A few holiday test shots with my son

[STiZzle2010]

I got into photography with the interest of trying to capture my son growing and changing as best as I can. I am not a professional and I do not do this for a living. As much as I wish, I do not have a studio and I have not been able to add any OCF to my shots (yet). I'm forced to stay inside now as it is getting cold and I want to get shots with empty backgrounds like you get in a studio (I hate distractions). I'm also a perfectionist and I'm always looking to continuously improve.

With this being said, my wife wanted to get some shots of our son (specifically in this hat and shirt), that way we can share them with our friends, prints for home, and maybe a holiday card. I attempted to have my son sit on our bed using a blank wall as the background. I should have pulled the sheet tight first but, does this look tacky? These are strictly test shots as I wanted outside options before I commit to doing these this way. Any CC is much appreciated.

1.
f2.5, 1/200th, ISO 200, 50mm, flash fired
JMH_0009 by Hebee's Visions, on Flickr

2.
f/2.5, 1/200th, ISO 250, 50mm, flash fired
JMH_0040 by Hebee's Visions, on Flickr

3. I tried changing it up but by the end, he was done lol. He was crying and his teary eyes had to be captured.
f2.5, 1/200th, ISO 200, 50mm, flash fired
JMH_0060 by Hebee's Visions, on Flickr

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[jcuknz]

Your son is so attractive within the image that the imperfections you see passed me by

[Dave A]

#1 is outstanding, nicely done.

Dave

[STiZzle2010]

Wow, thanks! Do you think that the bed in it's current condition is a distraction?

[Geoff F]

These have worked well for flash shots. No visible hot spots and good colour.

[Manfred M]

These are nicely done images. I particularly like the first two. I would not have noticed the sheets, had you not mentioned this. That is the advantage of shooting on a dark colour, the material and the shadows have similar density, so the wrinkles are not the first thing that jumps to mind!

That being said, I find your crops on the top and bottom are a bit too tight. I'd probably look for 2 to 3 times as much as you have on the top to see how that looks and perhaps twice as much on the bottom. You don't want too much space (a common mistake one sees a lot of), but going too far the other way gives the image a bit of a cramped feel to it.

I'm sure your wife will be pleased with your efforts and your son will probably not be as happy with you when he sees these when he is a bit older...

[STiZzle2010]

Thank you! I'm limited with space in this room and all I have right now is my 50mm but it is on a crop body. I wanted some more space too but, I had no where to go. I need more lens lol.

[Manfred M]

my 50mm but it is on a crop body.

The gives you the equivalent of a 75mm full-frame lens, i.e. a short telephoto. This puts you at a focal length where you are going to get decent portraits without having to be overly concerned with distortions. You could do a lot worse.

I spent the first year when I first got an SLR shooting with a 50mm lens. You learn a lot about shooting with a fixed focal length lens.

[IzzieK]

Your son is just too cute not to photograph his rowing up...I love #1 and #2 -- good for a Christmas card and greeting cards or any event card...I would be very interested to see his growing up progress through CiC.

[STiZzle2010]

Thank you that means a lot! I will absolutely continue to share his journey. Thank you every one your feedback. I'm starting to see improvements and it feels great!

[bnnrcn]

Aww, you have a beautiful son Josh Very nice images .