First Newborn Shoot C&C requested

This was my first paid newborn shoot... it was also my first time working with OCF/Softbox... please let me know what you think and any suggestions for improvement. I've got thick skin, I can handle it.
1.

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Oh look at that ikkle face in #1 i just want to cuddle them!!!!

Think some are underexposed and could do with some red pulling out of them!

But then thinking again i shoot natural light and have very bright flat pics and that is what i am use to not dramatic lighting at all!
But for me the shadows are too dramatic for a newborn
Love the first an last one they will be great with some careful editing

I really like #2! The downward slope on the head in #3 would want me to play with the angle of rotation a bit. In some photos, the hands and feet are purplish red (very common in newborns) but it invokes the feeling that the baby is lonely and cold, so you gotta find a way to diminish that, like previous poster said. The shadow under the mouth would wreck the photo for me if changed to B&W but somehow is not so bad in colour. Is there any way you can fill that shadow with a bit of light from below on an angle? Then again, it sort of adds to the "pout"... I'm sure the new parents are thrilled. Very cute. I'm no pro... but I know babies.

misssassylassy wrote in post #11661656
Oh look at that ikkle face in #1 i just want to cuddle them!!!!

Think some are underexposed and could do with some red pulling out of them!

But then thinking again i shoot natural light and have very bright flat pics and that is what i am use to not dramatic lighting at all!
But for me the shadows are too dramatic for a newborn
Love the first an last one they will be great with some careful editing

Thank you for your comments... on #1, you should have heard Mom and Dad ooohh and aaahhhh, when lil' man wrinkled up that chin and stuck his lip out..

I agree about them being a little underexposed - that drives me crazy, even shooting with natural light and getting the camera meter to normally exposed I almost always have to add a half to 2/3 stop in PP. This was my first "shoot" with a strobe, if you don't count the practice on my own kids. I was fairly pleased, I have also been a natural light photographer for some time now... so this was a departure, but it was VERY consistent and that was nice not knowing how long lil' man was going to take to get posed properly.

albertaskater wrote in post #11661946
I really like #2! The downward slope on the head in #3 would want me to play with the angle of rotation a bit. In some photos, the hands and feet are purplish red (very common in newborns) but it invokes the feeling that the baby is lonely and cold, so you gotta find a way to diminish that, like previous poster said. The shadow under the mouth would wreck the photo for me if changed to B&W but somehow is not so bad in colour. Is there any way you can fill that shadow with a bit of light from below on an angle? Then again, it sort of adds to the "pout"... I'm sure the new parents are thrilled. Very cute. I'm no pro... but I know babies.

It's funny that you like #2 the most... it's the only one that I took with natural light from the window... (i know, "if you had light like that, why strobe?") I asked myself the same question and the only real answer was for the consistency to be able to get the same light from beginning to end of the shoot (little over two hours, late in the day) I'll play with some of your suggestions and see how they affect the images. Thanks for your comments.

OH dear, I adore the 1st shot! what a cutie-pie, great captures.... a little editing in ps and you have a beautiful set!

RazorbackSam wrote in post #11663428
Thank you for your comments... on #1, you should have heard Mom and Dad ooohh and aaahhhh, when lil' man wrinkled up that chin and stuck his lip out..

I agree about them being a little underexposed - that drives me crazy, even shooting with natural light and getting the camera meter to normally exposed I almost always have to add a half to 2/3 stop in PP. This was my first "shoot" with a strobe, if you don't count the practice on my own kids. I was fairly pleased, I have also been a natural light photographer for some time now... so this was a departure, but it was VERY consistent and that was nice not knowing how long lil' man was going to take to get posed properly.

I would love to have a play in pp!! See what i could come up with

I love all the expressions that you caught!! They are adorable

misssassylassy wrote in post #11665375
I would love to have a play in pp!! See what i could come up with

I'd be happy to send you a couple to play with... PM me your addy and I'll use yousendit to get you the RAW files... let me know which ones you'd like. I think that it's fun to see what others come up with compared to your own take... it can open your eyes sometimes.

dotTif wrote in post #11665974
I love all the expressions that you caught!! They are adorable

blondine wrote in post #11664534
OH dear, I adore the 1st shot! what a cutie-pie, great captures.... a little editing in ps and you have a beautiful set!

Thanks dotTIf and blondine... appreciate you saying so!

Ok here are my plays i hope you like them!
I opened in ACR moved the WB sliders by eye, upped the exposure reduced the blacks added fill and in the curves section upped the shadows

Opened in PS
used curves to change the skin tones looking at the CMYK values
Did a midtone boost in curves
ran a colour pop reduced to 15%
ran portrature masked back eye line and hair and reduced opacity to 30%
The did an inverted multiply layer and used a soft white brush to darken around the edges!

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misssassylassy wrote in post #11680173
Ok here are my plays i hope you like them!
I opened in ACR moved the WB sliders by eye, upped the exposure reduced the blacks added fill and in the curves section upped the shadows

Opened in PS
used curves to change the skin tones looking at the CMYK values
Did a midtone boost in curves
ran a colour pop reduced to 15%
ran portrature masked back eye line and hair and reduced opacity to 30%
The did an inverted multiply layer and used a soft white brush to darken around the edges!

Nice work with these.... I understand most everything that you did, but in PS changing the skin tones while looking at the CMYK values, that I don't quite follow. first, where do you see those values, secondly what should they be (normally)...

It's funny how you can feel really good about an edit until you see it done a different way, then you start second-guessing your original work.

I've recently moved out of PS editing and back into LR3, I was spending an unbelievable amount of time on each image... and it was really wearing me out. I've "re-focused" on trying to get it better in-camera and then trying to use LR3 to reduce PP time, except where PS is needed..

I use the select tool and click it a couple areas of the skin right click it and select CYMK the values should show up in your info pallet also i do that o the brightest peice of skin and select RGB an make sure the R channel does not go over 244 or the skin will be blow and not print as nice

CYMK values i make sure
C is about 10 less than M
Y is about just higher than M
apart from on the cheek area where M should be higher
i use curves to change the values if M is too high i select green from the drop down menu and drag the top slider up which will bring M down by adding more green
Blue up = less Yellow, Blue down = More yellow
Red up= less Cyan, Red down = more Cyan

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Wow, the edits that misssassylassy did for you are fantastic! Turned pictures that looked like your first shoot into pics that look like you have been doing this for a very long time. PP can usually make a HUGE difference if you can learn how to use it. Great job!

Thank you

Wonderful captures, newborns are just too cute! I love the lighting and clarity of the photos.