A boy and his bike - C&C

[GaryS]

Since I got the light kit, I've been working on portraits of my kids and family. Its a ton of fun, and its harder than it looks! What I'm finding I enjoy most is to use the kids favourite toys and other objects in the shots, as it makes them more interested in participating. The downside is that it makes the lighting more challenging....

Anyway, I did some of one of my kids this weekend, with his new bike. We tried lots of different setups and poses, and I found that having the bike in close proximity to his face really makes the shadows a problem.

I whittled it down to a couple of shots, and I wanted to get some feedback from you guys.

#1

WB is a bit off on this one, it looked fine last night. This shot had the biggest problem with shadows.

#2

Seat growing out of his head. But its in the background... is it a problem?

#3


Let me know!

[24Peter]

gary - these are great. Good job!

Suggestions: WB is a bit warm on #2. When I'm using external flash/strobe I always custom WB or use a WB K preset set at around 5400 (since I find that works best with my strobes.) If I use Auto WB my colour is all over the place.

As for your pics, I can't tell but I think a rim/back light would add something to the pics. The idea is light your subject's head/shoulders from behind to create more depth to the pics. Eventually you may want to add a background light as well to further define the background of the image. But like I said, these are great. Good job.

EDIT: Also, I think the background is a bit distracting in #3: we either need to see more of the bike or none at all. Right now it seems to be growing out of his head.

[GaryS]

Thanks Peter!

WB.... I have a list of settings to use when shooting with the lights. Manual mode, 1/125, f5.6 to f8 as required... and so on. One of the big ones is to set the wb to flash so that I don't get the ever-changing colours in the shots... I forgot this time.

I can see what you mean about a back-light. I've been restricting myself to just the two lights to this point so that I don't get confused, but I think I'm going to add my 430ex to the mix.

Thanks again!

[cwphoto]

One thing that stands out to me is how happy the lad looks. I love any shots where emotion is captured.

[RhesEbag]

WB issues aside, really interesting composition on number one.

Number two is a great shot, but is about half a stop overexposed. Also, the crop is a little tight. I would try to get more of the wheel in.

But overall, really well done!

[Rooz]

One thing that stands out to me is how happy the lad looks. I love any shots where emotion is captured.

agreed.

in 20 years what would you prefer to be saying ?

"wow, look at that compositon and the great bokeh !" OR
"holy crap you loved that bike, you were just about jumping out of your skin !"

[adam75south]

gary these are some awesome shots of the boy, but the bike doesn't quite belong in the shot...in my opinion. or maybe going tight isn't the way to go with a bike in the shot. the first is a great idea for a pose, but i think you need a sky in the background and not a backdrop.

keep taking pictures of your boy because he's an attention getter.

[GaryS]

Thanks everyone!

Good ideas all around, I'll put them to use on the weekend.