The light is flat, the background is too dark, and so on, and so on, and so on.
As with my first experiment in off-camera lighting this was lit with a 41" shoot-through/translucent umbrella, placed about three feet away and 45° to the right just above my daughter, in a partially darkened room. The light source was a Canon 580 EX II set to 1/4 power. In this instance though I think that I should have either added at least one more light (to brighten the background), or used a better background, or ... well, something else.
Anyway, it was a learning experience, and I am happy with the final image – processed using techniques from my Portraits: part two tutorial – not least because I've posted very few shots of our youngest daughter. At the least, I hope you'll agree that she is quite cute :)
On a partially related matter: we're currently offering a 25% discount on our Photoshop tutorials. If you're interested, the offer is running until the 31st of this month, and there's some further info here:
comment by hemal at 06:24 AM (GMT) on 29 March, 2010
I wonder what she is thinking, ummm...
whats this old man doing with a black object in front of his face ?
Ok why am i not clothed :P ?
what do you think david ?
comment bydjn1 at 06:41 AM (GMT) on 29 March, 2010
Hemal: despite having had quite a few kids I still can't figure out much of what they're thinking at this age. The closest I ever get is rarely specific: happy, sad, and so on. It is fascinating trying to work it out though. As for the not clothed bit: "OK, so dad's shooting a clichéd baby shot - I can live with that" ;)
comment byTony at 08:03 AM (GMT) on 29 March, 2010
In this case I actually like the original unprocessed image. Has a natural feel too it. The processed image just reminds me of a "Venture" image if you know what I mean David? No offence to you or anyone employed by Venture. Lol.
comment bydjn1 at 08:25 AM (GMT) on 29 March, 2010
Tony: yep, unfortunately I know exactly what you mean, and it wasn't quite what I intended, but the original capture didn't work for me either. I think I need a bit more practice with this lighting malarkey ;)
comment byCarlos Garcia at 04:13 PM (GMT) on 29 March, 2010
Enough talk about lighting, processed and unprocessed already! Look at that beautiful miracle! :) Totally made my day.
By the way, all of your children have AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL eyes.
C
comment byDan Kaufman at 06:41 PM (GMT) on 29 March, 2010
She's a smart one--that's what I see here. A very matter-of-fact contemplation of her world.
light-wise...I'm an amateur in this department, but I would have oriented the shoot-through-umbrella to hit the background, cutting off just at her feet, and used a second 580 with a "beauty dish" modifier on her face just as you have with the umbrella. BUT, I doubt I would have gotten anywhere as close to the beautiful portrait you gave us. :)
comment byJustin at 04:27 AM (GMT) on 30 March, 2010
comment byRachel at 04:28 PM (GMT) on 2 April, 2010
I do agree; she is very cute! Her little smile drew me in, and I had to take a closer look. To an untrained viewer like me, even your original photo looks quite nice. Thanks as always for including your editing notes...it is very intriguing and helpful for even a beginner like me. Take care!
As a lighting exercise, as you'll see if you take a look at the original (linked below), this wasn't a great success:
.../archives/lighting_diary_2.php
The light is flat, the background is too dark, and so on, and so on, and so on.
As with my first experiment in off-camera lighting this was lit with a 41" shoot-through/translucent umbrella, placed about three feet away and 45° to the right just above my daughter, in a partially darkened room. The light source was a Canon 580 EX II set to 1/4 power. In this instance though I think that I should have either added at least one more light (to brighten the background), or used a better background, or ... well, something else.
Anyway, it was a learning experience, and I am happy with the final image – processed using techniques from my Portraits: part two tutorial – not least because I've posted very few shots of our youngest daughter. At the least, I hope you'll agree that she is quite cute :)
On a partially related matter: we're currently offering a 25% discount on our Photoshop tutorials. If you're interested, the offer is running until the 31st of this month, and there's some further info here:
http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
58mm
f/4.5
1/100
manual
n/a
evaluative
100
580 EX II (1/4 power)
RAW
ACR
1x1
I wonder what she is thinking, ummm...
whats this old man doing with a black object in front of his face ?
Ok why am i not clothed :P ?
what do you think david ?
Hemal: despite having had quite a few kids I still can't figure out much of what they're thinking at this age. The closest I ever get is rarely specific: happy, sad, and so on. It is fascinating trying to work it out though. As for the not clothed bit: "OK, so dad's shooting a clichéd baby shot - I can live with that" ;)
In this case I actually like the original unprocessed image. Has a natural feel too it. The processed image just reminds me of a "Venture" image if you know what I mean David? No offence to you or anyone employed by Venture. Lol.
Tony: yep, unfortunately I know exactly what you mean, and it wasn't quite what I intended, but the original capture didn't work for me either. I think I need a bit more practice with this lighting malarkey ;)
Enough talk about lighting, processed and unprocessed already! Look at that beautiful miracle! :) Totally made my day.
By the way, all of your children have AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL eyes.
C
She's a smart one--that's what I see here. A very matter-of-fact contemplation of her world.
light-wise...I'm an amateur in this department, but I would have oriented the shoot-through-umbrella to hit the background, cutting off just at her feet, and used a second 580 with a "beauty dish" modifier on her face just as you have with the umbrella. BUT, I doubt I would have gotten anywhere as close to the beautiful portrait you gave us. :)
The detail in those blue eyes is incredible!
Beautiful processing on the eyes Dave - and yes she is very cute. She must have Libby's genes ;) (ooooonly joooking)
perfect ... no comments
gorgeous baby.
Lovely shot, though I feel a balance between the rawness of the original and the softness seen here might've been a bit nicer. You live and learn.
Wonderful processing on the eyes.
excellent work !
Thanks everyone :)
I do agree; she is very cute! Her little smile drew me in, and I had to take a closer look. To an untrained viewer like me, even your original photo looks quite nice. Thanks as always for including your editing notes...it is very intriguing and helpful for even a beginner like me. Take care!