Thread: Strike a pose - fun birthday share

My friend's daughter turned 8 this week, and had a slumber party on Saturday. The girls had their hair and nails done, then had fun posing for the camera. I edited about 50 photos, which was CRAZY. But there were so many cute ones I couldn't narrow them down easily. Feel free to CC any, because it was DEFINITELY a learning experience with the OCF. I definitely had an issue with WB because the magenta was too much. But no matter how I tried to fix it, they ended up looking greenish. So I left it (I had a friend look and she said the magenta actually made them look healthy - but she's not a photographer). Nothing has been printed yet, so if you have any PP suggestions (or crop ideas), I'd love to see them. And if you're a Flickr friend, you can see them all in my photostream.

1. The birthday girl



Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 30 mm
ISO Speed: 100

2. I love this one ... but how's the crop? Hate losing her one arm, but I wanted her face more up close and personal

Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 53 mm
ISO Speed: 100



3. I thought this was a cute shot

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 59 mm
ISO Speed: 100



4. For each girl (7 total) I did an 8x10 with their name like this

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 67 mm
ISO Speed: 100



5. So sad I chopped the feet on this ... here's before my crop and after - is the crop okay?

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 33 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Before crop


After crop


6. This girl had so much fun!!

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 37 mm
ISO Speed: 100




I'll reply to other threads when I'm back on my calibrated computer - it has no internet access so I could edit but not post from there (thankful for thumbdrives!)

70 views and no comments. disheartening. I really do try to reply to threads here, it's frustrating that this was viewed so many times and no one could even reply to answer my question about the crops (2&5).

OK, first off - I think your crops are good. The one big thing I see here to comment on is the placement of your light. Notice how your catchlights are either 8 or 9 o'clock. You really want them higher up at 10 or 11 o'clock. Then you get a nice shadow pattern on the face. That is why you have that dark shadow under the girls' left eyes - the light is being blocked by their noses.

One other thing is that when you shoot against a black background you really need some definition between the subject and the background. Obviously, if you don't have a pro setup, you're limited in your light sources, so I'd just recommend staying away from black. Use a dark gray paper background instead. With no light on it it'll look almost black and you can burn down the edges and just get a nicely lit area around the subjects themselves.

With all that CC being said, these photos are adorable. This is what I want to do for my DD's 7th bday this summer. I want to have someone come out and do up some fancy hairstyles and have lots of dress up clothing around and then let them pose for pics. I'm really excited about the idea and can't wait to work on it. (But first I have to get through DS's 3rd bday bash in 2 weeks.)

Originally Posted by esti1423

OK, first off - I think your crops are good. The one big thing I see here to comment on is the placement of your light. Notice how your catchlights are either 8 or 9 o'clock. You really want them higher up at 10 or 11 o'clock. Then you get a nice shadow pattern on the face. That is why you have that dark shadow under the girls' left eyes - the light is being blocked by their noses.

oh, that's good to know! I'm so glad that you saw my thread. and I always struggle with using black, I prefer gray myself. I have a maternity shoot coming up, wondering if I should use gray for the indoor there too. Hoping for natural light for that session, not flash.


Can't wait to see your pictures from both the birthdays (especially the haircut!)

I really like the crop of #5!

Even though I'm still a newbie, the lighting seems really harsh like a giant spotlight. Esti how do you position the light so as to change the catchlights from 9:00 to 11:00? I'm interested and don't know much about it.

Amy, the light needs to be higher up and somewhat closer to the subject. What kind of modifier are you using on the light, Gwen?

These girls look like alot fun! I the main thing that stood out to mee was the harshness of the lightening as well. I'm far from experienced with OCF myself (my next task to tackle ) but I will have to try tips that esti gave. the crop works well in #5 and it's a bummer about the arm in #2 although i kinda like it. Good work on your clairty and focus.

Gwen ...

I've been reduced to lurker mode at best for the last few weeks and only just saw this thread. WHAT A FUN SHOOT!!!! I'll bet all the girls from the party & their moms all LOVE these shots.

Here are my thoughts ....

1. flash looks a little over powering and has her washed out a little. I love the way it lit up her crown though. Pretty girl w/ beautiful eyes.

2. I *love* the crop here!!! WOW! And again, beautiful eyes. They really go so perfectly w/ all of that pink! Flash looks more even here ... nice!

3. very sweet shot ... one the girls can treasure for a LONG time! Love the pink/blue going on here. Flash seems a LITTLE bright, but not too much.

4. VERY COOL! I'll bet all of them LOVE their 8x10s!!! I like the shadows here ... really ups the dramatic feel of the shot.

5. personally, I would prefer the negative space to be on our left. She doesn't seem to be looking over her shoulder enough for the negative space to be on our right. Otherwise, I like the crop - I think that's at just the right place on her leg so it doesn't look chopped. KWIM?

6. WHAT ATTITUDE! Love this one!

Esti already mentioned the light placement so I won't go there (especially since I struggle w/ that so much myself). I lvoe what you've done here, Gwen and I'll bet the moms and girls all love what you've done. I think you have a few that are worthy of your portfolio as well.

As for your upcoming maternity session ... black is always good, but make sure you have some kind of light to separate the mom from the background if you use it.

Great work, Gwen!

Best,
GiGi

Originally Posted by esti1423

Amy, the light needs to be higher up and somewhat closer to the subject. What kind of modifier are you using on the light, Gwen?

if it's closer, won't the light be even more harsh? I could have gotten it higher though. again, big learning experience with OCF. I was using a white shoot through umbrella (I'm assuming that's what you meant by modifier)

That's what I would think too, closer would be even harsher. Interested to hear the explanation!