Miss Indigo

She was SO cheeky!..and a little bit thoughtful.

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Super Cute and a bit Shocked!

I think there might have to be some flexibility when it comes to working with kids. Babies especially are so bewildered by the break in routine when they are brought out for photos at tea/dinner time or bath time or worse bed time! I love the wide eyed wonder. Anyone know any good jokes for babies?

The Character Portrait

I didn’t mention earlier that my friend is, amongst many other things, FUNNY! She plays ‘characters’ constantly. Whether its at work or socially she is always talking, laughing and pulling faces. It was a miracle I was able to take any photos around the face pulling. Every time she thought the camera was about to click she would strike a facial pose! Hilarious. I love this portrait of her.

Another Black and White Portrait

I love the sparkle.

Location Scouting

A family affair. My husband and three boys came along. Here is the first location with my very helpful subject.

Portrait of a thinker. Pondering 2.

A Baby Portrait of a Different Kind

It may surprise you to know that babies aren’t always cute, cheeky, happy little cherubs.

What mother has not seen this face?

This face happens daily. It may be because he has had enough of sitting in one place. He may want to be picked up. He may not be able to reach the toy that is tantalisingly just out of reach. He may have tried to move toward it, only to find he went backward! He may… a million things.

He is my son. I cherish this face as much as the others he makes.

I want to remember it when I look back.

Composition: Drawing the eye using light

I have been studying. A main point that stood out to me as obvious but sometimes overlooked is that the lightest area in a photo is where your attention is drawn. By squinting your eyes you can see those areas more obviously. In a portrait the main focus is most often the face and eyes. This portrait was snapped outside in the garden and it is busy. Busy colour, busy environment. In this instance I felt the environment framed the subject well, but distracted slightly from the face so I decided to make it black and white. I converted it to black and white in Photoshop then identified the colours that needed to be altered slightly to enhance the face region while retaining as much detail as possible and minimise the background. When I felt I found a balance I liked I used a high pass filter with a layer mask to sharpen the outer edges of the face to emphasise them from the background and that was that.

Here is the result. As always with my photography it is a work in progress. I would love to know your thoughts. Particularly any ideas for improvement. My own critique included less contrast to reveal more detail in the face next time. I find it difficult to work that out. Monitors seem to make them varying brightnesses etc. Ah, well, back to the drawing board.

Weekly Photo Challenge: perspective

He likes to be high.

His perspective was very different from his brother’s.

They dream about the forklift.

Limited Subject Possibilities, Look Harder.

I saw a tutorial today that suggested that you should never start out your photography with children. I have no choice, but I have felt that trying to take good photos of my children, who (like all other kids) do not cooperate and often actively try to prevent you getting a good photo, has forced me to look harder, try to be quicker to get a decent photo. I made a pact with myself when I got my DSLR that I would start out using manual mode and that was that. Its hard to believe that that was only a bit over a year ago! Since then I have kept my word. My camera can’t go over 800 ISO without producing noise so I do find it challenging, but I suspect that the hunt is what has kept and will continue to keep me interested in photography.

These are a few of the recent portraits I have taken of my kids (the only subjects available to me).

I have tried to focus on different aspects and styles to increase my creativity.

It has only recently occurred to me that I can create art with my camera.

I want to push myself. As my kids get older I can’t wait to get out and see where my personal characteristics and limitations will take me.