My Friend's Son - Portrait shoot

[ajith.rajeswari]

Hi All,
Today I visited my friend's home for a family function, seeing his cute kid I thought of experimenting my portrait skill.
Here are the results:
Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Pic 4

Pic 5

Pic 6

Pic 7

Pic 8


All with Nikon D200, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4, SB-600 commander/attached mode.
Comments always welcome.

Thanks
Ajith

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Ajith,

None are bad, 2 and 3 are cute, 6 would be my favourite if we could see the elbows.
Will give it some more thought and feedback tomorrow.

Well done,

[GillR]

These are lovely shots, 3 was my immediate fave, and the one I still like the best after a much longer look at these

The first appears to me to have a very slight green cast in the skin tones.

[Dave Humphries]

I think your friend's son KNOWS those two shots with the hat are going to be embarrassing in later years

So in the first (1), he's turned a bit green (as Gill says) and in the second (5), his expression isn't great.

No 3 is a great expression, well captured, but I'm a bloke and I can't be saying I like the pursed lips look

Generally prefer the on his tummy/crawling shots (2, 3, 6 and 7), but that said, no doubt his Mum likes No.4.

He's looking tired by No.8.

Does your friends home have a photo studio?
Good place to shoot with uncluttered backgrounds.

Well done,

[Alis]

Great series, Ajith. I would love to know what the exact lighting setting was.

One comment I have is that since these are taken with the same lighting setting/setup, the skin color should not be that different from one to another. Yet, in almost half of them the skin has a yellowish tone and in the other half, it is sort of reddish. I wonder if it is intetional or it is a problem with the white balance.

I personally prefer the reddish ones as it gives a more warming effect to the overall image and colors are more vivid in those. But if you like to be as faithful to the original tones as possible, then only one of these could be the right color if not a third different one.

Cheers!

[ajith.rajeswari]

These are lovely shots, 3 was my immediate fave, and the one I still like the best after a much longer look at these

The first appears to me to have a very slight green cast in the skin tones.

Thanks GillR.
The baby's dad was wearing a green T-Shirt and was standing next to be making him smile and the bounced light from his Green T shirt caused the cast.
Good observation .

Ajith

[ajith.rajeswari]

I think your friend's son KNOWS those two shots with the hat are going to be embarrassing in later years

So in the first (1), he's turned a bit green (as Gill says) and in the second (5), his expression isn't great.

No 3 is a great expression, well captured, but I'm a bloke and I can't be saying I like the pursed lips look

Generally prefer the on his tummy/crawling shots (2, 3, 6 and 7), but that said, no doubt his Mum likes No.4.

He's looking tired by No.8.

Does your friends home have a photo studio?
Good place to shoot with uncluttered backgrounds.

Well done,

Thanks for the detailed comments Dave.
FYI this is the first time I am shooting months old baby, tough to get good shots
green cast was caused by the bounced light from the kid's dad's green t shirt.

My friend does not have a studio, before going to his house I told him to be ready with a plain white bed sheet.. which was by backdrop, floor etc, the bounced light added the rest

Ajith

[ajith.rajeswari]

Great series, Ajith. I would love to know what the exact lighting setting was.

One comment I have is that since these are taken with the same lighting setting/setup, the skin color should not be that different from one to another. Yet, in almost half of them the skin has a yellowish tone and in the other half, it is sort of reddish. I wonder if it is intetional or it is a problem with the white balance.

I personally prefer the reddish ones as it gives a more warming effect to the overall image and colors are more vivid in those. But if you like to be as faithful to the original tones as possible, then only one of these could be the right color if not a third different one.

Cheers!

Thanks Alis, there were no special setting for the shot.
For the backdrop/floor I was using a plain white bed sheet , SB-600 bounced on ceiling/side wall using commander mode.
The problem with the color tints are due to the bounced light from the kid's parents who were standing next to me - dad in a green Ts and Mom an orange one.
I did not notice the tint while shooting but only when I was downloading the pics to the computer, but anyway it was a fun shoot so nobody complained

Ajith

[Dave Humphries]

My friend does not have a studio, before going to his house I told him to be ready with a plain white bed sheet.. which was by backdrop, floor etc, the bounced light added the rest

Now that's good planning, well done

Just need to add "and Mum and Dad to wear pale colored or white clothes" (in addition to white bed sheet) for next time, eh?

Thanks for the feedback, I have learnt something