Child's photo - Page 3

Jean Kelly · 01-01-2003, 01:58 PM

I photographed Damien on the dining room table, and brought out different toys to keep him busy. As a grandmother I have many toys anyway. Dinosaurs and cars are the best for little boys. Be prepared to sacrifice at least one when they leave. They have a way of attaching themselves to little hands. One problem with this young man was his fascination with the toys and refusal to look up. I had to pick up the teradactyl and make him fly in order to get Damien to look up so I could see his eyes! Be prepared to play.

Jean

Karin Wells · 01-01-2003, 03:21 PM

It was suggested by someone on this Forum that you hold a kazoo in your mouth and give it a sudden toot when you want a young child to look up.

I tried it and it worked. Thank heavens.

Jean Kelly · 01-01-2003, 03:40 PM

Thanks for the good laugh, Karin. Brought tears to my eyes! I'll get a kazoo.

I've been playing with my photo program and by changing brightness and contrast can bring up much more detail and value change. Particularly in photo #1. Later I'll play with the b/w ratio on my camera and see how that works. There seems to be about 16 different settings, plus a special setting for black and white photography. It's a Canon digital, recommended for use with Mac computers. I'm a total novice in it's use.

Again, thanks for the laugh

Jean

Mari DeRuntz · 01-01-2003, 05:58 PM

Jean, I know there is a way that you can use Photoshop to select in your image a lightest light and a darkest dark, and then re-calibrate the rest of the image to fit inside those benchmarks. I think this would be a useful manipulation to be able to make.

I came across this while browsing through "50 Fast Photoshop 7 Techniques," by Gregory Georges, at the local bookstore. I'll be ordering it through the Stroke of Genius link.

Jean Kelly · 01-02-2003, 12:36 AM

Hi Mari, I don't have Photoshop yet and it's not on my list of priorities. I'm still building my art supplies (like a halfway decent palette and studio easel). I use the simple I-Photo program for the Mac. It gives me enough headaches to scare me away from the dreaded Photoshop. It does sound useful though; my husband will probably pick up Photoshop Elements. He says its a simplified version that my overloaded brain may handle easier. I checked out the book though and it sounds more my level.

Happy New Year,
Jean

Mari DeRuntz · 01-02-2003, 11:46 AM

Your current photo program might offer something similar. Look for something along the lines of image, adjustments, and curves. Under curves, you can recalibrate the image by setting either or all of the following values in that image: white, black, and/or gray. This is the only way I can get accurate colors when printing images for my portfolio.

Leslie Ficcaglia · 01-02-2003, 02:02 PM

Karin, I tried bringing along a kazoo for the photoshoot on the beach this past August. Unfortunately I forgot to refine my kazoo-playing skills before I got there, so when I needed it all I got was a faint "wheeep" which didn't interest the child at all. The fact that it was 100 degrees in the shade might have had something to do with it. When I came back on a cooler day I brought along a wooden rocking horse that I'd made for my own grandkids. That way I was able to immobilize her and got some great photos of her looking at me. It also works to have the parent or grandparent hold the child on her lap, or to use a high chair. Kids are used to sitting still there. Then all you have to do (!) is worry about the expression.

Michele Rushworth · 01-02-2003, 03:04 PM

Doing adjustments with curves or contrast will only help your photo reference if the information is there in the shot to begin with. When a large section of the face is completely bleached out to white there is almost certainly no data there on the film or in the digital image.

No amount of adjustment after the fact will tell you exactly where the forehead turns and by how much, or what color would be in the side of the cheek compared to the side of the chin, for example. You have to get the exposure at least close to being correct when you take the photo.

Mari DeRuntz · 01-02-2003, 03:14 PM

Yes, Michele, thank you for clarifying. Do you know of a way to braket the exposure when using a digital camera?

Michele Rushworth · 01-02-2003, 05:22 PM

My Minolta has a setting I can use to tell it to automatically take three shots with a certain amount of exposure difference between them, which I can change if I like.

If your camera doesn't have a feature like that you'd need to learn how to do it manually. (What shutter speed goes with what F stop for the given lighting situation, then change the F stop a little for each subsequent exposure.)