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Carter's Little Sleepers
Carter's Little Sleepers
neophyte


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Fashion (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Olympus C-5000Z
Location: Hartford.
Date: Feb 21, 2006
Galleries: Fashion, Family
Date Uploaded: Feb 21, 2006

I have no idea how this'll do. I see many flaws but my son won't endure any more photos and this was the best of the bunch. I cropped adjusted levels, contrast and saved for web after resizing. they never come out like you thought they would,

Statistics
Place: 118 out of 133
Avg (all users): 4.1148
Avg (commenters): 4.6000
Avg (participants): 3.6769
Avg (non-participants): 4.2123
Views since voting: 723
Views during voting: 450
Votes: 357
Comments: 12
Favorites: 0


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AuthorThread
03/06/2006 03:27:01 AM
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hi, Dexter! A fellow Olympus user here :) (although not the same model)

A lot of my thoughts have already been covered in previous comments, but here are my opinions anyway.

You managed to get a nice pose/expression out of him regardless of his (im)patience, it seems. It's that very 'huh what's going on?' look that babies have, infinitely curious and confused.

When you mentioned that you cropped the image, did you accidentally crop out the tips of his toes, or were those not in the original picture, either? I understand infants can be tough to work with as models, but maybe if you had positioned yourself further away you would have been able to get a complete shot of him without slicing off any digits. I don't quite agree with such a tight crop, either...because his pose isn't the most ideal for a tight crop (it's rather unbalanced), if you had left more negative space around him it would be more effective.

Also, it looks like you used your camera's built-in flash...for portrait-type shots like this it's a better idea to nix the flash and use external lighting instead. My suggestion (and my own personal technique) is to get a desk lamp, cover it with a sheet of paper, and use that for lighting instead. That way the lighting won't come out as flat or harsh. It might also help with some of the noise issues because the lighting will be more even.

A lighter background would definitely help, especially if you smooth it out more. I bet he probably moved around and wrinkled up your backdrop anyway, but it would look less obvious with a lighter color. Also, the dark background matched with the tight crop kind of gives the impression that he's lying in a narrow, dark cave (not the greatest analogy, but I think you'll understand). It feels less like a fashion ad and more like an "I'm afraid of the dark" shot.

Anyway, good luck and I'm sure you'll have many more pictures of your son in the future :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
02/28/2006 03:58:59 PM
the lighting is boring
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/27/2006 09:16:30 AM
This is a cute snapshot. I don't mean that in a derogatory way - it simply does not _look_ like a planned and set up shot, even though I can see that it was. I think that what causes the snapshot 'feel' is the fact that he looks like he's on a downhill slide (due to the angle) and the fact that the light is quite harsh (I'm guessing on-board flash). Also, the crop is quite tight - both at the top and on the right-hand side.
I know that taking set up pictures of infants is not the easiest form of photography, since sometimes just catching them in a cooperative mood is difficult, but I also think that with just a few changes, this could be re-shot and turn out looking less like a snapshot and more like a deliberate portrait. If you have access to a largish window with good light, try placing your background and subject so that they are lit with natural light. If it's too bright, a thin muslin or light and filmy white curtain will soften the light without diminishing it too much. The other major change that would really help to improve this shot would be to watch the angle at which you shoot. Like I said, he looks like he's tilted downhill. By moving the camera down just a little and further to the right, I'm pretty sure you'll see an improvement.
I hope some of this helps. This is a very cute little one, and having really nice pictures of him will be a treasure in the years to come.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/25/2006 07:18:42 PM
Um, no.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/25/2006 12:12:30 AM
Cute - you got a good pose from your little model.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/24/2006 12:57:20 AM
If your lighting would have been more even, this would have been a really great shot. As is, it looks like a snapshot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/23/2006 10:10:50 PM
Cute photo of the little tyke.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/23/2006 06:35:28 PM
i woulde have put more post pro.. maybe with shaddow and midtones.. a lovly child tho :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/23/2006 12:10:37 AM
a most perfect model for this type of apparel (smile) good shot - lovely color and focus
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/22/2006 03:47:13 PM
an adorable baby but too much flash - try sitting baby next to window with natural daylight and turn off your flash! Also if you are advertising Carter, it's better to see the front chest
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/22/2006 10:53:56 AM
eh...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/22/2006 03:05:41 AM
Hey, cute baby! personally i would have preferred a light coloured plain background for this shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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