Mother & Son Photo Shoot

[WyldWood]

I thought tonight I might try asking for some advice on a portrait as I am more of a nature photographer.

This was taken during a shoot for a family at the Hamilton Gardens. She wanted a soft dreamy look to this photo and I think I achieved a good measure of softness without compromising sharpness.

Concern: I like the photo much more in B&W than colour, but Nina's hair is a very similar tone to the hedge behind her. I thought about blurring the background slightly to help define it, but I don't want it to seem like all I do is blurred backgrounds.

People have been so helpful with my Tiger portrait in the animal section - I thought someone might have an idea for me here. Thanks!



Camera: Canon 400D
Shutter: 1/60s
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 31mm
ISO: 400
Flash: No
Converted using Photoshop CS4 "Black & White" adjustment with minor Levels adj.

[kencaleno]

For the "dreamy" effect, background needed more blur, and I find the best way to convert from colour is this:

Ctrl+J
Image> Calculations
Background layer
Red
Background Layer
Red
Multiply
New channel
Image> Mode> Greyscale
flatten/save

..Gives great contrast Ken