my baby ( almost 16 months old)

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/A.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/E.jpg






and now his new game-




http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/D.jpg





its called "can i survive this fall?"



(anyone guess the answer? LOL)



*Added images are from backyard this evening*

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/611bca4d.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/c475744a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/f2922f28.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/0a5a3780.jpg

[djonto]

Lovely photos but I particularly like the first one - the eyes are something special

[kawter2]

Nice job!! You always have that "IT" factor in your photos!!

[wintoid]

Very beautiful, especially the first one

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

added some more lol..........

[Andy_T]

Wonderful pictures, ann! He is really cute. Thanks for sharing.


Actually, I am very envious of your masterful use of the 50/1.8.
What aperture did you use?
How do you post process the shots?


Best regards,
Andy

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

i processed in PSCS but i ued an aperature of around 2.5-3.0

depending on which shot. i think i went to 3.5 on the one where he is climbing in the door way

[Andy_T]

Ann,

ok, let me be more specific .... is that the normal bokeh you get out of the 50/1.8, or did you apply any softening filters in PS?

Apart from the tonality of your B+W shots, I like the sharpness of the kid as opposed to the very 'dreamy' look of the OOF areas.

I normally use my 50/1.8 around f/2.8 as well, but my backgrounds are not as nice as yours. Hmm, maybe I must select better backgrounds or get closer...

As I said, I really like your images very much :D

Best regards,
Andy

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

if you are not close to the subject as in these closeups you would need to go down to 1.8 for the bokah - say of a full body shot of a kid.

one reason teh bokah is so good is because those are basically in camera crops the ones of his face- your Dof is shallower the closer you are to what the focus is one. notice where he is climbing up the door step how most of it is in focus- that becuase since i was so far from him the depth of field was widened. to get teh nice blur at 2.8 you do still need to be fairly close but be careful how close there is a fine line between good bokah and only one sharp eye.

also i do not recommend focus and recompose on such a closeup instead switch to the focus point closest to they eye.

in case one eye does remain partially out of focu make sure you are focused on the eye closest to you .. generally then the blurred eye isnt bothersome.

[vinnyveez]

you still ahvent said what lens you are using. I want to get the 50/1.8, will i get simialr results, or did you post process the background?

[Andy_T]

Thanks for the fast answer :D

I will try that ... if my son will hold still, that is...
Every time he sees that I have the camera out and pointed at him, he wants to look at the pictures :rolleyes:

Best regards,
Andy

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

its the 50mm 1.8
sorry Ithought she had mentioned it particularly and knew that

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

i am having trouble getting anything typed lol- my baby keeps grabbing the keyboard.

but I am not certain if the question was fully answered but i will try to answer anything the best i knwo how

I am pretty new to photography- i got my camera 10 months ago and started my business right before christmas

[cmM]

very nice shots. Your baby is cute

[vinnyveez]

its the 50mm 1.8
sorry Ithought she had mentioned it particularly and knew that

What about post processing? i am very impressed with the quality of your pics for only 10 mnths experience.

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

all i did was sharpen of course i ran USM on a 5x7 cropped image at about 125- 2- 4 for the settings

then i converted to b&w..

here is one with just sharpening and resizing- no conversion

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/43573690.jpg

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

but behind him is simply grass- i am above him of couse so its grass below him and my grass was mowed 2 days ago and is very short- i do notice that it blurrs nicer when its fresh mowed and not long.

also you can see the depth of field is very shallow- his shoulder ( the further one ) is not even in focus- i never mind that as long as eyes are sharp but some cant stand it

[vinnyveez]

in a few years you will be truly outstanding as your attention to detail is impeccable. You are way worse than me when it come sto overscrutinzing. :)

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

OMG ya have know idea- anytime i am gonna shoot outside and i know ahead of time i run out and mow the grass... cause it looks better-

luckily my boys love the mower so i put em in the stroller and place em out of the way-( so they can watch) i also bag the grass one so it wont track int eh house but two because that minimizes the possiblility that a rock could fly up or anything.

if i think they are doing something cute that they wont just stop doing- i have been know to grab the swiffer and make sure the wood floor is clean-

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

and i admit- i love photgraphing them looking out the window- and that one reason is why they are sparly clean-

[vinnyveez]

so tell me about the lighting in these pictures.
are any done using your softbox or are all donw using available light?
if you say available light, did you use any reflectors? what time of day and what were the conditions (sunny, cloudy, overcast, etc) were the shots taken under a tree?
more details please. I will just copy you as the pictures really are great. :)

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

i used only available light on these the indoor ones each had a window very close to one side.

no reflectors on any of these..

out door ones done same day

it was sunny but around 5 pm so close to sunset- which has excellent light it just dissappears very quickly

he was out in the open no tree but the sun was behind him outdoors and open sky to the front of him. 5pm is perfect photo light when it was a Sunny day. i dont use any fill flash if at all possible i did not on any of these.

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/a577a14c.jpg


windows in this room are very nice there is one large ont eh tcamera right and one right behind me

I USED SS 1/200
F 2.5 OR CLOSE TO IT
iso 200

no reflector

its very overcast today

[vinnyveez]

ok now youre just showing off. lol do you take bad pictures? really am impressed for your limited time taking pics. i took a peak at your site and looks like you have some great shots there too. would love to know your technique on a couple of them as my sister in law is coming to town this weekend with her newborn and she needs some good shots (she doesnt know it but the pictures she had taken at the studio are horrible). so i wnat to get her some decent pictures.

[Michaelmjc]

The last picture in black and white reminds me something ffrom a commercial to sponsor a child. (no offence, just looks that way)

I liek the shots though, very nice.

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

lol no offense- he was yelling at me to stop...

i only have been at this 10 months but i have taken almost 8,000 images in that time- practice makes perfect

one thing with natural light though- unless you have simply enormous windos and the sun is beating directly in- they have to be failry close- in all the indoor images he ranges 1-5 feet from teh window at most ( i have crappy windows)

for a newborn i would say try taking a wicker basket and a white sheet- put the seet in the basket in a very unorganized pilled fashion.


move a table like a cofee table to where it is about 3 feet from teh window ( but lower than the window) and place the basket on it.

curl the baby up in the basket- iether naked or in diaper only use some sheet to cover iether nekedness or the diaper. clothes on newborns are distracting( they never fit right)
if you put em in their nuddie umm be ready to wash everything- most of my newborn clients pee and poop numerous times during a shoot- they like to spit up on everything too.

choose your settings stay at a ss of 1/160 or higher but no more than 1/200- better to get lower ISo than go higher. but you dont want camera shake. and tripods- well will make it difficult to get good angles.

change your focus point when you change angles so that you use the one closest to the eyes and always focus on the inside corner of the eye giving your camera a sharp line to work with.

at low aperatures teh focus and recompose method will dissapoint you and leave you with a lot of sharp noses and blurry eyes.

have fun- make sure to get one of the wee lil feet too-

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

oh and with a newborn or adult a reflector if you have one on the oposite side as the window will help put the detail bakc in the shadows- a bit useless with a 1 yr old they will merely wanna play with it

[vinnyveez]

well with the amount of detail you gave me i feel like i owe you a sitting fee. you have given me such great detail, the only thing you need to do now is press my shutter button. lol. i just read a book by nick kelsh callled how to photograph your baby. and he recommends many of the things you do. i will post soem pics to let you know how i make out. i have a large sliding patio door that faces south so hopefully it wont rain all weekend and ill get some nice shots around 5 tomorrow. thanks for all of the great detail. :)

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

5 is perfect fopr outside images- but indoors go for the brightest time. the reason 5 is so goodoutside is beacuse the light is ther but not causeing hot spots.

indoors it all filteers through a nice wondow so its fairly even.

i like my front window best at 2 pm and the back at around 10am so see where your window is facing and when it has the most sun.

but at 5pm take baby and mom outside- get some cute shots of em together.

[vinnyveez]

hey i have another question for you. how do you get your pictures printed to give to your clients? i really would love to give my sis in law a nice package for her birthday. and want to get soem good quality prints. thanks again.

[*MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS*]

i have mine done at www.whcc.com
there is a $12 print minimum though- and you have to send test prints first to make sure your monitor is correct.

but with prrof printing prices you could select 35 images and give her a 5x7 of each image for $12.25

which is excellent pricing for 35 5x7 prints. their quality is superb- and they will do a few 8x10 test prints so you can calbirate the monitor you use for free.

all you do is send some in then hold them up and make adjustments til the screen matches them.

but they do do FTP upload and so it is slow going with dialup.

a lot of people have had great success with MPIX but the shipping eats up costs- WHCC ships at no extra cost with a $12 order.

[vinnyveez]

i am so stoked. i ahve been wanting aplace that would help with teh monitor issue and this place sounds perfect. i love having you as my cheatsheet. you will ahve me set straight in no time.

[drewmk2]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/MOMOFAIRFORCEBRATS/D.jpg


That one is my favorite! You get some space that's not completely full, and it really adds a nice touch.

[vinnyveez]

see i have a 2 yeard old so i need to go buy the 50/1.8 so i can get those super blurry backgrounds as the house is ALWAYS turned upside down. :D