and the yearbook shot is...

[BulldogMom]

As some of you may remember late last summer and into the fall I spent time with my daughter taking her senior portraits. (getting time alone with your teenager is a very rare thing!)

We would go out for any where from a few minutes to an hour and try different locations, clothes, different times of day...

I also learned alot from some of you here while I tried to figure out how to take a portrait. So I just wanted to share with you the shot that she choose as her senior yearbook photo.

So, now how do I make this even better should I get the chance to take more portraits in the future?

This one was taken along side the river down in the trees just as the sun was about to set behind her, and it was hand held as we were standing on some very uneven wet muddy ground and I couldn't get the tripod even close to level!

I don't have a flash yet so I was using my DIY set up, you can read about it here. The only thing different is I used a round piece of posterboard instead of the square one.



Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 50 mm -- lens Canon 50mm f/1.8 II
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Fired
Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Windows
Exposure Program: Manual

[Federico Presti]

I like the photo but a couple of things don't work for me.

-The green in her t-shirt is too bright for the mood you are trying to create, it kinda draws my atention from the eyes, which do look beautiful.
-Her shoulders shouldn't be so flat relative to the camera, maybe bringing her right side forward a little would have improved it (I'm not so sure about this one)

I'm just an amateur and not a portrait photographer, so my opinion is only an opinion =P. Thanks for sharing!

[SusanH1970]

Cute expression and pose! Her skin tones are really cool and magenta, though.

[BulldogMom]

Originally Posted by Federico Presti

I like the photo but a couple of things don't work for me.

-The green in her t-shirt is too bright for the mood you are trying to create, it kinda draws my atention from the eyes, which do look beautiful.
-Her shoulders shouldn't be so flat relative to the camera, maybe bringing her right side forward a little would have improved it (I'm not so sure about this one)

I'm just an amateur and not a portrait photographer, so my opinion is only an opinion =P. Thanks for sharing!

Yes, I also thought the green shirt was a bit bright for the fall trees but it is fitting to her bright outgoing personality! I will have to keep in mind that I should make some color suggestions in the future. Maybe a deep blue or a tan color for this location? Wow, maybe I need a basic art class!

She does have pretty eyes, wish I could say she got them from me.

I get what you are saying about turning her shoulders, in fact now that you say that I think I remember reading something about that not too long ago. I may have to try and find that info on posing again.

Thanks for the input!

[BulldogMom]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Cute expression and pose! Her skin tones are really cool and magenta, though.

We had a lot of laughs out there that day and got some great smiles. I was her girl scout leader for 7 years and this photo was taken in an area where we spent a lot of time doing our outdoor activities and sleepovers in a near by cabin. Lots of fun to remember all the times we had out there when she was just a little girl. Hard to belive she's all grown up now!

I did have to play with the white balance in PS for the pictures taken out there that afternoon. Could the redish colors have been cast from the setting sun? (it was behind her) How would one go about adjusting for that?

[LoveDSLR]

1) Get yourself a 18% gray card and either do on location custom White Balance (WB) or included the gray card in one of the shot to serve as post processing WB reference.

2) Take a series of shots varying the aperture from f/1.8 to f/3.2 so that you have a choice of different DOF. Guess how this picture would turn out if you shoot with a 50 f/1.2 @ f/1.2.

Sample for illustration purposes only.

[BulldogMom]

Originally Posted by LoveDSLR

1) Get yourself a 18% gray card and either do on location custom White Balance (WB) or included the gray card in one of the shot to serve as post processing WB reference.

2) Take a series of shots varying the aperture from f/1.8 to f/3.2 so that you have a choice of different DOF. Guess how this picture would turn out if you shoot with a 50 f/1.2 @ f/1.2.

Sample for illustration purposes only.

I'll have to look for a gray card, I have tried to do a custom WB before in a gym just using the girls white uniforms and it never worked out that great. Lighting was just to uneven in there.

Like the new DOF, I'm always afraid to open up the aperture because I can never seem to get just the right spot in focus when I do that, then I have people whose shoulder is in focus but the face is all a blur! Awww, more things to practice. Must get studier hands too.

Thanks

[SusanH1970]

+1 on getting the grey card for CWB.

I also had a play. I opened the image in ACR and adjusted the temp slider to warm it up. I also bumped the exposure. Then I opened it in CS2 and used the patch tool to lighten up her undereye circles. I also created a new layer and brightened her eyes and teeth a touch.

Let me know if you want me to take it down. Pretty girl!

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by BulldogMom

Like the new DOF, I'm always afraid to open up the aperture because I can never seem to get just the right spot in focus when I do that, then I have people whose shoulder is in focus but the face is all a blur! Awww, more things to practice. Must get studier hands too.

That's why I ask you to take a series of shots with different apertures instead of trying to nail it with one.

[BulldogMom]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

+1 on getting the grey card for CWB.

I also had a play. I opened the image in ACR and adjusted the temp slider to warm it up. I also bumped the exposure. Then I opened it in CS2 and used the patch tool to lighten up her undereye circles. I also created a new layer and brightened her eyes and teeth a touch.

Let me know if you want me to take it down. Pretty girl!

I do like it a little brighter, not sure I like it quit this bright though. I'll have to open the two side by side and have a look.

I didn't worry too much about the darker areas under her eyes as she has had that all her life. They are caused by some medical issues. The darker teeth however was a softball accident! She had a nice root canal after getting hit in the mouth by a foul ball when she was around 12 years old, almost knocked out 4 teeth at once! What can I say she's a pretty girl but she's also a bit of a tom-boy. The boys know to behave themselves or she'll beat them up!