Candid toddler shots

[ionian]

Not to miss out on all the baby action on this forum of late ( ) I took some semi-posed shots of my toddler in our living room. Now, there is no directing a pickle of this age, so trusting to luck and quick adaptability was required. All three shots presented here are shot with a continuous light and reflective umbrella, d7100 and 50mm prime, 1/100, ISO400, aperture in the f.3-4 range.

PP in lightroom with various strengths of high-pass filter used in photoshop, depending on how much sharpness I needed to claw back. I'm happy to talk through my pp processes if anyone is interested.

I know number 3 is soft; I've done my best to rescue it in post as her expression (as a dad) is just too good to ditch, but do you think it's past saving? It was a compromise of shutter speed versus ISO, as I was unable to increase the light intensity.

Comments on all are very welcome.

#1


#2


#3

[Sergio M.]

Don't ditch a one, they are all wonderful.
I notice a slight oddness of color around the nose on the first, but it does not detract and is not a biggie in my book.

Sergio

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[ionian]

Sergio - I hadn't noticed that until you mentioned it but now all I can see is her orange nose! I'm not sure what is causing it, but there were mixed light sources in the room and it could be a cast from the balloon. Why it's only affecting her nose is a mystery! I can dial out some of the saturation in that area, see if it helps.

[Sergio M.]

Simon, if you have Photoshop, you could try selecting the area and then creating a color balance adjustment layer and adjust to your taste. There may be better and more efficient ways to do it and hopefully someone with more experience will chime in.

Sergio

[ionian]

I decided to try the easy method first, and it's been pretty successful I think: in Lightroom, radial filter around the nose, invert mask, saturation -35ish.

[Sergio M.]

Simon, it looks to have worked a charm.

Sergio

[rpcrowe]

Nice job... However, IMO, bounce flash is the best way to capture a toddler...

[ionian]

I agree that it would be the simplest way Richard - but unfortunately she hates the flash, and runs away scowling, neither of which make for good photos! My lighting method here is the best compromise I've found for this particular subject - and it has the advantage of producing a nice gradient of light across the face, whereas bounce flash (at least the standard straight up variety) gives you a very flat lighting profile.

[Mike Buckley]

All very nice images of special moments, definitely keepers.

I do want to mention just one issue, as it's important in my mind.

It was a compromise of shutter speed versus ISO

I always go for the shutter speed that stops the action; the ISO value required to generate the required shutter speed is truly unimportant to me. That's because I would much, much rather have a sharp image that has noise (no matter how much noise) than a blurred image that has no noise. That decision is really a no-brainer for me.

I would never intentionally photograph a child of this age in these lighting conditions at less than 1/250 and ideally I would use 1/500. Again, I want sharp photos of children and that's how I get them when I'm not using a flash.

[ionian]

A very valid point Mike, and one I will bear in mind for the future. My d7100 has much better high ISO images than my old canon 1100d, but I think this is something I forget, even after using it for 8 months! I do prefer to keep the ISO down but should probably be more liberal with the setting.

[IzzieK]

Your baby is beautiful...how old is she? (in case I missed you telling us...) I like her expressions here and makes me want to see my little grandchild soon (read this as NOW!!!). I have no favourites, all of them are push-pull in my mind. Sometimes I think I like #1 then I like #3 better...You did a good job on the edit too of her nose...I agree with Mike on children...like airplanes, I prefer to use Shutter Priority and keep shooting at times especially if you give them a task like playing with bubbles, or hand painting or even eating breakfast can be a fun time to shoot. Just a thought.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Simon,

A nice set - and I can see that by the time 'my' Chloe is moving about like this, (bounce) flash is going to be necessary, available light just ain't gonna 'cut it'.

btw Chloe and her parents live in Kent too

Cheers, Dave

[ionian]

Thanks Dave and Izzy - she's 20 months now, and her life mirrors my learning as a photographer as I got my first dslr when we found out my wife was pregnant. Although I always took pictures - I had an old 1960s 35mm camera when I was a teenager - I had a lot of learning to do, as has she. She's learning faster than me but my brain is already full of stuff...

[bnnrcn]

A beautiful baby and a very nice set