Portraits

I'm so glad that my parents took a lot of photographs when we were growing up (see some here). I love to recall all the fun memories! They may not be "professional" but they certainly capture priceless moments.

I hope that when our 20-mo (J) grows up and sees the thousands of pictures we took of him, he will also have fun memories. Hopefully he won't remember Mommy with a camera in front of her all the time or, as the hubby puts it, remember Mommy as the paparazzi.

Lately, I've been relying on my SpeedLite 380EX when shooting indoors. My photos seem sharper, since the flash freezes the action. However, since I can't adjust the intensity of my flash, photos have too much flash or harsh shadows. Thus, on weekends, I try taking more portraits using natural light. Check out some amazing photos using natural light here toward the middle/bottom of this post.

Canon T1i | Manual | ISO 800 | f/3.5 | 1/200 sec

For the photo above, some suggestions on Flickr were to see how this would look monochrome, tone down the dark on the right, bring up the highlights on the left, and take the red out of J's left ear. What do think of my tweaks shown below?

The photos below were taken another morning, with the light behind J.

What are kids thinking?
Canon T1i | Manual | 50mm | ISO 800 | f/3.5 | 1/320 sec


He's seen me!
Canon T1i | Manual | 50mm | ISO 800 | f/3.5 | 1/320 sec


Joke's on me. I thought I was watching him, but he was actually waiting for the right moment to strike!
Ugh that his lips are a bit purplish!
Canon T1i | Manual | 50mm | ISO 800 | f/3.5 | 1/320 sec

I think the photo above would have been great if there were catch lights (even small ones) in J's eyes. I could have used my SpeedLite, I suppose, to achieve that. Also, the shadow down the center of his face seems a bit distracting compared to the brightness at the sides of his face. Also the window frame down the middle of his head is also distracting. Nevertheless, I was lucky to capture such a fun expression.

Lastly, I leave you with a black and white portrait taken by the same window. This time, J's face is 3/4 turned toward the window. There's a glimmer in his eye because I used the SpeedLite as "fill light" and bounced the flash off the window to the left.

Again, what are kids thinking?
Canon T1i | Manual | 50mm | ISO 200 | f/3.2 | 1/250 sec | SpeedLite 380EX

Comments and/or critiques are always welcome on my photos!

What do you think kids are thinking sometimes?

Show some love. Leave a comment below and I'll definitely respond!
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Originally posted at expandng.com - Portraits