Week 1 Photo Challenge

Julie&Micah

Hi all,

So did anyone take some specific photos for the weekly photo challenge? It sounded like a few were up for it. I kinda failed miserably. I am following along on a 52 week challenge with the weekly theme of "beginnings". I had this great idea in my head of my kids sitting on our new porch at our brand new house, the 'beginning' of our new lives there! (We closed Wednesday and got the keys Friday) So of course that timeline was pushing it get it done in time, add sick kids, and running out of time with family in town....I missed the great idea in my head So tonight before we left I snapped at least one of the two of them sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. It was night, the light wasn't great inside, and it is only a snapshot....but at least I have something I hope when I upload it isn't too huge, I don't think I've ever uploaded from my computer. CC's are welcome...but I know this isn't my best!

Anyone else?? Did you challenge yourself? Take a photo with a theme? Care to share?

aravis121

@Julie&Micah: Congrats to you on the new house! And I am sooo jealous that you can get both of your kids in a shot - my oldest refuses to pose with my LO. Your picture is really cute! I love the processing you did. The only quibble I have (and believe me, I know how difficult this can be with two kiddos in the frame!) is that you cut off your daughter's heel and that the strong lines in the frame (the wall and the fireplace) aren't exactly vertical and horizontal. 

I went out on a photo walk last weekend and intended to get a shot for "Beginnings." Alas, that totally did not pan out. This shot is from yesterday, when my LO turned 7 months. I used some aviator glasses from an old Halloween costume, which he hated and kept trying to paw off. I wish the loop of the elastic band wasn't so prominent, but oh, well. There's always next week. 

Julie&Micah

Thanks @aravis121‌! We are super excited for our move! Your little guy is soo adorable! Was this taken with studio or off camera light, or natural light? It really looks great. Your comments are exactly what I dislike about my photo this week! Limb chopping is my enemy and it is something I feel as though I am constantly battling. Really I need to take a giant step back 9/10 because inevitably I'll have to rotate slightly to level out, and there goes a heel. Really I wasn't happy with most of the background of this photo. Leading lines, rather the fireplace be centered, the reflection in the fireplace....but continual room for improvement I suppose

Rosebud2587

I'm doing a 52 week photo challenge. No real theme, just daily life. I took this picture of my 3 year old singing "let it go" in her bedroom mirror. 

Camera is a Cannon Rebel T3i. Lens 50mm. ISO 400. f-stop 3.2. 1/100 shutter speed. My biggest critique is that I wish I had more space above the mirror but oh well. 

ETA: I have no idea why the corners look so dark, like I vignette, but it doesn't look like this on my computer/photoshop, just this tinypic pic. weird. And now it's bugging me.  

aravis121

Julie&Micah said:

Was this taken with studio or off camera light, or natural light?

Thank you! This was taken with natural light. Our master bedroom is on the 2nd floor, and it gets decent light, although the window placement is a little wonky. I've left the back corner free of furniture so it can serve as a clean-ish background. I usually do macro work, and backgrounds make or break that type of photo. With my kids, it's SO HARD to get them to do a cute expression while also getting their eyes in focus, so the last thing I want to worry about is the background.I actually really like yours - the fireplace warms up the photo, and I love the strong, clean lines. 

aravis121

CharSamm said:

I tried making the pic a bit smaller and now it's a little squished, oh well. Played around with my camera this morning. I have a really hard time getting hands and feet so they aren't blurry, also her top eye is a little grey from me adjusting it. I haven't taken a picture with the intent of making the background black so I think I'll keep trying this out. 

This is a beautiful picture! I love the glowing skin. Ideally, you should keep your shutter speed at 1/125th or higher to "freeze" motion, like waving hands and feet. This requires a good bit of light and/or a fast lens (one that has an aperture of at least f/2.8, but f/1.4 is even better). I can go into more depth if you'd like! 

What post-processing software are you using? The whites of my daughter's eyes are kind of naturally dark, so oftentimes I'll use a brush tool to whiten them up a bit (usually just desaturating will do the trick). Also, I often mess with the white balance of a black-and-white photo to make different features pop (like the eyes!). I find that using a bluer or colder white balance - one that would look insane for a color photo - can make for a very nice black-and-white. 

aravis121

@CharSamm: Any time!  I use Lightroom too - I'd be lost without it. 

I think kids are seriously one of the most difficult subjects to photograph. At least mine are - they just won't stay still!