Post Your Best Portrait Shots!

[Mark Elberson]

Great shot Mark. I really like that one.

Thanks Sean. Seems like babies are all I shoot these days! There must be something in the water :-)

[Sean Setters]

Taking pictures of babies isn't too terribly difficult, is it? I know I've regretted nearly every 2-6 year old shoot...

[rlriii13]

I had a 3-shot spurt that I really liked, and while looking at them in post, I though they would make a great photo booth strip. Google led me to all kinds of advice, and I basically followed this one, using Photoshop's Contact Sheet II. It only took me a few minutes, and I like the results. There are plenty of ways to tweak it. I could see myself doing more of this in the future.

[ddt0725]

Wonderful shot, Mark! I don't have much experience except for with my grandkids & I fully agree with Sean ...2 & 3 yr. olds are MUCH more difficult!

[ddt0725]

Love the photo strip idea! I am going to have to take a look at that, thanks for including the link! It definitely works very well for the shots you posted!

[Mark Elberson]

Taking pictures of babies isn't too terribly difficult, is it? I know I've regretted nearly every 2-6 year old shoot...

Wonderful shot, Mark! I don't have much experience except for with my grandkids & I fully agree with Sean ...2 & 3 yr. olds are MUCH more difficult!

To take a good picture of a newborn is much more difficult than a 2-6 year-old in my experience. I almost exclusively shoot children. In the past two years I've shot about two dozen children's portrait sessions and about one dozen newborn sessions. Lighting a newborn is easy because it's pretty much like shooting still life. Getting both the pose and perspective right can be very challenging. I still learn something every time I shoot a newborn and it never has to do with f-stops, lighting ratios, etc. When you get it right though it's very satisfying as you know that you are capturing a moment that is the most fleeting. I have a new 6-week-old of my own and you can almost watch her grow!

[bgood]

Hi, this is a really nice portrait. Framing, expression and lighting are simply great. But, in my opinion, the opacity of some PS layer could have been reduced. One can understand the temptation of really making those eyes shine, but maybe it went a bit too far. Just my thoughts on an otherwise great portrait.

Thanks. I'll look at the b&w conversion and darken the blue layer a bit or maybe try the other suggestion to use a level adjustment and clip the blacks just a bit. Thanks for the critique.

[DLS]

I have a new 6-week-old of my own and you can almost watch her grow!

Well said Mark - me too! My daughter is 6 weeks old today and my wife and I have tried a couple of photo sessions......very challenging to say the least. The timing has to be perfect. We find outselves setting up.....then waiting until she is ready, ha ha. What a challenge. Here's one from 2 weeks ago....

I used natural light from windows camera left and bounced flash off the white ceiling, 430EX. A few touch-ups in LR3 to lessen any harsh shadows and soften the image a bit.


C&C welcome everyone. As you can imagine, I have no clue if I'm on the right track or not. Thanks in advance. I think my biggest flaw is DOF - I think I needed a bit more....



Cheers,

Damian

[DLS]

I had a 3-shot spurt that I really liked, and while looking at them in post, I though they would make a great photo booth strip.

Great shots, well done. You captured 3 great emotions that any parent would love!

Cheers,

Damian

[Kayaker72]

Damian...beautiful pic of your daughter.