold on the angle I used). Prolly should have did the whole "refine edge and decontaminate colors" thing, but thought this might get my point across.. and I'm lazy:) Has a little of a Sears portrait-look going on here. Just a thought. Happy Turkey day Denise:)


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/14/7713.gdaughter.jpg[/img]

andnowimbroke - I REALLY like what you did with the photo ...even though I have no clue what you are referring to as far as how you did it or how you think you should have done it but it looks great!!


Thank you and happy turkey day to you too :)


Denise

Denise, Im sorry I missed this post-but, better late than never--I hope. My comments:


1. What a wonderful model----with a face and smile like that, you can

Hi Bob -


Thanks for the compliments! She is my little pride and joy! At just turning two she knows all her colors, ABC's, can count to 20something and is as polite and well behaved as a two yr. old can possibly be! She's awesome! Ok, I'm done bragging! [:P]


After posting these, I did edit out some of the couch lines but did not even think of the seams on her shirt and now that you mention it, my eyes go right to it. Those should be pretty easy to remove, even for me! Thanks for bringing it to my attention!


With all the suggestions given, I should end up with a pretty good 8 x 10 to print and hang!


Denise