child portrait

[rosserx]

Hi, I do not have much experience photographing children. I would like to know what you guys think of this capture. Also, which do you like better, color or b&w?





Camera: Canon S5-IS
Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal length: 41.6mm
ISO: 200

[daddyoproductions]

I like the black and white better...the grain actually kind of adds something there. It's good to try and get catchlights in the eyes, and if you were posing her, I think I would have had her hang around the end of the last bar so you could see her whole face. Depends on what you were going for though.

~C

[becksjd]

This is going to sound really weird, but the b&w makes it look to me like she is in a jail cell or something, so I prefer the colour, but I like the b&w because like what was just stated, it kind of makes use of the graininess.

[rosserx]

Originally Posted by daddyoproductions

I like the black and white better...the grain actually kind of adds something there. It's good to try and get catchlights in the eyes, and if you were posing her, I think I would have had her hang around the end of the last bar so you could see her whole face. Depends on what you were going for though.

~C

I wasn't coaching her at all. She was hugging the bars being very natural. I never really thought about catchlights before. Thank you for mentioning this. I'll be more conscious of it in the future. Thanks again for commenting!

[kristenh]

i have a strong preference for the color photo, for two reasons- first, she has such a beautiful skin tone and that is totally lost in the b and w. also, the bars in the b and w don't really read as bars- looks like there is just a strange gap down her face. they are sweet photos, though

[rosserx]

Originally Posted by becksjd

This is going to sound really weird, but the b&w makes it look to me like she is in a jail cell or something, so I prefer the colour, but I like the b&w because like what was just stated, it kind of makes use of the graininess.

That's what I find fascinating in children; innocence. In her mind (I imagine) she was feeling shy but curious. In our adult minds...she's in jail!

Originally Posted by kristenh

i have a strong preference for the color photo, for two reasons- first, she has such a beautiful skin tone and that is totally lost in the b and w. also, the bars in the b and w don't really read as bars- looks like there is just a strange gap down her face. they are sweet photos, though

Thank you very much!

[Pitrih]

i like the color version better, b&w is somehow sad :| to me.

[Donal]

The colour has a warmth and the little girls looks happy. In the b&w the dark tones look like te images that we see in adverts for famine/war etc. As stated already, the bars look like jailbars in the b&w.
I also think that the dark tones around her mouth take away the little hit of a smile that can bee seen in the colour.

[rosserx]

Originally Posted by Pitrih

i like the color version better, b&w is somehow sad :| to me.

Originally Posted by Donal

The colour has a warmth and the little girls looks happy. In the b&w the dark tones look like te images that we see in adverts for famine/war etc. As stated already, the bars look like jailbars in the b&w.
I also think that the dark tones around her mouth take away the little hit of a smile that can bee seen in the colour.

I think I have to agree with both of you! The more I compare the two, the b&w does set a much darker mood. She's lost her smile and the bars look menacing without the texture that the color shot brings out. Personally, I'm drawn more to black and white photography but this is a perfect example that it doesn't always work. Thanks guys!

[lbaranyai973]

Hi, I vote for B&W mainly due to the sharper eyes. The face is more blurred on the color one and it seems for me that bars and hand tell important part of the story, while on the other the face is obviously dominant.