why can't I get portraits right.

[rx7speed]

I can't seem to get the colors/contrast/tone and stuff right with portraits. seems either they are too contrasty, not contrasty enough, the colors are off, or something at least. I can't really tell I just know something isn't right as I'm not able to get those nice rich colors yet natural looking colors without overcooking the image.

every now and then I seem to get a couple good ones out there but most of the time when I do it was with a strobe though even then I struggle many times, but compared to natural light I struggle.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4369918292_61140eb754.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4369165905_7292af41b7.jpg


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4369921558_5364bf718b.jpg

[The Mack]

what time of day did you shoot these?

[rx7speed]

I would guess around 5-5:30 up in idaho. so sun wasn't quite settling down yet but getting somewhat close up here in SW idaho.

[gonzogolf]

Its mostly about quality of light. You cant get good rich color without contrast in hard sunlight. Also you have to nail the exposure, anything you do to fix a missed exposure hurts. And finally practice practice practice on both shooting and post processing.

[zagiace]

tell us a little about your setup,
How are you judging and setting your exposures?
How do you set you strobe?

[rx7speed]

natural light. no strobe, no reflector. the trip was more for just a take my daughter to the park to run around and figured I would bring the camera with us since I just bought the 7D and wanted to test it out.
lens used was my 55-250 though didn't have the hood on. due to that I at least tried to keep the sun at an off forward angle to reduce lens flare.

metering was done by spot metering. tried to meter off her face and adjust +2/3 to +1 stop depending, though in high contrast scenes I at that point either used evaul metering or droped the exposure a smidge to cut down on blown out highlights in the back ground and figure little PP work on the back would help brighten her up.

[Clay Kerri]

RX7:
Get a reflector.
Seriously.
You can even build one with a piece of cardboard and a shirt or aluminum foil. It will soften the harsh shadows. If you look at her eyes, they are deep set into her face and it makes it hard for them to look soft and unshadowed. Trust me, best investment you could ever make.

[rx7speed]

I have one was just trying to pack light as it was more for fun then anything. though might wish to take it with me next time.

I usually don't use it though as I can never seem to get much luck out of it either. usually seems to throw the color or exposure way out of whack but I will blame that on lack of experience.

[Clay Kerri]

Lol, lighting is the hardest thing to learn. I fail at it in most of my shots. The trick is patience, because it will reward you with one photo that youre really happy with.

[Milla]

Its mostly about quality of light. You cant get good rich color without contrast in hard sunlight. Also you have to nail the exposure, anything you do to fix a missed exposure hurts. And finally practice practice practice on both shooting and post processing.

Yes I was going to say this. I've learned if I can nail the exposure than it doesn't take a whole lot of PP, and my images look crisp and clean. HOWEVER...thats hard to acheive with a toddler who will only give you so much! LOL

I think with these images, a reflector or a large white poster board could have brought in more light to her face and you could lose that contrasty feel you dislike....again...hard to do with a toddler :P

Keep at it though!

[kent andersen]

I like your pictures, but I am not a profesional photograph. Those pictures made me wish for more 2-3 year old children to take picture of.

I normaly edit values to avoid flat pictures. Than I am not getting to much contrast, but still nice colours. And the risk for messing up the colours are also not so big.

I prefer to take pictures in shadows on sunny dayes. I took this last summer, on a sunny day, behind a big building. That also gives less contrast and nice light. I have no strobe, light or reflektor (or an assistent to hold the reflektor) so I have to seek out those places that are already giving me the light I want. Untill I can afford more equipment, I will have to learn to use what nature offer at the moment.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3508/3818192546_03eef43247_b.jpg

[cbknight]

natural light. no strobe, no reflector. the trip was more for just a take my daughter to the park to run around and figured I would bring the camera with us since I just bought the 7D and wanted to test it out.
lens used was my 55-250 though didn't have the hood on. due to that I at least tried to keep the sun at an off forward angle to reduce lens flare.



Tracy....its very hard to capture a good snapshot. Its even harder to make that snapshot into a respectable candid. Its almost impossible to go to the park, take shots while your daughter is running around playing and expect it to come out as a portrait.

What you took were really good snapshots and what I consider to be a candid. Thats how I rate My Own shots. I will weed them out and say, well....thats a snapshot because I didnt prepare, pose, or put any thinking into the photograph. I keep a lot of snapshots, but only to print for my wife's scrapbooking and to save as keepsakes. When It's a really good shot that is good and clear with a good exposure, and when some thought went into how I was going to make this a good shot and those thoughts ended up as a digital image that could be printed...well, I put that in my candid folders. When I scout out a location, take my lighting, test the lighting beforehand, move in the model and put him/her in the spot where I had been practicing and getting the lighting right, try different poses, and eventually end up with a good, solid, sharply focused image.....I call it my attempt at a portrait.

My point is, you cant complain that you can't get a portrait right, when you didnt actually take a portrait. A lot of planning, testing, and execution is what it takes to get a good portrait.

I hope you understand that I am not at all talking down about your shots posted, I am just trying to relay that the way you explained these shots, they had no chance to become a portrait, just a good candid shot at best. I believe you achieved that.

[rx7speed]

cbknight your call on what type of shot this was is spot on. not really planned to go there for a shoot or anything like that. the main reason for going was so my 17mo old could run around and wear her self out kicking the ball, plucking grass out of the ground (she never realized that grass can be pulled out of the ground and thought instead you just pet it or walk on it till that day which is what picture 1 is about) and all in all just have fun with her.
it seems though that I have problems outside of that though and even in controlled situations (well as controlled as they can be with a munchkin) I get many of the same problems were the picture just doesn't come out. I can't put my finger on the problem either it just seems like something is wrong and I start chucking stuff at the problem until I hopefully hit the solution.
either it doens't look natural, the colors don't seem right, the contrast just doesn't look right. I have more problems outside then indoors but either way I feel like many of my shots just don't look right.
the pictures posted above are just examples of what I was refering to not really the only pictures in question though as I have MANY others I tried to work with and just gave up on. if you are curious click on the flickr link in my sig and you might see what I'm refering to.

[cbknight]

Tracy-

Looked at your flickr. It just seems you have problem turning out a portrait of your daughter because the portraits of your father look nice. I am sure you have spent some time in the kid section, but if not, get in there and look around. Look at Kristi's threads. She is very very good and takes pictures of a girl she watches during the day that is just a little older than your daughter. If I knew anything more to tell you than I did in the first post, I would, but sorry....I am reduced to working with crayons after raising my two kids. They used up all the creativity I had left.

BTW...number three is a very good candid....in my opinion.

[gonzogolf]

I also looked at your flicker stream. The portraits of your parents are very nice. It leads me back to my original thought that you just need to learn good light from bad light and then to take advantage of the good stuff. Thats hard this time of year because days are short and winter light can be kind of hard. I'd suggest a couple of things. Look into fill flash so you arent so dependent on the light as you find it, but also what you can bring. The other is practicing your post processing. I think there are things you can do to mitigate some of the problems in the shots you posted. If you have photoshop or gimp, Try using layers and layer masks to tame the hard contrast and adjust the saturation on the image elements as you wish. Its a long learning curve but you have it in you.

[Derrick_SA]

CBKnight, hi,

Could you perhaps add a link to Kristi's stuff so we can see? can't find her stuff when searchin?

thanks,
Derrick

Look at Kristi's threads. She is very very good and takes pictures of a girl she watches during the day that is just a little older than your daughter.